I haven’t done one of these in awhile. Part of it has been working on my own book (I’m almost done with the indexing), part of it was being without the computer (kind of surprised it’s lasted this long). So as a way to compensate, this episode is something of a Mets doubleheader. We have […]
Tagged as:
Davud Ferry,
Greg Prince,
New York Mets
I was at a retreat this weekend on Judaism & Baseball (more on that later), where singer/songwriter Dan Bern debuted some pieces from Doubleheader, his forthcoming album of songs about the national pastime. He will officially debut the work at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown tomorrow. From the Hall of Fame press release: The […]
Tagged as:
Dan Bern,
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Marty Appel is no stranger to the Bookshelf. I’ve met him on several occasions and his work as an author and publicist has often appeared on the blog. Now I’m pleased to report on perhaps his most significant achievement to date: Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss […]
Tagged as:
Marty Appel,
New York Yankee,
Ron Blomberg
With Father’s Day quickly approaching I thought I’d concentrate on a couple of books that would be great for dad. Perhaps mores o if he’s a fan of the Bronx Bombers, but these would be just as appropriate if he’s a student of baseball history as well as baseball cards, respectively. I’m speaking of The […]
Tagged as:
Baseball card,
Dave Anderson,
New York Times,
New York Yankee
With Fathers Day upon us, and a few prominent author appearances on the horizon, I’ve been scrambling to put up some relevant podcasts. So rather than putting up one this week, there will be a few including: Wayne Coffey, co-author of R.A. Dickey’s notable memoir, Wherever I Wind Up Marty Appel, Pinstripe Empire, which is […]
Tagged as:
Dave Anderson,
Marty Appel,
New York Times,
Pinstripe Empire,
Topps,
Wayne Coffey,
Yogi Berra Museum
I get a kick out of how foreign media handle the occasional baseball-themed story. They almost seem apologetic that they have to explain what baseball is, as in the introduction to this audio interview with the author of The Art of Fielding from the Australian Broadcasting Company: American Author Chad Harbach is hot stuff in […]
Tagged as:
Art of Fielding,
Australian Broadcasting Company,
Chad Harbach
And the hits just keep coming. Recent author interviews on NPR programs include: This Q&A with Jim Bouton, was the guest for a segment on “‘Ball Four’: The Book That Changed Baseball,” from Northwest Public Radio (an NPR “double threat”). Hart Seely, author of The Juju Rules: Or, How to Win Ballgames from Your Couch: A […]
Tagged as:
Ball Four,
Bill Veeck,
Hart Seely,
Jim Bouton,
National Public Radio,
Paul Dickson
Any middle-aged, self-respecting New York baseball fan knows the name Phil Pepe. He was the Yankees beat writer for the World Telegram & Sun from 1961-64, and for the Daily News from 1971-84. He’s enjoyed a long run on radio, too, serving as the sports voice for WCBS-FM when it was still an oldies station, […]
Tagged as:
Bob Gibson,
Bud Harrelson,
Hofstra University,
New York Mets,
Phil Pepe
History is not supposed to be something I’ve lived through. History is supposed to be something that happened well before I was born. It was therefore with a mix of nostalgia and dread that I read Tim Wendell‘s Summer of ’68: The Season That Changed Baseball–and America–Forever. 1968 was the first year I really started […]
Tagged as:
1968,
David Halberstam,
Detroit Tigers,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Tim Wendel,
World Series
John Grisham appeared on Weekend Edition Saturday to discuss his new baseball novel, Calico Joe. Mets Pitcher R.A. Dickey is also making the rounds. He was on Fresh Air to talk about his memoir, Wherever I Wind Up. The program also re-ran an interview from last August with Brad Aumus, now in the San Diego […]
Tagged as:
Calico Joe,
John Grisham,
RA Dickey,
Weekend Edition
Some of the contributions for the new collaboration Damn Yankees: Twenty-Four Major League Writers on the World’s Most Loved (and Hated) Team are dewy-eyed tributes, either about the team in general, or a player in particular, or a personal moment with a family member, bonding over a shared love. On the other end of the […]
Tagged as:
Charlie Pierce,
Damn Yankees,
Daniel Okrent,
Jane Leavy,
Rob Fleder,
Roy Blount Jr.,
Sports Illustrated
I have a handful of podcasts I listen to religiously, mostly on my way to work. It’s very ritualistic. I start each Monday with Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. From then on it’s Pardon the Interruption and Extra Hot Great Minis, a scaled down, one-topic version of Extra Hot Great, one of my favorite pop […]
Tagged as:
Darryl Strawberry,
Don Mattingly,
Extra Hot Great,
Jose Canseco,
Ken griffey Jr.,
Mike Scioscia,
Ozzie Smith,
podcasts,
Roger Clemens,
Steve Sax,
The Simpsons,
Wade Boggs
Another book about Yogi Berra? Yup, and one that shouldn’t be missed. Harvey Araton published Driving Mr. Yogi: Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and Baseball’s Greatest Gift as an extension of a column he had written for The New York Times last year, about the annual ritual in which the former Yankee ace would pick up […]
Tagged as:
Harvey Araton,
Ron Guidry,
Yogi Berra
This week’s podcast is a little different. Ari Alexenberg is no author (although as a pitcher I’m sure his “authored” some great games over his long amateur career). Rather he is the subject of Coming Home, a documentary currently under production. The film tells the story of his participation in the only season of the […]
Tagged as:
Ari Alexenberg,
Israel Baseball League,
Orthodox Judaism
With St. Patrick’s Day just ahead, what better time to discuss Charlie Rosen’s new book,The Emerald Diamond: How the Irish Transformed America’s Greatest Pastime? Rosen previous sports work — over a dozen titles, both fiction and non-fiction — have been almost exclusively about basketball. The lone exception: his Bullpen Diaries: Mariano Rivera, Bronx Dreams, Pinstripe […]
Tagged as:
Charley Rosen,
Emerald Diamond,
New York Yankees,
Saint Patrick's Day
As a public service reminder, remember to set your clocks ahead one hour before turning in to night. The Mets, and to a lesser extent the Astros, will be falling back as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. David Brooks, the social commentator, published this piece in yesterday’s New York Times on the seemingly impossible tasks […]
Tagged as:
David Brooks,
Houston Astros,
New York Times
As a former presidential speechwriter and current senior lecturer of English at the University of Rochester, it’s safe to say that Curt Smith loves the spoken (and written) word. His output as an author combines that enthrallment with baseball; he’s written several books that highlight not the players on the field, but the people who […]
Tagged as:
Curt Smith,
Fenway Park
Recently, the Bookshelf spoke with Glenn Stout about the centennial of Fenway Park (an upcoming episode will feature Curt Smith discussing the role of broadcasters in bring the games to the Fenway faithful). This week, in recognition of the New York Mets’ 50th anniversary, we chatted with Mathew Silverman, who specializes in titles about the […]
Tagged as:
Hofstra University,
Matthew Silverman,
New York Mets
Well, perhaps not the real Sportsphone, which was popular back in the 1980s. For the price of a call, you could hear updated recorded messages about what was going on on the diamond, the court, the field, etc. And to be technical about it, the How to Do Everything podcast isn’t technically NPR. However it […]
Tagged as:
Jonah Hill,
Moneyball,
NPR,
Sportsphone
George Vecsey has worn many hats during his long career with The New York Times. Most recent fans might not be aware he was a general reporter who also wrote about politics and religion before turning to the sports pages full time in 1980. Two years later, he was called on to fill the void […]
Tagged as:
George Vecsey,
Stan Musial
is available on Amazon.com,
