Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
January 19, 2010
Mike Silva offers some easy listening about baseball, including an interview with Ira Berkow on his latest book, Summers in the Bronx: Attila the Hun and Other Yankee Stories; author and historian John Thorn; and Peter Golenbock on Billy Martin.
Tagged as: Billy Martin, Ira Berkow, John Thorn, New York Yankees, Peter Golenbock
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January 18, 2010
Haven’t done one of these for awhile, so here goes: The Dallas Morning News ran this review of The Wizard of Waxahachie by Warren Corbett, the biography of baseball lifer Paul Richards. Upshot: “Those who love baseball’s strategies and myriad statistics probably will relish this book. The author blends them seamlessly into an entertaining, warts-and-all […]
Tagged as: baseball books
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December 24, 2009
Mike Silva of NY Baseball Digest recently posted this 2007 audio interview he did with former major leaguer Terry Leach. Leach, a side-arming reliever who pitched for several teams, including the Mets, wrote about his experiences in Things Happen for a Reason: The True Story of an Itinerant Life in Baseball. Long-time baseball analyst Peter Gammons, […]
Tagged as: baseball books, ESPN, Fritz Peterson, Magazines, Peter Gammons, Terry Leach
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December 20, 2009 · 2 comments
Baseballisms.com, which is quickly becoming a favorite site, published this audio interview with Lowenfish, author Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman. Other authors appeared on Baseballisms include Tim Wiles, Judith Testa, Peter Golenbock, Jerry Poling, Jane Heller, Sue Macy, Tim Shea, and others. Another site that features frequent author interviews, albeit not audio, is the online […]
Tagged as: Baseballism, Gelf magazine
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December 18, 2009 · 2 comments
Still trying to catch up from Yankee Fantasy Camp, so we’ll take it a few steps at a time: Richard Barbieri writes an intersting “This annotated week in baseball history” for The Hardball Times that deserves mention. The same can be said for Rob Neyer’s postings at ESPN.com, in particular his daily doses (Friday Filberts, […]
Tagged as: baseball books, Baseball Cards, Brooklyn Dodgers
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December 14, 2009
The co-author of Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, was the subject of this lengthy interview on the interesting Baseballisms.com website. Hear it here: http://baseballisms.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/CTBX.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Tagged as: Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Tim Wiles
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October 29, 2009
According to CantonRep.com, the Kent State Univ. Press will reprint a “facsimile edition” of Fred Lieb and Stan Baumgartner’s 1953 team history of the Phillies, which was part of a series of baseball club histories published by G.P. Putnam. Several years ago, the Southern Illinois University Press was handling this project, reissuing books about the […]
Tagged as: Fred Lieb, Philadlephia Phillies, Wold Series
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October 21, 2009
The Daily Reflector ran this piece on Chasing Moonlight. Moonlight Graham was a North Carolina product. Bronx Banter ran a Q&A with Arnold Hano, author of the acclaimed A Day in the Bleachers, his account of the first game of the 1954 World Series. BaseballDigest.com’s review of Satchel, by Larry Tye. Upshot: “Before I read […]
Tagged as: Arnold Hano, Boston Red Sox, Mike Vaccaro, Satchel Paige, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ted Williams, World Series books
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October 13, 2009
Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson, collaborators in the new Sixty Feet Six Inches, were the guests on yesterday’s Fresh Air. The host, an awestruck Dave Davies, asked several questions that one would expect from non-fans, and that’s fine, given the nature of the outlet; I’m sure sports radio hosts would ask more hard-hitting questions designed […]
Tagged as: Bob Gibson, NPR, Reggie Jackson
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October 5, 2009
The New York Times Sunday book section carried this double review by Harvey Araton on Mark Frost’s Game Six — this one from the 1975 Red Sox-Reds fall classic (thumbs up) and Lew Paper’s Perfect (lukewarm, at best), a recap of Don Larsen’s 1956 World Series no-hitter. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, this piece on popular […]
Tagged as: baseball books, Bits and Pieces
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September 17, 2009
Baseball Daily Digest conducted this extensive Q&A with the author of the upcoming McFarland title, Evaluating Baseball Managers: A Comprehensive History and Performance Analysis, 1876-2008. Part One. Part Two.
Tagged as: baseball managers
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September 14, 2009
The Washington Informer, an African-American community newspaper, published this item on Larry Tye, author of the new Satchel Paige biography, prior to his Sept. 9 appearance at the Smithsonian. Jim Bouton chats with ESPN’s Jim Caple in this video/article. (Here’s a different video:) Every year come August, you can count on a bunch of articles […]
Tagged as: baseball books
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August 28, 2009
Trying to catch up, once again: * A review of Satchel and an interview with author Larry Tye, from BeyondtheBoxScore.com. And an excerpt from Sportfeelgoodstories.com. * From his mouth to God’s ears (as my people say). From Foxbusiness.com, word that — according to the author of a book on Bernie Madoff: “Fred Wilpon, the owner […]
Tagged as: baseball book news
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August 28, 2009
Hail, alma mater. The University of Vermont published this brief profile of its alumna, co-author of Becoming Manny, a bio of the enigmatic Ramirez.
Tagged as: Jean Rhodes, Manny Ramierz
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August 28, 2009 · 1 comment
Larry Stone offers his list … and then some… of his favorite baseball bookss in his Seattle Times column, Hot Stone League (cute). No. 1 is Bouton’s Ball Four. but is No. 1 (addendum) is Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy, by Jane Leavy. No. 2 on the addenda is a book I don’t think gets nearly […]
Tagged as: baseball books, Jim Boutin, Leonard Koppett, Sandy Koufax
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August 20, 2009
Some 40 years ago, Jim Bouton published what many consider to be the most important baseball book of all time. This Sunday, the MLB Network’s Studio 42 will host a conversation with Bouton at 8 p.m. Bob Costas will be doing the honors as Bouton discusses his MLB career as well as his relationship with […]
Tagged as: Ball Four, Jim Bouton
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August 10, 2009
TheFowlBalls blog conducted this brief Q&A with the author of Munson.
Tagged as: Mart Appel, Thurman Munson
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August 5, 2009 · 8 comments
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 […]
Tagged as: baseball authors, baseball books
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August 4, 2009 · 4 comments
Had a good time at the SABR convention in DC. It was nice too meet so many folks who are just as nuts (if not more so) than me. Being the bookworm that I am, it was especially nice hanging out with the writers, many of whom were peddling their products in the vendors’ room. […]
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is available on Amazon.com,
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.
In Forbes Magazine re: Baseball Business Books
On Will Carroll’s “Under the Knife” substack
Most recent books read updated 12/21/24:
Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball, by Keith O’Brien
Grade: A. The most in-depth bio to date, focusing on Rose's gambling addiction.
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 Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era, by Andy Martino
Grade: B+. Even this non-Yankee fan found the deep background with its Moneyball-like machinations interesting
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.
Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards, by Josh Wilker
Grade: A. Re-read in preparation for a Bookshelf Conversation with the author. Had a deeper meaning than when I first read it more than a decade ago.
The Bookshelf Conversation
Discussions about all things baseball with authors, journalists, filmmakers, musicians, artists, et al
Subscribe to the "Bookshelf Conversations" podcast on iTunes and please leave a rating and/or review. Gracias!
Mike Shannon on "Diamond Classics II" ( video)
Todd Radom, Ellen Linder, and Brian Kong ( video)
Rick Cerrone (Baseball Digest, video)
Kevin Baker (Sometimes You See It Coming, video)
Curtis Pride and Doug Ward (video)
Dan Epstein on James Earl Jones (video)
Jim Gilmore and Tracy Holcomb (video)
"The Lost Tapes": Conversations prior to 2011 (audio)
My article on Sandy Koufax in the 1965 World Series appears in
My article on the later biographies of Babe Ruth appears in
My article on the Mets’ 1969 postseason appears in
Profiles of several Jewish baseball figures appear in
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* Back to work / Bits and pieces
September 30, 2009
The holidays are over now so let’s get back to business. More on Posnanski and his new book, The Machine, from the Wall Street Journal; Hartford Courant; Rob Neyer and ESPN (interview); Cincinnati.com (“Latest book may be the best on Reds’ dynasty”); Baseball Prospectus Radio had this interview with the author with the author (audio […]
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