Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
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The winner of the 2010 CASEY Award, given to the best baseball book of the year by Spitball Magazine, is Howard Bryant, author of The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron. Bryant also won the award in 2002 for Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, thus becoming the first author […]
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As I mentioned in a previous entry, look for new bios about Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven to come out before the inductions (I wouldn’t be surprised if manuscripts are in prep already). I was wondering: out of all the personnel — players, executives, managers, etc. — enshrined to the Hall of Fame, how many […]
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The Buffalo News posted this one. Upshot: First came “Willie Mays — The Life and Legend” by James S. Hirsch, which skillfully reminded everyone why we remember the Giants’ center fielder as the most exciting player of his time. Following that in the order is “The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron.” Howard Bryant’s […]
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The Boston Globe has been active on the baseball review front of late. Bill Nowlin, author of several titles on the Red Sox, contributed this piece on Howard Bryant’s bio of Hank Aaron for today’s edition. Yesterday, Bill Littlefield, host of NPR’s Only a Game, considered two baseball titles — Cardboard Gods by Josh Wilker […]
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I was reading this New York Times review of Howard Bryant’s new biography, The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, when the title hit me. The Last Hero. What does that say about us? Are heroes just for kids? Have we become so jaded that such an idea seems old-fashioned? I probably say this […]
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Here’s to the Class of 2010. And I don’t mean the newest Hall of Famers. How cool is it that this year marks the release of biographies on some of the true icons of the game? The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, by Howard Bryant The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End […]
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The man considered by more than a few to be the “real” all-time home run king turns 76 today. At the risk of appearing lazy (I prefer to consider it “recycling”) here’s a link to last year’s birthday tribute to Hammerin’ Hank with a list of books about the Hall of Fame slugger. Howard Bryant’s […]
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Henry Aaron — whom some believe is still the real all-time home run king — turns 75 today. Where does the time go? Aaron has been the subject of many books over the years, quite a few of which came out in 1974-75, as he was approaching Ruth’s record. I still have baseball magazines from […]
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From The Hardball Times Website, this evaluation. Upshot: In general, Rosengren does a good job telling these tales, and the book makes a nice, light read. If reading about the above sounds interesting to you, check it out.
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Whenever a book — especially a sports book — includes the words “best” (or “worst”), “ranking”, or “forever,” you know the author is looking to start an argument. Take John Roengren, for example. His new title on the 1973 season carries the “forever” brand. Granted 1973 was an eventful season. The Mets, still mourning the […]
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Keeping to the Hank Aaron theme: For more than 20 years, Hank Aaron quietly went about his work, doing all the things that Mantle and Mays did, but with less media attention. That is, until he came within striking distance of the most prestigious record in baseball: Babe Ruth’s 714 lifetime home runs. The two […]
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to Hank Aaron, who turns 74 on Feb. 5. Aaron is considered by many to be the rightful ruler of the home run throne. During the period during and after Hammerin’ Hank surpassed Babe Ruth’s mark of 714 set, several books describing the man and the feat were published including: I Had a Hammer, written […]
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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
Readers, take “note”
December 8, 2010
Three baseball entries are among the non-fiction titles on The New York Times as “100 Notable Books of 2010.” THE LAST BOY: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood. By Jane Leavy. (Harper/HarperCollins, $27.99.) Many biographies of Mantle have been written, but Leavy connects the dots in new and disturbing ways. THE LAST HERO: […]
Tagged as: Hank Aaron, Howard Bryant, James Hirsch, Jane Leavy, Mickey Mantle, New York Times, Willie Mays
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