From the category archives:

Biography

The collaborator and biographer work at different ends of the life story spectrum. The former writes an as-told-to memoir controlled (but not always read) by the star. The biographer broadens the story in ways that may upset the star or his family. Formers Yankees PR director Marty Appel, who worked with the late Yankees catcher […]

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* TWIBB — June 26

June 26, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, June 19. Title Rank General Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, Tye 1 The Yankee Years, Torre and Verducci 2 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Lewis 3 The Science of Hitting, Williams 4 As They See […]

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* The Fab Five

June 23, 2009

books on baseball, that is, at least according to this blogger. The list includes: The Kid from Tomkinsville The Southpaw The Glory of Their Times Stealing Home The Bill James Historical Abstract

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* Review: Satchel

June 21, 2009

Larry Tye’s new bio of the great Negro League pitcher gets the treatment from the Stockton (CA) Record.

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By Allen Barra, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Upshot: “Cooperstown Confidential” is bold, intelligent, gutsy. [Author Zev] Chafets is strongest on what is soon to be the next controversy of the Hall — steroids. and … if you don’t like Roger Clemens — and there are so many who don’t that one questions why the authors […]

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* TWIBB

June 19, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, June 19. Title Rank General The Yankee Years, Torre and Verducci 1 As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, Weber 2 Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, Tye 3 Moneyball: The Art of Winning […]

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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published this piece on the author of the new Vin Scully biography. The Amazon Report on Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story

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* Bits and Pieces

June 17, 2009

Time to play a little catch-up: From Pressboxonline.com, a Baltimore-sports oriented site, a review of Bert Randolph Sugar’s new coffee table book about the Hall of Fame. “[The author] left nothing out and I can’t think of a better way to educate those whom are grasping for a better understanding of baseball’s history than to […]

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King Kaufman conducted this Q&A with the new Berra Boswell. You can read it here or hear it here: http://media.salon.com/media/mp3/2009/03/conversations_barra.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

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The New York Times’ Janet Maslin published this review of Larry Tye’s new biography of the great Paige. Upshot: “All the African-American luminaries had climbed to the top of their fields, but none did it with Satchel’s over-the-top style and charm,” Mr. Tye claims. “And none of the others had been seen up close by […]

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Allen Barra, author of the new biography on Yogi Berra, gives his considered opinion on two other titles that deal with the Hall of Fame: Zev Chafets’ assessment of the problem of the Hall of Fame, and the quartet of NY Daily News writers on a pitcher who would have been a lock to earn […]

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Sorry, give me a minute here. The Mets just lost their game with the Yankees when Luis Castillo dropped a two-out POP UP that allowed two runs to score. TWO HANDS, dammit!! Anyway, my review of several books that encompass the Yankees and Mets during interleague weekend appear on the latest posting of Bookreporter.com. Titles […]

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* A-Rod a bust

June 12, 2009

According to this item by Don McKee in the Philadelphia Inquirer: In case you have to buy a present for someone you really don’t like much, take a look at Selena Roberts’ unauthorized biography of Alex Rodriguez. According to the Associated Press, A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez has been a major disappointment. Since […]

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The Ventura County Star posted this review on Curt Smith’s new Vin Scully biography. Upshot: Some people say “God is in the details.” Others say “the devil is in the details.” With Smith’s writing both are present. Those of us who look forward to poring over every facet of Scully’s life won’t be disappointed; Smith […]

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From the Cincinnati Enquirer, this piece about a new biography on Bob Howsam by author Daryl Smith. I wonder if there was a reason the writer doesn’t actually mention the title of the book in the article? The Amazon Report: Making the Big Red Machine: Bob Howsam and the Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s

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As reviewed in The Los Angeles Times. Upshot: …[T]hose seeking deeper insights into the redheaded announcer will be disappointed. Scully, now 81, is a humble man and has long said he does not want a biography written about him. He did not cooperate with Smith, and the result is an engaging yet uneven book. The […]

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From RiverAveBlues.com, this critique of Allen Barra’s latest.

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* Kudos, Randy Johnson

June 4, 2009

He becomes the 24th pitcher, and sixth left-hander, to notch 300 wins.

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The most recent episode of Only a Game includes an interview with Peter Golenbock, author of George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire. You can hear the segment here.

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Owen Canfield, a former full-time columnist and sports editor of The Hartford Courant, focuses his now-monthly columnon books about ballplayers whose accomplishments go beyond the ball park. The first is Ira Berkow’s The Corporal Was a Pitcher, the Courage of Lou Brissie. The second is a book on five CDs, Clemente, the Passion and Grace […]

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