Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Creamer, author of what many believe to be the first “adult” biography when he published Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, was the subject of this interview with the Baseball: Past and Present blog, an interesting site of which I had heretofore been ignorant. Creamer, a fixture at Sports Illustrated and other publications, is also […]
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Small wonder in that they had to do with Jackie Robinson. Robinson’s teammate, Don Newcombe, recalled ameeting between the two iconic figures for a piece in Time Magazine in 2007: Do you know what Jackie’s impact was? Well, let Martin Luther King tell you. In 1968, Martin had dinner in my house with my family. […]
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I was over at the local Barnes and Noble and my eyes fell on The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012. Being the morbid and curious fellow I am, I flipped through the book (the title is a bit odd, since obviously none of the obits are actually from 2012; they actually span Aug. […]
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Due to the vagaries of the publishing world, there are bound to be additional books on the Fenway Park and Mets anniversaries. Case in point, Curt Smith, who specializes in paying homage to the men and women who have brought the game to millions of fans over the years on radio and television, gives his […]
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Fifty may not be as impressive as 100 when it comes to celebrating an anniversary, but it’s still a notable achievement. They NY Mets hit the big 5-oh this year and, like the titles about Fenway Park, the hoopla began early. Matthew Silverman, who carries on in the proud tradition of authors like Glenn Stout, […]
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The new year marks the commemoration a few prominent events which serve as the topic for several recently-released and forthcoming books. As the oldest Major League ballpark still in use, Fenway Park is the subject of a great deal of nostalgia and mystique (and no, Curt Shilling, these are not dancers in a New York […]
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Right Off the Bat: Baseball, Cricket, Literature, and Life, by Evander Lomke and Martin Rowe. Paul Dry Books, 2011. As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been fascinated by cricket longer than I can remember. During a visit to Montreal when I was 10, I recall buying a small British import at a WH Smith […]
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The Negro League star known as the Black Babe Ruth was born this date 100 years ago. Books on Gibson include: Josh Gibson: Ther Power and the Darkness, by Mark Ribowsky (author of a new bio on Howard Cosell) Josh Gibson: A Life in the Negro Leagues, by William Brashler, who also wrote the novel […]
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Jane Leavy, author of biographies on Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax, published this piece about Julia Ruth Stevens — Babe Ruth’s daughter — on the Grantland website.
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As many of you know, I serve as editor of the SABR Bibliography Committee quarterly newsletter. The most recent issues (Nov. 2011), features reviews on Under Pallor, Under Shadow: The 1920 American League Pennant Race That Rattled and Rebuilt Baseball, by Bill Felber; 1921: The Yankees, the Giants, and the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in […]
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The following message comes from Richard J. Puerzer of Hofstra University. * * * April 2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of the New York Mets, one of the most popular and culturally significant baseball franchises. On Thursday through Sunday, April 26-28, 2012, Hofstra University will host a conference to consider all aspects of the […]
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Just in time for the holidays, here’s her reworking of a Christmas classic, made relevant to baseball fans.
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My wife and I encountered two baseball references while watching a couple of our favorite shows on Sunday — Homeland and Boardwark Empire. Homeland is the story of Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine held captive for eight years in Afghanistan who may or may not have been turned into a sleeper agent by Al Qaeda. […]
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When I was a kid, about 10 years old, I used to get a weekly allowance of 50 cents, which I normally would use to purchase a baseball magazine. One week, while running errands for my mother, I took the audacious step of using some of the change to supplement my stipend to buy both […]
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Cy Young or Cy Not? (Can’t believe I got four wrong!)
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Sometimes I wonder, with all the new books coming out every year, why anyone would want to read something they’ve already read before. So many books, so little time. But while working on the 501 Book project I came across several titles in my library that I had never read, which no doubt led to […]
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With the Cardinals in the World Series, George Vecsey made a return visit to NPR, appearing on The Leonard Lopate Show to discuss his latest book, Stan Musial: An American Life. Here’s a review from the Houston Chronicle, just because I liked the caricature so much.
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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 blog 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
