When last we spoke with Paul Dickson, it was about his excellent biography, Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son. This time it’s not about a new book, per se, but an old one that got a second life. Dickson, who recently turned 80, has re-released The Hidden Language of Baseball: How Signs and Sign-Stealing Have Influenced […]
Tagged as:
baseball reference,
Paul Dickson,
scorekeeping
Seems that for the time being, thee quick updates will do until the new releases come out. Still planning on getting back to the Bookshelf Conversations as soon as possible. The first two will feature Rich Cohen, author of The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse, and Sridhar Pappu, author of The Year of the […]
Tagged as:
Chicago Cubs,
Danny Murtaugh,
Mark Littell,
Mickey Vernon,
Paul Dickson,
Rich Cohen
Here we go again. Man, is this a dull off-season or what? Aside from the Yankees getting richer with the acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, what is has really rocked your socks? SO, trying to make lemonade out of lemons… Let’s start off with a little shameless self-promotion: Paul Hagen offers this piece — “Looking back […]
Tagged as:
Aaron Judge,
Casey Stengel,
Dick Enberg,
Houston Astros,
Leo Durocher,
Marty Appel,
Mickey Mantle,
New York Times,
Paul Dickson,
Richard Sandomir,
Troy Soos
(WTF, right? Kids, ask your parents.) From The Hardball Times website, this on Stacey May Fowles‘ Baseball Life Advice: Loving the Game That Saved Me. Upshot: “Every day in baseball brings a chance for something new and exciting, an occurrence to talk about and focus on, to share and enjoy…. Fowles’ latest book…offers exactly that.” […]
Tagged as:
ballparks,
baseball fiction,
Chipper Jones,
Leigh Montville,
Leo Durocher,
Paul Dickson,
Stacey May Fowles,
Ted Williams,
Tim Raines,
Urban Shocker
It strikes me as a happy coincidence that this year offers biographies of two of the most iconic characters in baseball history: Casey Stengel and Leo Durocher. They were both baseball “lifers,” enjoying careers that spanned 50 years, starting as players and continuing as World Championship managers. And both books are brought to you by […]
Tagged as:
Casey Stengel,
Leo Durocher,
Marty Appel,
Paul Dickson
In recent days, I’ve notice that a number of new baseball titles have “updated” nostalgia. By that I mean the subjects of these books are more recent than they used to be. Case in point, Scott Turbow’s Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s. When did the 1970s become the “new” […]
Tagged as:
Leo Durocher,
Paul Dickson
We’re getting to the point where a bunch of new titles are hitting the bookstores. Herewith a brief roundup. New York Sports Day posted this one on Marty Appel’s engaging new project, Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character. They also did this one on Shawn Krest’s Baseball Meat Market: The Stories Behind the Best and Worst […]
Tagged as:
Aubrey Huff,
baeball trades,
ballparks,
baseball movies,
Casey Stengel,
Chicago Cubs,
David Ross,
Leo Durocher,
Marty Appel,
Oakland As,
Paul Dickson,
Ransom Jackson
The National Pastime Museum website offers a collection of essays on My Favorite Baseball Books. The list includes many of the best-known titles as assessed by writers, critics, and other baseball savants. Among them: Bang the Drum Slowly, by Joe Schuster, author of The Might Have Been: A Novel The Natural, by Ryan Swanson, author […]
Tagged as:
Arnold Hano,
Bernard Malamud,
Bill Veeck,
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Larry Lester,
Lou Gehrig,
Mark Harris,
Martry Appel,
Negroe Leagues,
Paul Dickson,
Peter Golenbock,
Rob Neyer,
W.P. Kinsella
Since I posted the first of these on a Thursday, which is known on social media as a time of reflection, I thought to make it a regular thing under this rubric. These are kind of fun; it’s like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get. (Actually, I never understood […]
Tagged as:
baseball and politics,
Baseball Cards,
Baseball Propsectus,
Bill Veeck,
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Carl Mays,
Chad Harbach,
Detroit Tigers,
Ebbets Field,
Jim Abbot,
Josh Lewin,
Molly Lawless,
Paul Dickson,
Ray Chapman,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Texas Rangers,
The Art of Fielding,
Tim Wendell
Spitball Magazine has selected Paul Dickson’s Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick as the winner of the 2012 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year. Veeck received two first-place votes and one third-place vote, for a near perfect score of five points (low score wins). According to CASEY judge Jack Griener, a Cincinnati attorney and […]
Tagged as:
Casey Award,
Paul Dickson,
Spitball Magazine
The Golden Globes doesn’t have a category for books, but if it did I bet Paul Dickson’s Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick would be in contention. As it is, Dickson’s bio was named winner of the 2nd annual SLA (Special Libraries Association) Baseball Caucus Readers’ Choice Award.
Tagged as:
Bill Veeck,
Paul Dickson
Spitball Magazine announced the finalists for the publications annual CASEY award for best baseball book of the year. The titles include: Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan, by Robert K. Fitts Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick, by Paul Dickson Connie Mack: The Turbulent and Triumphant Years, 1915-1931, by […]
Tagged as:
Bill Veeck,
Connie Mack,
Marty Appel,
Norman Macht,
Paul Dickson
Not to get political here, but judging by what’s been coming down the Internet, there’s a lot of connection between presidents and baseball. For example, The Hall of Very Good published this piece on “The Bond Between Baseball and the Presidency.” In addition, Nate Silver, of FiveThirtyEight fame, still gets kudos for his baseball work, […]
Tagged as:
Baseball Prospectus,
FiveThirtyEight,
Leonard Lopate,
Nate Silver,
Paul Dickson,
PECOTA
♦ The Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel published this piece by Mark Souder, a former congressional representative, about his favorite White Sox books, including this year’s Paul Dickson contribution, Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick. ♦ Tony La Russa is making the rounds on his book tour. He was a recent guest on NPR’s The Leonard Lopate Show (which […]
Tagged as:
Bill Veeck,
Chicago White Sox,
Leonard Lopate,
National Public Radio,
Paul Dickson,
Robert Siegel,
Tony LaRussa
The Chicago Baseball Museum is hosting a symposium on “One Family, Two Teams: The Impact of the Veecks on Chicago Baseball.” The program begins at 5:30 p.m., Chicago time. The list of speakers includes: Paul Dickson, author of Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick Dr. Timuel Black, Chicago historian Ron Rapoport, former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Roland […]
Tagged as:
Bill Veeck,
Paul Dickson
♦ Macleans, Canada’s version of Time magazine, ran this review of Harvey Araton’s Driving Mr. Yogi: Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and Baseball’s Greatest Gift. Upshot: Well, there isn’t any per se. “After years of steroid scandals and cold-hearted business decisions, Araton has given us an old-fashioned story about the redemptive power of baseball.” The writer […]
Tagged as:
Bill Veeck,
Paul Dickson,
Ron Guidry,
Yogi Berra
♦ In its Sunday edition, the Boston Globe published this roundup of sports book reviews, including A People’s History of Baseball by Mitchell Nathanson and Bill Veeck: Baseball’s Greatest Maverick by Paul Dickson. Thumbs up for both books. ♦ The Lemuria Bookstore Blog offers mini-reviews for three baseball novels: The Art of Fielding, The Might […]
Tagged as:
Bill Veeck,
Mitchell Nathanson,
Paul Dickson
“Kid” in this case being authors who have been the subject of recent profiles and Q&A pieces, including: ♦ A Daily Beast piece with Chad Harbach (The Art of Fielding) ♦ A Q&A with Hart Seely, author of The Juju Rules: Or, How to Win Ballgames from Your Couch: A Memoir of a Fan Obsessed […]
Tagged as:
Aaron Pribble,
Bill Veeck,
Chard Harbach,
Edward Rielly,
Hart Seely,
Josh Lewin,
Paul Dickson,
The Art of Fielding
From The Washington Post: Daniel Rapoport, a Washington journalist, author and publisher who in 1983 founded Farragut Publishing to produce non-blockbuster and out-of-the-ordinary books ranging from pasta salad and cold soup cookbooks to a history of U.S. presidents’ connections with baseball, died April 11 at his home in East Chatham, N.Y. He was 79. The writer […]
Tagged as:
Paul Dickson
And the hits just keep coming. Recent author interviews on NPR programs include: This Q&A with Jim Bouton, was the guest for a segment on “‘Ball Four’: The Book That Changed Baseball,” from Northwest Public Radio (an NPR “double threat”). Hart Seely, author of The Juju Rules: Or, How to Win Ballgames from Your Couch: A […]
Tagged as:
Ball Four,
Bill Veeck,
Hart Seely,
Jim Bouton,
National Public Radio,
Paul Dickson
is available on Amazon.com,
