Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
Two baseball related items in the May 2 issue of The Week: The Book List has mini-capsule reviews of four titles including But Didn’t We Have Fun?, The Greatest Game; We Would Have Played for Nothing; and The Code. In “The last word” section, “The truth about baseball’s roots” is excerpted from Kevin Baker’s “At […]
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Baseball’s Grand (and not-so-grand) Finales, by Bill Chuck and Jim Kaplan (Acta Sports, 2008). Interesting in concept, but falling short on execution, the authors no doubt wanted to convey the feelings of exhilaration (for the winners) and agony (for the losers). Chuck and Kaplan (no relation) lead off with a chapter on pennant races and, […]
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Time to play catch-up: From a rival site about baseball book reviews, this piece on Hammerin’ Hank, George Almighty and The Say Hey Kid (another of those books that uses words like “greatest” and “forever” in its title). An oldie, but good: this review of The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, by Douglass Wallop, […]
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Eric Seidman, a senior at Penn State, has written Bridging the Statistical Gap, which “takes readers inside the sport’s box scores and stat sheets,” according to this article in the university’s Daily Collegian Online. The book is expected to be released in May. Some topics include: Great Batting Average Debate: What batting average does and […]
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Former pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles Jon Burnham was transformed from an egotistical, foul-mouthed baseball player headed for hell into an obedient servant of God. The author of The Winning Pitch chronicles his story of what God did in his life and the lives of many people who came to him for Biblical counsel. Read […]
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The North County Times of California published this review/profile on the new autobiography of Jerry Coleman. Ted Williams got the major press for serving in both WWII and the Korean War, but Coleman, the second baseman for the New York Yankees during their post-war juggernaut run, was right there, too. After his playing career, he […]
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Two reviews from the book industry publication: The Crowd Sounds Happy: A Story of Love, Madness and Baseball, by Nicholas Dawidof (a “starred” review) and Working at the Ballpark: The Fascinating Lives of Baseball People—from Peanut Vendors and Broadcasters to Players and Managers, by Tom Jones (a different one, I’m sure).
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From The Deadbolt News, a report on the “opening night” of Jose Canseco’s author tour, which begins Monday, March 31 on Letterman. According to the official CBS press release, “Canseco will appear on the LATE SHOW to promote his new book, Vindicated, which will be published on the following day, Tuesday, April 1. Vindicated is […]
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Wilfred Santiago pays homage to his countryman Roberto Clemente in graphic novela form, due out later this year. According to the publication’s Web site, 21 is “a human drama of courage and dignity….Facing prejudice during times of change, his talent went unrecognized for most of his eighteen seasons. Clemente, however, never lost of sight of […]
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With the weeks winding down until Opening Day, look for a flurry of activity for baseball book reviews. I have two feature pieces forthcoming in the next few months: ForeWord Magazine, which concentrates on the output of small and university presses, and Bookreporter.com. In the meantime, here are a few recent reviews: The Rise and […]
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A review of Andrew Schiff’s new book on Henry Chadwick from Bleacherreport.com. Upshot: Even though I consider myself a devoted student of baseball history and lore, I didn’t know very much about Harry Chadwick and everything he meant to the game I love. But thanks to Andrew Schiff and his wonderful biography, I do now. […]
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From the Raleigh (NC) Chronicle: An exhaustive 400 page book coming off the presses in March will document the history of professional baseball in North Carolina and also features Durham’s pivotal role in Tarheel baseball. Entitled “Cradle of the Game”, the book’s author is Mark Cryan, who lives in Burlington. Cryan used to work in […]
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As an unabashed Mets fan I’ll read anything about the team. Of course, this non-discriminatory policy can lead to some time-wasting clunkers. On the other hand, there are some time-wasters that can be lots of fun (you’re reading this, after all). Mets by the Numbers: A Complete Team History of the Amazin’ Mets by Uniform […]
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In 2005, Jerry Coleman, the former Yankee star, military veteran, and broadcaster for the Yankees, Angels and Padres, was selected as recipient for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award. Coleman, the MVP of the 1950 world Series, was a Marine Corps fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War, along […]
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When it was first published, Ballet in the Dirt: The Golden Age of Baseball, a collection of Neil Leifer’s photographs which had a limited run of 1,000 copies, went for $400; towards the end, it was selling for $700. The 65-year-old Leifer, who has spent a good portion of his shooting for Sports Illustrate, is […]
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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
