The AV Club conducted this Q&A with Dan Epstein, author of Big Hair & Plastic Grass. You gotta wonder if he grew the hair and ‘burns for the book, or that’s his reg’lar look. Works either way. Meantime, Baseball Prospectus had one with Dorothy Seymour Mills, author of Chasing Baseball: Our Obsession with Its History, Numbers, People and Places.
The Just One More Thing blog gives Stephen King’s Blockade Billy an A+. Hey, Barnes and Noble, where’s my copy already?
In just another example of Canadians showing disdain for their betters, the Montreal Gazette published this review of Mark Kurlansky’s book, Eastern Stars. Headline: “San Pedro de MacorĂs sure knows baseball but author Mark Kurlansky shows little or no feel for the game.” Ouch. (And before you start sending nasty e-mails, I’m kidding. My maternal side is from Montreal. Some of my best friends are Montrealers đŸ™‚ )
Free 501 checklist available (Excel/spreadhseet format). Makes it fun to check off which books you've read and handy to bring to the bookstore or library to get what you still want to read. Send your request via email to ronkaplansbaseballbookshelf (@)gmail(dot)com.
The envelope, please…
Ron by Roth
In my most recent "day job," I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted another blog. Busy, busy, busy.
I did a profile piece on the award-winning cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was nice enough to "immortalize" me.
Sometimes You See It Coming, by Kevin Baker
Grade: B. I first read this one when it originally came out some 30 years ago. I must say I don't remember it being so raunchy in spots. Draws on lots of real-life events and characters that real fans will recognize.
The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness, by Andy McCullough
Grade: A. I usually don't like titles with superlatives, but in this case the author might be right, although there are probably a couple of Kershaw's contemporaries (Verlander and Scherzer) who fit that description.
The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City, by Kevin Baker
Grade: A. Well-researched, well-written. What else could you ask for? Baker has a lot of street cred writing about New York as well, both in fiction and non-fiction.
The Body Scout, by Lincoln Michel
Grade: C. Perhaps the ultimate performance enhancers -- interchangeable body parts -- help major leaguers of the future. But, as with all of these things, there's a price to pay.
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