From the category archives:

Baseball in war time

Now available: At long last I’m happy to announce the official release of my latest book, Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War. Support your local  local bookstore and tell your friends! Merci. Save Save Save Save

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What we were fighting for

November 11, 2016

How appropriate is it that the end of Band of Brothers takes place on the baseball diamond? After all, what were we fighting for? Mom, apple pie, the girl next door, and baseball?

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In honor of Veterans Day

November 11, 2016

This entry originally appeared in 2010 but is still relevant today. As we observe Veterans Day, I just wanted to put give a  shout out to the men and women who have sacrificed in the service of their country. A sampling of the literature on the subject: Ted Williams at War An American Journey: My […]

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Bits and pieces, Feb. 18, 2016

February 18, 2016

♦ The Minnesota Spokesman Record, an African-America newspaper, posted this review of They Played for the Love of the Game: Untold Stories of Black Baseball in Minnesota, published by Frank M. White. ♦ The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star provided this piece on Roger Angell‘s memoir, This Old Man: All in Pieces. I still maintain this […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Congrats to Willie Mays and the late Yogi Berra, two of the most recent recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. You can watch the CSPAN coverage of the event here. From NBCNews.com: New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, who died in September at the age of 90, was awarded the medal posthumously…. Celebrating Berra’s […]

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At least you won’t have the ridiculous dramatic pauses with camera zoom-ins and throbbing music as the audience awaits the name of the winner. (DWTS, I’m looking at you.) The editors of Spitball Magazine announced the nine finalists for the coveted CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year. The titles include: The Betrayal: […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Been following the adventures of Brad Balukjian, who’s traveling the country in search of his baseball heroes for a book project. He was a guest on a recent edition of Slate’s excellent sports podcast, Hang Up and Listen. We had a Bookshelf Conversation prior to his departure and I hope to have another one upon his […]

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Submitted for your interest, this feature by Jacob Kamaras at JNS.org on John Klima’slatest baseball book, The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray, and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII. * * * Baseball fans might most vividly remember Hank Greenberg for his chase of Babe Ruth’s single-season […]

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Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]

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Just finished thumbing through A History of Baseball in 100 Objects, the latest baseball release by Josh Leventhal, author of several other well-produced baseball titles. The objects included herein represent the game since before its “formal” recognized inception in the mid 1800s (and please don’t write about the exact DOB of the game). But the […]

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Sorry, couldn’t come up with an appropriate theme. Last week I linked to the first week in Tom Hoffarth’s annual 30-books-in-30-days feature. Catching up: Day 8: Bats, Balls, and Hollywood Stars: Hollywood’s Love Affair with Baseball, by Joe Siegman Day 9: A Game of Their Own: Voices of Contemporary Women in Baseball,by Jennifer Ring Day […]

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Submitted for your interest from another semi-regular scan of new titles. It may seem unfair, but I do tend to judge e-books by their cover, especially when they are offered only in that format. It’s an indication of the time and effort the author/publisher puts into the project. Similarly, I’m basing my opinions strictly on […]

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Bits and pieces, March 16

March 16, 2015

Curt Smith, author of several fine volumes about baseball broadcasters and broadcasting, offers this nostalgic essay on “Spring training: Baseball’s Brigadoon” in the Irondequoit Post. Publishers Weekly published their annual list of new baseball topics. Unfortunately, it’s only available to subscribers. I’ll see if I can find an end-around at some point. “Spring inevitably means […]

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And the wrap-up… * denotes items of particular interest (to me, at any rate). Odds and Ends ** It will be interesting to see how The Hidden Game of Baseball: A Revolutionary Approach to Baseball and Its Statistics has held up since it was first published 30 years ago. Authors John Thorn and Pete Palmer […]

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On this date: In 1952, Ted Williams plays his final game before leaving for military duty in Korea. In his last at-bat on “Ted Williams Day” at Fenway Park, he blasts a game-winning, two-run home run against Dizzy Trout of the Detroit Tigers. The home run gives the Red Sox a 5 – 3 victory. […]

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The World War II veteran who returned from devastating injury sustained in the service of his country to play Major League baseball, passed away yesterday at the age of 89. Brissie, who earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, pitched seven seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians, compiling a 44-48 record with […]

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Jerome M. Mileur will sign copies of his new book, The Stars Are Back: The St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, and Player Unrest in 1946, on Saturday, Oct 26, at 1 p.m. in the Bookworm bookstore, 618 E. Walnut St., Carbondale, IL. SIU Press published the book about the 1946 World Champion St. […]

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Feast or famine. I can go for weeks without posting any new material but in the past week I’ve had the very good fortunate to speak with three extremely talented artists: Eric Rolfe Greenberg, author of The Celebrant, which is considered one of the best baseball novels by just about every outlet who decides these […]

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