* Bits and pieces

Trying to catch up with the stuff I missed while at the SABR convention:

• The Henry Wiggen Blog published this review of Michael Shaara’s For  Love of the Game, which became Kevin Costner’s third baseball movie.
• Publisher’s Weekly offer this announcement of an upcoming book on Don Larsen’s perfect game:

Perfect: Don Larsen’s Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made It Happen Lew Paper. NAL, $24.95 (432p) ISBN 978-0-451-22819-2

As lawyer and author Paper (John F. Kennedy: The Promise and the Performance) points out in this engaging history, by looking at his numbers (81-91 won/loss record over 14 transient seasons), Yankee Don Larsen was no great pitcher by any means, known more for his late-night antics than his pitching prowess. Nonetheless, Larsen had a knack for coming through in high-pressure situations, as he did on October 8, 1956, in immortal fashion, retiring 27 consecutive Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, the only no-hitter (and perfect game) in postseason history. Paper doesn’t focus on the day’s events in great detail; rather, he provides minibiographies of the 19 players who participated, ranging from legends like Jackie Robinson and Mickey Mantle to almost forgotten veterans like gentlemanly Joe Collins and ace hitter Dale Mitchell, who loathed being remembered as Larsen’s final out. Paper writes each profile with a fan’s passion. It’s to his credit that chapters on oft-covered icons such as Robinson, Mantle and Berra are all compelling as well. A must-read for baseball fans, this book is a terrific tribute to when baseball really was the national pastime. (Sept.)

• Larry Tye was the subject of another NPR interview. Here’s the audio and transcript. As much as I love listening to authors, I am starting to realize that they’re answering the same questions over and over. This is especially true if the interviewer isn’t a baseball fan (you can tell) because they seem to read from a prepared list of questions sometimes supplied by the publisher).
• Just after Induction Weekend, The New York Times featured Zev Chafets’ Cooperstown Confidential in a Book of the Times article.
• The blog Jew Wishes posted this review of Peter Hamill’s Snow in August
• Sportsfrog.com reviews Michael Shapiro’s Bottom of the Ninth. Upshot: “I’ve read countless books on baseball history, and practically all of the stories in this book are new to me. And most of them are downright fascinating.”
• Bruce Markusen at HardballTimes.com conducted this Q&A with Marty Appel, author of the new biography of Thurman Munson. And SouthCoastToday, a Southern Massachusetts concern, did this one with Bill Reynolds, author of ’78: The Boston Red Sox, A Historic Game, and a Divided City.

I think that’s enough for now. More later.

Tagged as: baseball authors, baseball books