Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
From the category archives:
There’s a semi-regular feature on NPR’s Sound Check that examines songs and asks the question, “That was a hit?” That came to my mind when was asked to like the Facebook page for Back in the Game, a new series coming to ABC. Here’s the premise, from the show’s web page: Terry Gannon Jr. (Maggie […]
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Jackie Robinson on Life After Baseball, edited by Michael G. Long. Syracuse University Press, 2013. Some former athletes botch attempts to remain relevant after their playing days are over. They offer opinions that, while certainly their right to have and express, do little to offer insight (or interest) as to what kind of people they […]
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Last week, I posted a link to a review of Acre, a self-published baseball “fable.” The reviewer wrote, “I’m not going to give away the plot points, other than to say to know Acre is to love him.” With all due respect, I guess that reviewer didn’t let things like language, punctuation, and attention to […]
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The Huntington News (WV) published this review about Acre, a baseball “fable.” Upshot: “I’m not going to give away the plot points, other than to say to know Acre is to love him.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune posted this about Allen Barra’s Willie and Mickey. The Charlotte Post and Courier ran this review of Larry […]
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I love baseball. I love the movies. So the combination of the two is like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup: the best of both world. So I was really looking forward to the first episode of MSG’s The Lineup: Best Sports Movies, an eight-part series which debuted with a discussion of baseball features. I was […]
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Former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona’s self-named memoir debuts on the NY Times‘ Best Seller list at number 2. Gregory Cowles included it in the print edition of the Sunday Book Review’s “TBR: Inside the List” column. Unfortunately, it’s not on-line as of this writing so you’re own your own, since it’s too long for […]
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My review of the new Tony La Russa memoir appears on the latest Bookreporter.com and is reprinted for your convenience below: Tony La Russa is a baseball lifer. He began his career in the minors; had an unproductive stint as a major leaguer, batting .199 over six seasons as a utility infielder; and made a […]
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Regular followers of the bookshelf know my aversion to discussing fiction. I don’t have enough of a creative writing background to pass critical judgment on the hard work of the novelist. All I can pass on is what I like or dislike. But this summer I was fortunate enough to enjoy back-to-back hits: The Might […]
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Making my regular Amazon run for new baseball e-books, I came across The History of Baseball: The Definitive Learning Guide, published by an outfit called Course Hero and via Charles River Editors. There is no single author or group of authors credited with this title. I have no knowledge of Course Hero, nor have I […]
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A Documentary of the Game of Baseball, by Branch Rickey with Robert Riger. Simon and Schuster, 1965. I discovered this gem on the Facebook “Baseball Book” Group. Had I known about this beforehand, I probably would have included it in my forthcoming 501 Books Baseball Fans Must Read Before They Die. Rickey, who served in […]
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Borrowing a bit from the flash mob phenomenon, here is a collection pf review on Bruce Spitzer’s historical fiction about a “reanimated” Ted Williams. The books were offered gratis in exchange for the readers’ comments. The views expressed here are solely theirs; I have not edited any of the contributions, save for the Bookshelf style. […]
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An American Odyssey, by Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone. Ballantine Books, 2012. Note: My review of this bio of an overlooked superstar appears on Bookreporter.com and is reproduced here for your convenience. Vernon “Lefty” Gomez, one of the greatest pitchers in New York Yankees history, came on the scene at roughly the same time as […]
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I was tooling around for new baseball book reviews and came across this from The Advocate, a website of “news, arts, & events from Berkshire & and Bennington Counties.” Ever craved a good book and just not been inspired by anything you see? Or felt annoyed that you bought a book that was merely so-so? […]
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[Note: My spring baseball roundup appears on Bookreporter.com and is reposted here as individual reviews for your convenience.] Jim Abbott tells an old-fashioned tale of hard work, dedication, and refusing to give up in Imperfect: An Improbable Life, co-written by Tim Brown. Born without a right hand, Abbott nevertheless gained success as an outstanding athlete. […]
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[Note: My spring baseball roundup appears on Bookreporter.com and is reposted here as individual reviews for your convenience.] Harvey Araton tells a touching story in Driving Mr. Yogi: Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and Baseball’s Greatest Gift. Reminiscent of David Halberstam’s 2002 The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship, Driving Mr. Yogi is a bit more […]
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[Note: My spring baseball roundup appears on Bookreporter.com and is reposted here as individual reviews for your convenience.] Former Sports Illustrated executive editor Rob Fleder assembled his own literary All-Star team for Damn Yankees: Twenty-Four Major League Writers on the World’s Most Loved (and Hated) Team. The roster includes such “players” as Roy Blount Jr., […]
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[Note: My spring baseball roundup appears on Bookreporter.com and is reposted here as individual reviews for your convenience.] It’s somewhat unusual for an active player to write a book. Such things are often left to the relative safety and reflection of retirement. But no one ever said R. A. Dickey was your run-of-the-mill athlete. You […]
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[Note: My spring baseball roundup appears on Bookreporter.com and is reposted here as individual reviews for your convenience.] In Turning Two: My Journey to the Top of the World and Back with the New York Mets, Bud Harrelson, a staple of the pennant-winning Mets of 1969 and 1973, offers a “throw-back” to the days when […]
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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
Bookshelf review: 42
April 25, 2013
This will be relatively short (and hopefully sweet?), since there’s not much I can add to the dozens of critiques previously offered on the new Jackie Robinson biopic. Although I had read just about everything I could find on the film, I still believe I went in with an open mind. I am predisposed to […]
Tagged as: 42
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