Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Henry Aaron — whom some believe is still the real all-time home run king — turns 75 today. Where does the time go? Aaron has been the subject of many books over the years, quite a few of which came out in 1974-75, as he was approaching Ruth’s record. I still have baseball magazines from […]
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This is the time of year when home gardeners (of which I am one) look forward to receiving their seed catalogs. I also enjoy getting the latest from the publishing world. Today I received the Ivan R. Dee catalog, which includes the following baseball titles: Catcher, by Peter Morris — The author of such neo-classics […]
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Pardon the Interruption led of it’s Jan. 22 show with a report on Jay McGwire’s ratting out his brother Mark with his own tell-all book. Fortunately, that leads off the show, so you don’t have to watch the entire excerpt.
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The two newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Henderson is already the subject / “author” of a couple of books, but I bet it won’t be long before we have a Rice title in book stores everywhere.
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Hal Chase and the Mythology of the Game, by Donald Dewey and Nicholas Acocella (SportsClassic Books, 2004) as reviewed on Seamheads.com. Upshot: This volume is tremendously researched and the documentation presented from various newspapers hands the reader a first-hand impression that the interpretations of an author could never convey 90 years after the fact. It […]
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Rick Cleveland’s biography (published by Lemuria Press) of Boo Ferriss, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox from 1945-50, as glowingly reviewed in the Clarksdale (MS) Press Register. Ferriss, a Mississippi product, won 21 and 25 games in his first two major league seasons, 12 the next year and never in double figures again.
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Been receiving some publisher’s catalogs recently. Here are a few 2009 titles to look forward to: >> As mentioned previously, Joe Torre and Tom Verducci have collaborated on the manager’s autobio, coming next month from Random House. >> Bloomsbury will release a behind-the-scenes look at the machinations of baseball’s Valhalla in Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, […]
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It took me quite awhile to discern that “W2W4,” a staple of ESPN The Magazine, means “what to watch for.” There. Now you know. So this W2W4 regards Mort Zachter’s upcoming book Gil Hodges: The Man Behind the Miracle, to be will be published by the University of Nebraska Press. Hodges, the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers […]
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The Hall of Fame veterans Committee will announce any decision on Monday, Dec. 8. Players who are under consideration include: SINCE 1943 • Dick Allen • Gil Hodges • Jim Kaat • Tony Oliva • Al Oliver • Vada Pinson • Ron Santo • Luis Tiant • Joe Torre • Maury Wills PRE-1943 • Bill […]
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Mike Lynch, who hosts the always thought-provoking Seamheads.com, penned (keyboarded?) this review of Babe Dahlgren’s biography. The twist? It was written by Dahlgren’s grandson, Matt, who is seeking to exonerate charges that Gramps was on the weed as a player.
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Thirteen years in the making. In 1995, I delivered my first “scholarly paper.” It was at Hoftsra University’s centennial celebration of Babe Ruth’s birth and it was a hoot. I spent three days there, listening to all sorts of presentations, visiting exhibits and finally — nervously — making my own. My topic was “The Books […]
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Cubs’ skipper Lou Pienlla and Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon were named managers of the year for 2008. Pinella published Sweet Lou, written with Maury Allen in 1986. He’s got a new one coming out next year from St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne. So can it be long before Maddon has one, too? Managers whose teams […]
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From Triumph Books. I guess Three Nights in August doesn’t qualify as an actual biography: Two-time World Series champion Tony La Russa has been one of the most important figures in baseball for the past 30 years, but he has never been the subject of a biography before. Tony La Russa: Man on a Mission […]
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Rapid Robert turned 90 on Nov. 3. Feller was one of those players from “the greatest generation” — including Ted Williams, Warren Spahn, Bob Buhl, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and many others — who lost precious years to the service of their country. Yes, some, like Feller and Williams, were on the front lines while […]
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by Fred Glueckstein (iUniverse) This slim volume focusing primarily on Mantle’s first year with the NY Yankees is basic enough. Glueckstein has obviously done his research quite well. Too well, it might appear, as he relishes in relaying the most minute details, such as the full name and birth dates and places of most of […]
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The Kansas City Star published this review of Tom Swift’s biography about the turn of the (20th) century Native American pitcher. The paper also applauds the long-time efforts of the publisher in the pursuite of excellence in the baseball genre: “An unsolicited editorial remark: This book is one of the latest baseball volumes to come […]
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from the Rio Rancho Observer.
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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.
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
* Another example of timing being everything
February 9, 2009
So what do you think: will the reports of A-Rod on steroids help the sale of Joe Torre’s book? Not that it needs much in the way of a push, according to this piece in the New York Daily News. A suspicious person would wonder about the timing of the announcement. After all, it’s been […]
Tagged as: Alex Rodriguez, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Torre, Richard Ben Cramer
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