What Are You Reading Right Now?

**Pere** · 04-21-2008, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by brose3312

Has anyone here read Game of Shadows?

Yes. Definitely worth your time.

**steve rogers** · 04-21-2008, 08:22 PM

I'm reading "The Old Ballgame" by Frank DeFord. I like reading about baseball around the turn of century a lot. Deford's writing style is a little off putting to me. Kind of choppy and he injects to many things. I started it yesterday and I'm only 60 pages in. Haven't learned anything I didn't know from Charles Alexander's "John Mcgraw" book or Burt Solomon's "Hit Em Where They Aint". "Hit Em Where They Aint" about Wee Willie Keeler and the 1890's Orioles is one of my all time favorites.

Scott

**Pere** · 04-22-2008, 09:47 PM

I used to listen to DeFord's sports commentaries regularly on NPR, when I had a job that had me on the road at the right time. I liked a lot of those, so I thought I would like his book, and I really wanted to have a great book on Mathewson. This one isn't quite it.

**TheStringIsOut_NC** · 04-23-2008, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by brose3312

Just finished Crazy 08 and would highly recommend it to everyone. I found it a little slow in the beginning but once the season picked up I could not put it down.
Has anyone here read Game of Shadows?

I actually had a hard time finishing Crazy '08. I think Cait Murphy had a lights out topic and, in theory, a lights out approach. The writing, alas, was just not lights out. Or was it that she just was not in "fine fettle" or maybe someone put the "hoodoo" on her.

She has suggested that the usage of present tense in the book was restricted to discussion of the 1908 season events only - to make you feel like you "were there" - but given that she is often discussing a much broader time frame (as any good book of this sort should), the constant tense changes make the book read rather oddly. It is just kind of amateurish and off-putting.

There is a line - somewhere, I'm not sure where it is exactly - between using just enough period sports writer's jargon and using far, far, too much of that jargon. Murphy goes to the "hoodoo"/"fine fettle" well just a few times too many. Once again I imagine her intentions were good - to drag the reader back into the midst of the 1908 pennant race - but the execution goes from comedic to almost excruciating.

A lot of folks complained about the non-baseball-related asides, but I loved them, even the Indiana serial killer story. I loved that she wanted to take this 1908 season and make it bigger than a baseball story - to set it in a broader social and cultural context. I'm not sure she necessarily succeeded in doing it as well as she could have, but the effort was admirable.

In fact, I often thought that the in-depth relating of the baseball part of the story became somewhat tedious. That may be because the jargon annoyed me. Or the confused tenses. Something bothered me.

I wanted to love the book. I certainly didn't hate it.

On the whole, however, I found it very disappointing.

**commishbob** · 04-23-2008, 09:05 PM

Currently: Alexander's Ty Cobb

Just finished: Murphy's Crazy 08 (I liked it but I understand TheString's criticisms of it. I wish she had done more with the American League.The writing itself didn't bother me, and some of the anecdotes had me laughing out loud.)

Next up: a re-read of Koufax, A Lefty's Legacy.

**AstrosFan** · 04-23-2008, 09:21 PM

Just read Game of Shadows. I would recommend it to everyone. Amazing investigation of the pervasiveness and influence of steroids in sports.

**CubsFaninBflo** · 04-25-2008, 09:23 PM

I'm reading Watching Baseball Smarter by Zack Hample. It's highly informative and I recommend it highly.

**GaryL** · 04-26-2008, 03:23 PM

I'm currently reading the Joe Di Maggio biography by Ben Cramer, and I'm about half way through.

I know there was some criticism of it when it came out, but...boy...I'm really enjoying it. Great character development of all the relatives, gofers, and hangers-on. Really captures the flavor of the times in the United States and baseball in the 30's and 40's. I feel that I have a much deeper understanding of the DiMaggio persona than I ever did before. Highly recommend.

**steve rogers** · 04-26-2008, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by GaryL

I'm currently reading the Joe Di Maggio biography by Ben Cramer, and I'm about half way through.

I know there was some criticism of it when it came out, but...boy...I'm really enjoying it. Great character development of all the relatives, gofers, and hangers-on. Really captures the flavor of the times in the United States and baseball in the 30's and 40's. I feel that I have a much deeper understanding of the DiMaggio persona than I ever did before. Highly recommend.

The ending won't disappoint either. I would recommend reading Leigh Montville's Ted Williams book as kind of a bookend to the DiMaggio book. I read both in succession and I got a very clear impression of both of them. When all is said and done I found that I had a lot more respect for Ted Williams as a person and had a lot less for Joe.

Scott

**GaryL** · 04-27-2008, 04:15 AM

Originally Posted by steve rogers

The ending won't disappoint either. I would recommend reading Leigh Montville's Ted Williams book as kind of a bookend to the DiMaggio book. I read both in succession and I got a very clear impression of both of them. When all is said and done I found that I had a lot more respect for Ted Williams as a person and had a lot less for Joe.

Scott

Thanks for the recommendation. I will read the Ted Williams book next. I read Leigh Montville's Big Bam a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

**stejay** · 04-27-2008, 09:59 AM

Memories of Summer by Roger Kahn

**bluezebra** · 04-27-2008, 08:20 PM

What Are You Reading Right Now?

This post.

Bob

**keystone** · 04-27-2008, 10:48 PM

ROFLOL!!

Just finished Back Stop.

Stats-heavy for those who like them and somewhat pedestrian prose to translate stats. Liked it for what it was, and it proved what I've always thought: Gabby Harnett was the best all-around catcher ever.

**stejay** · 04-28-2008, 05:16 AM

I'm trying to get hold of a book on Jeter. Can anyone help me out???

**catcher24** · 04-28-2008, 05:53 AM

Originally Posted by stejay

Memories of Summer by Roger Kahn

Read that book about this time last year. I enjoyed it a great deal.

**ol' aches and pains** · 04-29-2008, 06:52 PM

Re-reading "Baseball's Great Experiment, Jackie Robinson and His Legacy", by Jules Tygiel, a great book on several levels.

**hairmetalfreek** · 05-01-2008, 12:33 PM

Recently finished Jose Canseco's "Juiced."
Currently flipping through pages of John Holway's "The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues."
Will soon pick up from the library "The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card" by Michael O'keeffe and Teri Thompson

**steve rogers** · 05-01-2008, 01:14 PM

"The Card" is excellent. Even if you don't collect cards it's worthwhile. It really shines a light on some of the bigger names in the industry that have been less than honest.

Scott

**GaryL** · 05-01-2008, 05:22 PM

Originally Posted by steve rogers

The ending won't disappoint either. I would recommend reading Leigh Montville's Ted Williams book as kind of a bookend to the DiMaggio book. I read both in succession and I got a very clear impression of both of them. When all is said and done I found that I had a lot more respect for Ted Williams as a person and had a lot less for Joe.

Scott

Well...I finished the book and you were right. I enjoyed the second half as well and the ending was terrific. What a complex personality! And what an unbelieveable hold on the national psyche he had! It's really hard to believe how people would just absolutely "melt" in the presence of Joe DiMaggio...and he learned how to milk this for all it was worth. An incredible job by the author developing these themes. I'd say it's impossible to really understand Joe D. without reading this book.

This was really two books in one. The first was "The Life and Times of Joe D." The second one was "Joe and Marilyn: Their Trials and Tribulations". The Marilyn Monroe part reminded me a lot of a book I read years ago about her by Anthony Summers called "Goddess" which covered their relationship thoroughly. I probably could have done without all the excruciating details of their relationship, but all in all I'm glad I read it. I've got a much deeper understanding of Joe DiMaggio's personality and persona than I ever did before. Highly recommend it to all baseball fans.

By the way...anybody intersted in reading this book can get a used copy for $0.01 from Amazon. Now that's a bargin!

**stejay** · 05-02-2008, 09:19 AM

I just purchased Harry Hooper: An American Baseball life off of Amazon

**Lpeters199** · 05-02-2008, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by AstrosFan

Baseball books only, if you're not reading one, don't post.

For me: Pitching in a Pinch by Christy Mathewson with John Wheeler.

"Explosion: Mickey Mantle's Legendary Home Runs" by Mark Gallagher in 1987.

**steve rogers** · 05-02-2008, 12:04 PM

I just finished Honus Wagner On His Life and Baseball. It was fantastic. The book it kind of an autobiography but not really. The book collects a series of newspaper articles that Honus wrote in the early 1920's. it includes his opinions on many different baseball subjects like his all-time team, AL and NL all-time teams, bunting, base stealing etc. There are also a lot of personal stories and fun anecdotes about his baseball career. The thing I found most interesting was that Honus had some very early moneyball ideas. Honus has always been my favorite historical player and after reading this book I have an even greater appreciation for him. He seemed like a very warm and personable man and also very intelligent.

There are only 187 pages but I still give it my highest recommendation.

Scott

**keystone** · 05-06-2008, 12:41 AM

Isn't there another biography of Honus besides that one? It seems like two of them were published about the same time...

**steve rogers** · 05-06-2008, 06:05 AM

Originally Posted by keystone

Isn't there another biography of Honus besides that one? It seems like two of them were published about the same time...

This one isn't really a proper biography. There were two Honus Wagner bios published around the same time but I don't have either one. If anyone has them I'd love to get a reccomendation.

Scott