From the category archives:

Baseball in war time

Note: 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 writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull a fast one […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

M*A*S*H note

October 28, 2019

One of my comfort TV shows is M*A*S*H. If I’m home (and awake) when it airs on ME TV (hold the jokes, please), that’s what I’m watching. The episodes are usually played sequentially, so it was especially interesting that “A War for All Seasons” (season nine, episode six) was on tonight’s schedule. This one follows […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

New year, new books

January 2, 2019

Welcome to 2019. I hope y’all had a great holiday season. “Pitchers and catchers” are still more than a month away, so I hope this list of forthcoming books will serve as a source of warmth and comfort until then. We seem to have the requisite number of material about former stars such as Jackie […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

I looked at a lot of video clips when writing about the recent passing of John Mahoney, the actor who played Kid Gleason, manager of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, in the film version of Eliot Asinof’s Eight Men Out. I was specifically looking for the courtroom scene but couldn’t find it. I did find […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Here’s an interview with one of my favorites: Dan Epstein with Clayton Trutor of the Down the Drive blog. From the Chester County Press, “Steve Potter recently released his book, “2nd Annual Phillies Minor League Digest: A Fan’s View” as a recap to the 2017 minor league season. The book includes team review of each […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

A couple of months ago, I posted about some of the new books being published in 2018. Since then, Amazon has put up a few more titles. You’re welcome. In order of release, and sticking to the same restrictions as I have often stated… The Science of Baseball: Modeling Bat-Ball Collisions and the Flight of […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

These are my favorite posts, taking a look at what new baseball books are on the horizon. A few notes: Traditional print rules the land here here. There may be a Kindle edition involved, but no Kindle-only titles are included herein. Second, Amazon does not want top make my life easier. I practically never include […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Shameless self-promotion alert: Happy to announce that Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War officially launched at midnight. I’ll be posting links to events, interviews, and reviews (both favorable and un-; already received one of the latter from someone who was disappointed that a) it wasn’t a full biography […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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?

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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: […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

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 […]

0Shares

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-5496371-4']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();