Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf
If it fits on a bookshelf, it fits here.
Posts tagged as:
The author of The Boys of Summer and almost 20 other books died yesterday at the age of 92. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times by Bruce Weber. You know he will be the topic of numerous tributes from sport and literary outlets in the days to come. Here are just a couple: […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Happy Solstice, everybody! Note: The Amazon rankings are updated every hour, so these lists might not be 100 percent accurate by the time you read them (or even by the time I finish writing one). But close enough for government work, as the saying goes. In addition, occasionally the powers-that-be over there try to pull […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Graham Womack published this ranked list of the 25 greatest baseball books on The Sporting News site. When I wrote 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die, I made a decision not to put them in an order other than alphabetical to avoid having to defend my choices. Such a method invites arguments […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
* Josh Wilker’s forthcoming book, Benchwarmer: An Anxious Dad’s Almanac of Fatherhood and Other Failures gets a thumbs up from Kirkus. Upshot: “This almanac of fatherhood (and other failures) is honest, relatable and humorous—an indispensable read for fathers (and sons) whose joy in life comes not from winning the big game but being alive to […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I frequently wonder about the role of book critics: Must they be students of the topics of which they read and report? Fans? That’s certainly not the case in this piece by Mark Dent of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dent writes – with my annotations in brackets — The “summer” baseball book could have its own […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Note: Just like Chuck Lorre’s “vanity cards” at the end of The Big Bang Theory, you should read these list stories to their conclusion; the end is always changing, even though the theme is basically the same, finishing up with a self-promotional message. On with the show… Here are the top ten baseball books as […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Usually when I do these things, there are several titles for consideration. But in this case, there are enough to give Roger Kahn’s latest title its own entry, although very few to date have appeared in mainstream publications. I’m adding my thoughts on some of the reviews, but you will make your of judgments. Here’s […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Publishers Weekly came out with their fall preview issue. Not exactly sure how this works, but there are two lists, One is included in this overview by Jonathan Segura. The other makes note of 18 purported baseball titles. I say “purported” because the uncredited piece includes 50 Greatest Players in New York Giants Football History. […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The author of this Huffington Post piece makes a compelling argument. Most latter-day fans of Kahn know him from his nostalgic look at The Boys of Summer, which — hard to believe — was published more than 40 years ago. But he was also a beat writer for those Brooklyn Dodgers, as well as a […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This it the time of year when the baseball media offer their considered opinions on their favorite prospects. Sometimes they’re spot on, other times, not so much. So I thought, why not apply this to the upcoming “rookie crop” of baseball books? That is, titles that are making their debuts in 2014 — no reprints/reissues […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Roger Kahn’s The Seventh Game is available for the Kindle for at least the rest of today. Another giveaway is a PDF download of the 2013 Guide to Mental Performance in Baseball, offered by The Baseball Zone. You have to give them your name and email first, though. You’re welcome.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The exemplary author‘s World Series novel is available free for the Kindle for the rest of the day. Here’s a review of that (one coupled with Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe) from the July 25, 1982 edition of The New York Times by Daniel Okrent.
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
After his interview with the veteran writer, Graham Womack at Baseball: Past and Present wonders if there isn’t some way for the Hall of Fame to recognize Creamer’s his contributions. What a great idea. There are several worthy scribes who didn’t work for newspapers (and therefore don’t qualify for the Spink Award, which “or meritorious […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
In celebration of its 75th anniversary, Esquire magazine is running a series of — and on — “Page 75.” In the September issue we have a chance to recap several baseball stories that have run in the publication over the years including: “The Silent Season of a Hero,” by Gal Talese (July 1966) “What Do […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
is available on Amazon.com,
In my most recent "day job," I was the sports and features editor for a weekly New Jersey newspaper, where I hosted another blog. Busy, busy, busy.
I did a profile piece on the award-winning cartoonist Arnold Roth and he was nice enough to "immortalize" me.
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
Can’t complain
March 1, 2019
Once in a while, I will get a communique from an author kindly suggesting his or her book be included in any update of 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die. I get it. That’s how I felt when other tomes were selected for various honors the same year my baby was published. […]
Tagged as: Brooklyn Dodgers, Pat Jordan, Roger Kahn
{ Comments on this entry are closed }