A reminder: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish posting them). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. (See my piece on “Why Amazon’s search engine sucks.”)
In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one by including a book in a category to which it should not be listed (in my opinion). For example, The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect has appeared on the BBS list. “Why” is a good question. There might be a smattering of the national pastime in it, but not enough to make it a baseball book per se (again, IMO).
Finally, adults only here. That is, no books for younger readers. Also no “adult” adult books (romance/erotic fiction that features baseball as a theme although goodness knows there are a bunch of those available).
So, with all that said…
The links under the authors’ names will take you to the Bookshelf Conversations I did with them. An asterisk denotes a book making its debut on the BBS list.
PRINT
- The Tao of the Backup Catcher: Playing Baseball for the Love of the Game, by Tim Brown with Eric Kratz
- The Science of Hitting, by Ted Williams and John Underwood
- 62: Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees, and the Pursuit of Greatness, by Bryan Hoch
- Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis
- The Ultimate New York Yankees Trivia Book: A Collection of Amazing Trivia Quizzes and Fun Facts for Die-Hard Yankees Fans!, by Ray Walker
- The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Great Team in Pinstripe History, by Jack Curry
- The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson, by Jeff Pearlman
- The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II, by Anne R. Keene
- The Baseball 100, by Joe Posnanski
- Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments, by Posnanski (pre-sale; available Sept. 5) *
KINDLE BOOKS
- The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves, by Keith Law
- Tao of the Backup Catcher
- K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, by Tyler Kepner
- Moneyball
- Ball Four: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, by Jim Bouton
- The Baseball 100
- The Boys of Summer: The Classic Narrative of Growing Up Within Shouting Distance of Ebbets Field, Covering the Jackie Robinson Dodgers, and What’s Happened to Everybody Since, by Roger Kahn
- Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time, by Ryan McGee
- Davey Johnson: My Wild Ride in Baseball and Beyond, by Davey Johnson with Erik Sherman
- Minor League Baseball Revealed: A Secret Tour Inside Our National Pastime, by Rick Sherman
AUDIBLE
Note: Amazon has changed the way they list audiobooks. No longer under the general category of “biography and memoir,” they are now treated in their own baseball/softball category. Here’s the general link to the section where you will find further links to the individual titles, their reader/narrators, and samples. Note further that these are updated regularly and the top ten list below might no longer be the same.
- Tao of the Backup Catcher
- Moneyball (unabridged, narrated by Scott Brick)
- The Baseball 100
- Heads-Up Baseball, by Ken Ravizza
- Ball Four: The Final Pitch , by Jim Bouton (read by the author)
- Calico Joe, by John Grisham
- The Bad Guys Won, by Jeff Pearlman (narrated by the author)
- The Chicken Runs at Midnight: A Daughter’s Message from Heaven That Changed a Father’s Heart and Won a World Series, by Tom Friend
- Ninety Percent Mental, by Bob Tewksbury (read by the author)
- 62
Other than the appearance of Joe Posnanski’s latest — not available until September — on the print list, there’s nothing really new this week. I’m wondering if the fact that The Wall Street Journal ran a review of The Tao of the Backup Catcher has anything to do with its placement atop the list. I normally would post the link here but the paper has a paywall.
Still not in the Amazon top ten? 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. FYI, as of this posting it ranks 1,549,970 overall in books; last time, 342,955. Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War ranks 2,003,330; last time, 1,737,987.
Shameless self-promotion: if you’re looking for some good baseball reading during this down time, why not pick up a copy of 501? It’s like the dictionary; it has the other books in it. Which kind of reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite shows.
A reminder: There’s an Excel “checklist” of the books list in 501. If you’re interested in keeping track of how many you have read or own, drop me a line.
If you have read either of my books, thanks, hope you enjoyed it, and please consider writing an Amazon review; it’s never too late.
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