Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
♦ The Wilmington Star News posted this review of James Bailey’s novel Bull Durham. Upshot: “The Greatest Show on Dirt will appeal to any hardcore reader of box scores who doesn’t mind the feel of wooden bleachers and isn’t put off by tobacco chaws.” ♦ This review of Robert Fitts’ Baseball, Espionage, & Assassination During […]
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The 2012 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Art Competition is looking for submissions. Winners receive a cash award, publication in the journal Black Ball and exhibition at the Baseball Heritage Museum in Cleveland. There are three categories: professional, amateur, and youth (under 16). The deadline for submission is May 7. For more information and to […]
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Robinson was born this date in 1919, which means he would have been 93 today. Sadly, he passed away almost 40 years ago, way too young. It isn’t necessary to repeat all the sacrifices he made, all the doors he opened. One would hope everyone in this country — baseball fan or not — would […]
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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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A bit late, but O’Neil would have celebrated his 100th birthday last Sunday. In his honor, The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America.
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The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will recognize the twin traditions of baseball and film when, for the sixth consecutive year, it hosts the Baseball Film Festival in Cooperstown, Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Fourteen films, with themes ranging from Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson to the 2003 National League Championship Series, will be screened […]
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While doing research for my project, I came across this list, published in 2002, of the 100 top sports books of all time as chosen by the editors of Sports Illustrated. Of those 100, “only” 32 were about baseball. The nerve. Anyway, here’s the SI piece, trimmed to just baseball titles, with commentary from the […]
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The Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award, which recognizes outstanding baseball research in areas other than history and biography, has been awarded for the following books published in 2010: Satch, Dizzy, and Rapid Robert: The Wild Saga of Interracial Baseball Before Jackie Robinson, by Timothy M. Gay (Simon & Schuster) Evaluating Baseball’s Managers: A History and […]
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The Two Lives of Roy Campanella, by Neil Lanctot. Simon and Schuster, 2011. My first thoughts when I heard about this book was, “It’s about time.” Roy Campanella was a three-time NL MVP and a Hall of Famer, yet aside from It’s Good to Be Alive, his own ghostwritten autobiography, there have been no “adult” […]
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Here’s the latest week’s worth of Tom Hoffarth’s Book a Day feature from the LA Daily News. Day 16: The Most Famous Woman in Baseball: Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues Day 17: 1961*: The Inside Story of the Maris-Mantle Home Run Chase Day 18: Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game […]
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Time once again for a major links dump to make up for bad behavior. Warning: some of these links go back to March. Just sayin’. * A member of Red Sox Nation pays tribute to a “mortal enemy” by giving the NY Times photo book on Derek Jeter the thumbs up. * The Wall Street […]
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Intro: As previously stated, the recent election of Robert Alomar and Bert Blyleven got me to thinking: how many Hall of Famers have had books written about them or penned their own stories. Here are the results. Again, this is not an all-inclusive list; almost all juvenile titles have been omitted. * * * Hal […]
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Intro: As previously stated, the recent election of Robert Alomar and Bert Blyleven got me to thinking: how many Hall of Famers have had books written about them or penned their own stories. Here are the results. Again, this is not an all-inclusive list; almost all juvenile titles have been omitted. * * * “M” […]
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Intro: As previously stated, the recent election of Robert Alomar and Bert Blyleven got me to thinking: how many Hall of Famers have had books written about them or penned their own stories. Here are the results. Again, this is not an all-inclusive list; almost all juvenile titles have been omitted. Ray Dandridge (inducted 1987) […]
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By the way, it’s still winter so why aren’t we hearing snow-themed songs anymore? “Winter Wonderland” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” among others, are not “holiday” songs, per se, so they’d still be valid. Just sayin’. Thought I saw my first “annual” at the bookstore last week, but it was a fantasy publication, so it […]
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Haven’t done one of these in awhile, so here goes. MLB.com posted this story about Andrew Zimablist, who published Circling the Bases: Essays on the Challenges and Prospects of the Sports Industry last October. WithLeather blogs about Jose Canseco’s upcoming (and unpromising?) appearance on he new season of Celebrity Apprentice. Speaking of television, will baseball […]
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(and other media, of course.) With the close of 2010, I thought I take a few moments to review the highlights of the past 12 months as pertains to our favorite topic. It’s been a banner year for baseball biographies. We’ve enjoyed munch-anticipated titles from major publishers on Hall of Famers such as Hank Aaron, […]
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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
Bit and pieces
August 1, 2011
The good news: More than half way to the goal of 501 books. The bad news: it takes me away from the blog. Oh well, hang around. It will be worth it in the end. In the meantime, here are a few items for your consideration: Out of Left Field, Rebecca Alpert’s history of Jewish […]
Tagged as: Joe DiMaggio, Lou Perini, Mark Attanasio, Negro league baseball, Rebecca Alpert
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