(Note: The list includes print editions/baseball titles only, allowing for non-baseball titles and kindle editions that affected the rankings. Also, the rankings change hourly, so the result you get when you visit Amazon.com might not be the same.)
Analysis:
The Last Boy falls out of the top 100 Amazon bestsellers, but is ranked third in sports bestsellers. I also found it interesting that the top four books in the history category were Kindle editions (and therefore not included on this list).
It’s news to me:
I’m guessing the success of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire is responsible for the renewed interest in Pietrusza’s biography of Arnold Rothstein. There are several scenes in the miniseries in which Rothstein discusses the Black Sox Scandal with his attorneys. Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays the gambler, is a far cry from Michael Lerner, who had the role in the feature film, Eight Men Out.
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 a former life, I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted an award-winning bog about Jews and Sports.
I did a profile piece on the legendary cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was very generous in immortalizing me in this caricature.
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.
, by Jane Leavy
, by Michael Lewis, by
, by Ron Shandler
, by Josh Hamilton with Tim Keown
, by Dirk Hayhurst
, by Doug Glanville
, by Dan Epstein
, by David Pietrusza
, by James S. Hirsch
, by Scott Gummer
, by Bill Simmons
, by Tom Tango, et al
is available on Amazon.com,
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