Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf — If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here — Page 333

Bits and Pieces

Bits and Pieces

<p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong><span style=”color: #d70039;”><a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=350,height=229,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/ripkenbook.jpg”><img title=”Ripkenbook” height=”278″ alt=”Ripkenbook” src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/ripkenbook.jpg” width=”495″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px; WIDTH: 495px; HEIGHT: 278px” /></a> </span></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p> <p><strong><span style=”color: #d70039;”>Ripken on the Road</span></strong><br />Baseball legend and co-author of <em>The Longest […]

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<i>Newsday</i>'s take on <i>7</i>

Reviews from other sources

<p><a href=”http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-spbest085163079apr08,0,7841122.column?coll=ny-sports-mezz”><em>Newsday</em>’s Neil Best</a> joins the ranks of critics who seem to hate this book.</p><blockquote dir=”ltr” style=”MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px”><p dir=”ltr” style=”MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px”>What this sordid, 286-page mish-mash really is is a biography. But the author has eschewed that term to rationalize an inconvenient truth: He doesn’t have the journalistic goods to back up his content.</p></blockquote><p dir=”ltr” style=”MARGIN-RIGHT: […]

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NPR: National <I>Pastime</i> Radio?

Industry/Literary Analysis

To celebrate the beginning of the new season, several shows on National Public Radio have included segments on baseball books. Dave Winfield, author of Dropping the Ball, Gary Sheffield (Inside Power), and Cait Murphy (Crazy ’08), were all recent guests on the Leonard Lopate Show. (Also on the Winfield program: an interview with Jessica Rosner […]

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The Nostalgic Charm of <i>Baseball Digest</i>

<p><em>The Best of Baseball Digest</em>, Edited by John Kuenster (Ivan R. Dee, 2006)</p> <p></p><i.baseball></i.baseball><p><em><a href=”https://www.centurysports.net/baseball/”>Baseball Digest</a></em> has been a staple since 1942. Each month, stories from around the country have found their way into the compact publication.<a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=425,height=594,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/bbdigest.jpg”><img title=”Bbdigest” height=”209″ alt=”Bbdigest” src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/bbdigest.jpg” width=”150″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px […]

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7 revisited

Reviews from other sources

<p>Richard Sandomir, sports media columnist for <em>The New York Times, </em><a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/sports/baseball/05mantle.html”>opines on Peter Golenbock’s new "salacious" novel on Mickey Mantle</a> which includes sexually explicit descrpoiotns of his brief fling with Marilyn Monroe.</p> <p>"What is it about Mantle that makes him fascinating enough to have become <a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=190,height=240,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/05mantle_1_190.jpg”><img title=”05mantle_1_190″ height=”189″ […]

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The book that launched the cliche

Review by Ron Kaplan

<p><em>Why Time Begins on Opening Day</em> by Thomas Boswell (Doubleday, 1984)<a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=100,height=153,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/boswell.jpg”><img title=”Boswell” height=”229″ alt=”Boswell” src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/boswell.jpg” width=”150″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a> </p> <p>This was the book that started it all for me (even though it was not the author’s first release). When I read Boswell’s […]

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Extra, Extra. Read all about it: NL Edition

<p>See the <a href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/2007/04/extra_extra_rea.html”>American League post</a> for an introduction to preview sections. Also note that individual papers might have removed their preview supplements/sections by the time you read this, especially now that the season has started.</p> <p><strong>National League East</strong></p> <ul><li><strong>Atlanta</strong>: Not much from the <a href=”https://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/index.html#run”>Journal-Constitution</a>.</li> <li><strong>Florida (Miami)</strong>: <a href=”http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/baseball/”>A piece on Bonds’ legacy</a> in […]

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The five best books?

Reviews from other sources

<p>Former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent contributed <a href=”http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/fivebest/?id=110009881″>this editorial</a> to the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, in which he gives his considered opinion on the five best books on the national pastime. They include:</p> <ul><li><em>Men at Work</em>, by George F. Will (1990)</li> <li><em>Eight Men Out</em>, by Eliot Asinof (1963)</li> <li><em>High Pockets</em>, by John R. Tunis (1948)</li> <li><em>The […]

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Extra, Extra. Read all about it: AL Edition

<p>Prior to opening day, many major market papers print a special preview of the season. This might be in the form of a separate section or just a few pages and often picks a specific theme, such as the influx of international players or the improvement in equipment, etc. Some nespapers with lower budgets take […]

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Book reviews begin on Opening Day… or thereabouts

Reviews from other sources

(This one got a little lost in the shuffle) With the start of the season imminent, newspapers and magazines (as well as a few websites and blogs) select, by dint of their choices, what they consider the most prestigious baseball titles of the year. As I come across such selections, I’ll be posting apporopriate excerpts […]

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Baseball authors on the radio

Industry/Literary Analysis

According to a March 30 post on Publisher’s Weekly.com: In honor of baseball’s opening day this Sunday (April 1), The Bob Edwards Show re-airs Bob’s conversation with Pulitzer winner David Maraniss about Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero, just out in paperback. PW’s starred review considered it a “respectful and dispassionate account. […]

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Geoffrey C. Ward, non-baseball fan?

Who would have thunk it? The co-author of the printed version of Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary claims he was never much of a baseball fan, prior to the project. The reason is reminiscent of Ray Kinsella’s rationale in Field of Dreams: I’ve never liked baseball much, in part because my father has always loved it […]

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Adam Greenberg profiled in NY Times Magazine

Bits and Pieces

<p>Is <a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/magazine/25baseball.t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=magazine”>Adam Greenberg the new Moonlight Graham</a>? The unlucky young man was beaned in his first plate appearance for the Chicago Cubs and hasn’t been back to the majors since. At least he has a plate appearance. His story appeared in the <em>NY Times Sunday Magazine</em> on March 25. </p>

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Terry McDonell, SI editor profile

Industry/Literary Analysis

<p>The March 26 issue of <em>Sports Business Journal</em> features a <a href=”http://sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=54786″>profile of Terry McDonell</a>, editor of Sports Illustrated Group.</p> <p>McDonell says his best decision was joining the SI family:<a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=300,height=391,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/indians0vj.jpg”><img title=”Indians0vj” height=”130″ alt=”Indians0vj” src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/indians0vj.jpg” width=”100″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a> </p><blockquote dir=”ltr” style=”MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px”><p dir=”ltr” […]

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Julio Franco, bibliophile

Bits and Pieces

<p><a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=90,height=135,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/franco.jpg”><img title=”Franco” height=”180″ alt=”Franco” src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/franco.jpg” width=”120″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a>"I also will read a lot on the computer and a lot of baseball books. I like to read about other players to see how they think and what they went through."</p> <p align=”right”><em>48-year-old Julio […]

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SABR announces Seymour Award winner

Industry/Literary Analysis

<p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial”><strong>From SABR.org</strong></span></p> <p class=”MsoNormal”><span style=”FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial”>Cleveland, Ohio – The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is happy to announce that the multi-volume <strong><em>Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations That Shaped Baseball </em></strong>(Ivan R. Dee) by <strong>Peter Morris </strong>was selected to receive this […]

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Bits and Pieces

Industry/Literary Analysis

<p>A review of <a href=”http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20070318-020716-2326r.htm”><em>Crazy ’08</em> from the </a><em><a href=”http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20070318-020716-2326r.htm”>Washington Times</a>. <a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=502,height=759,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/crazy08.jpg”><img title=”Crazy08″ height=”226″ alt=”Crazy08″ src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/crazy08.jpg” width=”150″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a></em></p> <p>Sometimes I wonder who reads books like this, like Mark Lamster’s <em><a href=”http://marklamster.com/”>Spalding’s World Tour</a> –</em> titles that consider the infancy of the […]

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Ballplayers as authors

Industry/Literary Analysis

<p>The March 19 issue of <em>Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal </em>features a story on how "<a href=”http://sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=54253″>Athletes hope books will inspire children</a>." Titles include Alex Rodriguez’s <em>Out of the Ballpark</em>, David Eckstein’s <em>Have Heart</em>, and Eric Gange’s <em>Breaking Barriers.</em></p> <p>Rodriguez writes about his early failures as a little leaguer and how perserverance made him […]

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Author profile: Roger Angell

Author Profile / interview

<p>I’ve always admired the work of Roger Angell. Baseball fans look forward to his semi-annual contributions to the <em>New Yorker. <a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=184,height=235,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/angell.jpg”><img title=”Angell” height=”191″ alt=”Angell” src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/angell.jpg” width=”150″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a></em></p> <p>I came across these two interesting videos featuring legendary baseball writer Roger Angell’s appearance […]

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Bits and Pieces

Industry/Literary Analysis

<p>A press release for <a href=”http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-20-2007/0004549687&EDATE=”>Cecilia Tan’s new book on the Yankees</a>, which caims to be <a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=500,height=500,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/broadside_1.jpg”><img title=”Broadside_1″ height=”150″ alt=”Broadside_1″ src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/broadside_1.jpg” width=”150″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a>"an <a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=500,height=500,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/broadside.jpg”></a>informative and in-depth guide to the upcoming season and with 112 pages […]

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