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Abrams publishers has come out with some very neat books over the last couple of years. The house, which specializes in art and photography books recently began a line of perpetual calendars on themes.The main problem reminds me of an episode from my childhood. When I was about 10, we had dinner at a local […]

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* TWIBB — October 2

October 2, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, October 2. Title Rank General The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, by Joe Posnanski 1 Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & a Hall of […]

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* TWIBB — September 25

September 25, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, September 25. Title Rank General The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, by Joe Posnanski 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis 2 Game […]

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* TWIBB — September 19

September 19, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Saturday, September 19. Title Rank General The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, Posnanski 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Games, Lewis 2 The Yankee Years, Torre and […]

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* TWIBB — September 11

September 11, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, September 11. Title Rank General The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, Posnanski 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Games, Lewis 2 The Yankee Years, Torre and […]

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* TWIBB — September 4

September 4, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, September 4. Title Rank General Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Games, Lewis 1 Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, Appel 2 Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, Tye 3 The Yankee Years, Torre and […]

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The Mets That Were, by Leonard Shecter, Dial Press, 1970. It is generally accepted that Shea Stadium was not one of the classic ballparks in the long history of the national pastime. Yet more than 56,000 were on hand for the final game on Sept. 28, 2008. On the other hand, when the same Mets […]

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* Strike a pose

September 1, 2009

Alan Gratz’s Brooklyn Nine, the story of a young Jewish boy’s love for baseball in the early 20th century, is featured on the cover of the September  issue of Booklist, the publication of the American Library Association. The issue highlights a sports theme and includes a number “top 10” choices in several categories, such as […]

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* From the RK vault: 1999

August 31, 2009

Here’s a roundup of reviews I did 10 years ago for Book Page, a “trade” publication available at libraries and bookstores: * * * Perhaps no baseball season has been as closely monitored and analyzed as 1998. Balls were rocketing out of the parks at an amazing rate, and the Yankees were leaving the competition […]

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* Bits and pieces

August 31, 2009 · 2 comments

Author Daniel Ford previews his as-yet-unfiehsed baseball novel on his epnonymous blog, Baseball Sunday with Daniel Ford. So, some of the ballparks are going the healthy route and selling fresh fruit? What are they, my mother? A review of a book about old baseball by a young fan (Major League Baseball Players of 1916, published […]

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* RK Review: Double Play

August 26, 2009

by Robert B. Parker. Putnam, 2004. Robert B. Parker’s heroes epitomize the strong silent types. Like the cowboys of old, they are taciturn, unfailingly loyal and determined to pursue the causes of right in the face of superior numbers or disadvantageous circumstances. Joseph Burke is the latest in this mold. Parker, known primarily for his […]

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I conducted this interview with the author of Praying for Gil Hodges for Bookreporter.com in 2005. * * * Bookreporter.com baseball specialist Ron Kaplan interviewed Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Oliphant about PRAYING FOR GIL HODGES, his bittersweet memoir about growing up as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the joy of celebrating their only […]

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Weather permitting, the Mets will honor their 1969 World Championship team. George Vescey wrote an excellent column in yesterday’s New York Times. Which sent me to my library to see what I’ve got specifically on that momentous event. Mant books about the team include a look back at that first championship, but the following titles […]

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* TWIBB — Aug. 21

August 22, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, August 21. Title Rank General Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Lewis 1 Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, Appel 2 The Yankee Years, Torre and Verducci 3 Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, […]

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The legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell published this piece praising the improved quality of baseball literature in his Free Press column of Aug. 16. Among the titles mentioned (just to name a few) are Jonathan Eig’s Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First […]

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Henderson became the latest first-ballot Hall of Famer this year. What a day May 1, 1991 was: Henderson becomes the all-time stlen base cham, and Nolan Ryan tosses his seventh and final no-hiter. Henderson took some criticism because of his “I-am-the-greatest” boast, while Ryan quietly accepted the accolades for his accomplishment. You just know a […]

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* TWIBB — Aug. 14

August 14, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, August 14. Title Rank General Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, Appel 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Lewis 2 Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, Tye 3 The Yankee Years, Torre and […]

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(With apologies to Irving Berlin…) Earlier this week, The New York Times ran this piece about the life (or lack thereof) of  New York Mets groundskeeper Dan Cunningham. It reminding me of several interesting books about the people behind the scenes who are essential to the smooth production of a game on many levels, from […]

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TWIBB — Aug. 7

August 7, 2009

This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, August 7. Title Rank General Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, Appel 1 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Lewis 2 Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend, Tye 3 The Yankee Years, Torre and […]

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For me, as a freelance writer, anyway. My first major published piece was a review of Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball, by Harvey Frommer for Elysian Fields Quarterly in 1993, which you’ll find after the break. I wax nostalgic because I learned at the recent SABR Convention that EFQ might be forced to ceases publication […]

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