Books Sticky Request....

[bryanspellman]

Can we get a sticky of players and books about them...

I have seen several posts about What book is the best on....

I think if we can just post the subject, book and author and then have someone clean it up once in a while so we have a running list of books that this forum members recommend. No opinions, no flames just if you liked the book and think others here would then post it, then new members and members who are looking for a good read could check it out...

Just an idea as I have taken many suggestions here but go to the half price books every week and am picking up more and more baseball books......

[Captain Cold Nose]

Can we get a sticky of players and books about them...

I have seen several posts about What book is the best on....

I think if we can just post the subject, book and author and then have someone clean it up once in a while so we have a running list of books that this forum members recommend. No opinions, no flames just if you liked the book and think others here would then post it, then new members and members who are looking for a good read could check it out...

Just an idea as I have taken many suggestions here but go to the half price books every week and am picking up more and more baseball books......

There's an older thread with a long list of baseball bios. I'll try to find it. Since we always get questions about what good books there are, this is a fine idea, Bryan.

[bryanspellman]

Here's a shot, I took titles from various posts on this board. To add just respond to the post with the book and author and I will get it on the list. As it grows I will break down the players and teams...

Biography/Autobiography:
Pitching in a Pinch by Christy Mathewson with John Wheeler
Veeck as in Wreck by Bill Veeck
Tris Speaker:The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend by Timothy Gay
Babe: The Legend Comes to Life by Robert Creamer
Stengel: His Life & Times by Robert Creamer
Ty Cobb by Charles C. Alexander
Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train by Henry W. Thomas
I Was Right On Time by Buck O'neil
Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss
The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth by Leigh Montville
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero by Leigh Montville
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsela
Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox by Allan Wood
Honus Wagner: A Biography by Dennis and Jeanne DeValera
Ball Four by Jim Bouton
Joe DiMaggio : The Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer
The Grand Old Game by Frank Deford
Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball by Harvey Frommer
Cobb by Al Stump
Mickey Mantle: America's Prodigal Son by Tony Castro
Yaz by Carl Yastrzemski with Al Hirshberg
Ty Cobb by Charles Alexander
The Life That Ruth Built by Marshall Smelser
Big Sticks by William Curran
Ball Four by Jim Bouton
Stan the Man...Musial Then and Now by Stan Musial and Bob Broeg
Tris Speaker by Charles Alexander
Tris Speaker by Timothy Gay
Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis by David Pietrusza
The Sizzler by Rick Huhn
Cy Young: A Baseball Life by Reed Browning
Lefty Grove: American Original by Jim Kaplan
Uncle Robbie by Jack Kavanagh/Norman Macht
Addie Joss King of the Pitchers by Scott Longert
Ban Johnson: Czar of Baseball by Eugene C. Murdock
Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time by Ray Robinson
Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig

Teams:
Red Legs and Black Sox by Susan Dellinger
Burying the Black Sox by Gene Carney
The Land of the Giants by Stew Thornley
The Seattle Pilots Story by Carson Van Lindt
A Magic Summer,The 69' Mets by Stanley Cohen
The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn

History:
The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S. Ritter
A Great Day in Cooperstown, The Improbable Birth of Baseball's Hall of Fame by Jim Reisler
Autumn Glory - Basaeball's First World Series by Louis Mazur
The 1903 World Series by Andy Dabilis
The Echoing Green by Joshua Prager
Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball by Leonard Koppett
Only the Ball Was White by Robert Peterson
The Curse of the Bambino by Dan Shaughnessy
Fair Ball by Bob Costas
The Only Game in Town by Fay Vincent

Game Play:
The Mental Game of Baseball by Harvey Dorfman
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
A Game of Inches by Peter Morris
The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams

[Captain Cold Nose]

And here's the compiled list I was talking about. Good-sized thread.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=34421&highlight=biography+list

[Dalkowski110]

I also think both of Jim Brosnan's books, The Long Season and its sequel, Pennant Race, were pretty good and insightful. Lawrence Ritter's other book, The Image of Their Greatness, was pretty good. Then, a must for all Mets fans, there's Can Anybody Around Here Play This Game?. I can't find the book right now, and am kicking myself for not knowing the author's name. James A Riley's The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues is terrific, as is pretty much anything written by Bill James, even the somewhat controversial Whatever Happened To the Hall of Fame?, previously published as The Politics of Glory.

BTW, regarding the Clemente book by David Maraniss, that has its share of factual innaccuracies and some really glaring problems. I believe there was a thread on it not too long ago.

[Eddie Ball Four]

Then, a must for all Mets fans, there's Can Anybody Around Here Play This Game?. I can't find the book right now, and am kicking myself for not knowing the author's name.

Jimmy Breslin I think.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Jimmy Breslin I think.

Breslin it was indeed.

[Dalkowski110]

Yes, it was Jimmy Breslin who wrote Can Anybody Around Here Play This Game?, a must for Mets fans! Thanks!

[MarinersFan51]

Ichiro on Ichiro - conversations with Narumi Komatsu (a GREAT raed for Ichiro fans)

Sandy Koufax: a leftys legacy by Jean Leavy (great book for any baseball fan period, by far my favourite book ive ever read)

[bachscore]

4 best baseball books

The 4 best baseball books for me are:

Fiction

Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris


Non-fiction

Ball Four by Jim Bouton

Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn

A Day of Light and Shadow by Arthur Schwartz

[SlidingBillyHamilton]

Recent Books

I just finished Frank DeFord's "The Old Ball Game," on the unlikely friendship between Christy and John McGraw. Lots of history in a very readable format. I'm a neophyte, so this book may already have been discussed.

[ehof]

For the history section: Eight Men Out (about the 1919 Chicago White Sox)

[Bill Burgess]

Here is a book project I tried to launch. Didn't take off as I'd hoped. But it still has a ton of data in it for others to scavenge.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=72655

[Bill Burgess]

Frank 'Home Run' Baker: Hall of Famer and World Series Hero, by Barry Sparks, 2005, 288 pp.
My Fifty Years in Baseball, by Edward Grant Barrow, with James M. Kahn, 1951, 216 pp.
Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star, by Tom Swift, 2008, 368 pp.
A League of My Own: Memoir of a Pitcherfor the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, by Patricia I. Brown, 2003, 216 pp.
The Father of Baseball: A Biography of Henry Chadwick, by Andrew J. Schiff, 2007,
Hal Chase: The Difiant Life and Turbulent times of Baseball's Biggest Crook, by Martin donnell Kohout, 2001, 347 pp.
Talking On Air: A Broadcaster's Life in Sports, by Ken Coleman with Dan Valenti, 256 pp.
Eddie Collins, by Rick Huhn, 2008, 364 pp.
Commy: The Life Story of Charles A. Comiskey, the "Grand Old Roman" of Baseball by Gustav W Axelson, 1919, 248 pp. (republished 2003)
From Sandlots to League President, the Story of Joe Cronin by Albert Hirshberg, 1962, 191 pp.
Bad Bill Dahlen: The Rollicking Life and Times of an early Baseball Star, by Lyle Spatz, 2004, 242 pp.
You Can't Steal First Base, by Jimmy Dykes with Charles O. Dexter, 1967, 218 pp.
Red Faber: A Biography of the Hall of Fame Spitball Pitcher, by Brian E. Ccoper, 2007, 279 pp.
The Ferrell Brothers of Baseball, by Dick Thompson, 2006, 316 pp.
Whitey Ford, by Miles Coverdele, Jr., 2006, 249 pp.
Jimmy Foxx: The Life and Times of A Baseball Hall of Famer, 1907-1967, by W. Harrison Daniel, 2004, 256 pp.
Games, Asterisks, and People: Memoirs of a Lucky Fan, by Ford C. Frick, 1973 244 pp.
Josh Gibson: A Life in the Negro Leagues, by William Brashler, 200 pp.
One-Armed Wonder: Pete Gray: Wartime Baseball, and the American Dream, by William C. Kashatus, 1995, 171 pp.
High and Inside: My Life in the Front Offices of Baseball, by Lou Gorman, 2008, 280 pp.
Lefty Grove: American Original, by Jim Kaplan, 2000, 317 pp.
Gabby Hartnett, by William McNeil, 2004, 344 pp.
Brooklyn's Babe : The Story of Babe Herman, by Tot Holmes, 1990, 242 pp.
Garry Herrmann, by William Cook, 2007, 303 pp.
Harry Hooper, by Paul J. Zingg, 1993, 281 pp.
Waite Hoyt: A Biography of the Yankees' Schoolboy Wonder, by William A. Cook, 2004, 256 pp.
"Ee-Yah": The Life and Times of Hughie Jennings: Baeball Hall of Famer, by Jack Smiles, 2005, 231 pp.
Addie Joss: King of Pitchers, by Scott Longert, 1998, 141 pp.
Slide, Kelly Slide!: The Wild Life and Times of Mike "King" Kelly, Baseball's First Superstar, by Marty Appel, 1999, 246 pp.
Johnny Kling, by Gil Bogen, 2006, 300 pp.
Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, by David Pietrusza, 2005, 564 pp.
The Perfect Yankee, by Don Larsen, 1996, 272 pp.
Tony Lazzeri: A Baseball Biography, by Paul Votano, 2005, 216 pp.
Buck Leonard: The Black Lou Gehrig, by James A. Riley, 273 pp.
Baseball As I Have Known It, by Fred Lieb, 1977, 350 pp.
Pepper Martin: A Baseball Biography, by Thomas Barthel, 2003, 242 pp.
Joe McCarthy: Architect of the Yankee Dynasty, by Alan H. Levy, 2005, 435 pp.
Dean of Umpires: A Biography of Bill McGowan, 1896-1954, by Bob Luke, 2005, 223 pp.
The MacPhails: Baseball's First Family of the Front Office, by G. Richard McKelvey, 344 pp.
Thurman Munson: A Baseball Biography, by Christopher Devine, 2001, 271 pp.
Orator O'Rourke: The Life of a Baseball Radical, by Mike Roer, 2006, 342 pp.
The Lords of Baseball: A wry look at a side of the game the fan seldom sees--the front office, by Harold Parrott, 1976, 267 pp.
Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe: 36 Years of Pitching and Catching in Baseball's Negro Leagues, by Kyle P. McNary, 277 pp.
Pete Reiser: The Rough-and-Tumble Career of the Perfect Ballplayer, by Sidney Jacobson, 2004, 240 pp.
The Tumult and the Shouting: My Life in Sport, by Grantland Rice, 1954, 368 pp.
Sam Rice: A Biography of the Washington Senators' Hall of Famer, by Jeff Carroll, 2008, 252 pp.
Uncle Robbie (Wilbert Robinson), by jack Kavanagh/Norman Macht, 1999, 200 pp.
Mike Schmidt: Philadelphia's Hall of Fame Third Baseman, by William C. Kashatus, 2000, 165 pp.
Al Simmons, The Best: A Fan Looks At Al, The Milwaukee Pole, by Ed Doyle, 1979, 76 pp.
The Sizzler: George Sisler, Baseball's Forgotten Great, by Rick Huhn, 2004, 322 pp.
Burt Shotton, Dodgers Manager: A Baseball Biography, by David Gough, 1994, 141 pp.
Dazzy Vance, by John C. Skipper, 2007, 218 pp.
Chris Von der Ahe and the Stl Louis Browns, b y J. thomas Hetrick, 285 pp.
Big Ed Walsh: The Life and Times of a Spitballing Hall of Famer, by Jack Smiles, 2007, 228 pp.
Big and Little Poison: Paul and Lloyd Waner, Baseball Brothers, by Clifton Blue Parker, 2003, 334 pp.
Fouled Away - The Baseball Tragedy of Hack Wilson, by Clifton Blue Parker, 2000, 232 pp.
----------

Pete Alexander:
Grover Cleveland Alexander, by Jack Kavanagh, 1990, 179 pp.
Alexander the Great : The Story of Grover Cleveland Alexander, by Jerry E Clark/Martha Ellen Webb, 1993
Ol' Pete : the Grover Cleveland Alexander story, Jack Kavanagh, 1996
Pete Alexander, by John C. Skipper, 2007, 244 pp.

Dick Allen:
Crash: The Life and Times of Dick Allen, by Tim Whitaker, 1989
September Swoon: Richie Allen, The '64 Phillies, and Racial Integration, by William C. Kashatus, 2004

Cap Anson
A Ball Player's Career, by Cap Anson, 1900
Cap Anson: The Grand Old Man of Baseball, by David L. Fleitz, 2005, 346 pp.
Cap Anson, by Howard W. Rosenberg, 2006

Mordecai Brown
How To Pitch Curves, by Mordecai Brown, 1913
Mordecai Brown, by Cindy Thompson, 2006

Mickey Cochrane:
Baseball: The Fan's Game, by Mickey Cochrane, 1939, 189 pp.
Mickey Cochrane : The Life of a Baseball Hall of Fame Catcher, by Charlie Bevis, 1998

Rogers Hornsby:
My Kind of Baseball, by Rogers Hornsby, 1953
My War with Baseball by Rogers Hornsby, with Bill Surface, 1962
Rogers Hornsby (Baseball Legends), by Jack Kavanagh,1991
Rogers Hornsby: A Biography, by Charles C. Alexander, 1995
Rogers Hornsby : A Biography (Baseball's All-Time Greatest Hitters) by Jonathan D'Amore, 2004

Joe Jackson:
Say it ain't so, Joe!: The Story of Shoeless Joe Jackson, by Donald Gropman, 1979
Growing Up With "Shoeless Joe": The Greatest Natural Player In Baseball History, by Joe Thompson, 1997, 282 pp.
Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson, by David L Fleitz, 2001, 320 pp.
Joe Jackson: a Biography, Kelly Boyer Sagert, 2004

Jackie Jensen
Title is The Jackie Jensen Story, by Al Hirshberg, 1960, 192 pp.
The Golden Boy: A Biography of Jackie Jensen, by George I. Martin, 2000, 294 pp.

Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson, by Eugene C. Murdock, 1982
The Arrival of the American League: Ban Johnson and The 1901 Challenge to National League Monopoly, by Warren N. Wilbert, 2007

Walter Johnson:
Walter Johnson: King of Pitchers, by Roger L. Treat, 1948 (for juveniles)
Walter Johnson, by Henry W. Thomas, 1995
Walter Johnson: A Life, by Jack Kavanagh, 1995

Christy Mathewson
Pitching In a Pinch: Baseball From the Inside, by Christy Mathewson, with John Neville Wheeler, 1912
Matty: An American Hero: Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants, by Gene Schoor with Henry Gilfond, 1953,
Christy Mathewson, by Norman L. Macht, (BASEBALL LEGENDS series) (Juvenile), 1991
Matty: An American hero: Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants, by Ray Robinson, 1993
The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and the American Century, by Philip Seib, 2003, 224 pp.
Christy Mathewson: A Biography, Michael Hartley, 2004, 207 pp.
The Old Ball Game : How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, and the New York Giants created modern baseball, by Frank Deford, 2005

Mel Ott:
The Mel Ott story, by Milton J Shapiro, 1959
Mel Ott: The Little Giant of Baseball, by Fred Stein, 1999, 239 pp.
Mel Ott: The Gentle Giant, by Alfred M. Martin, 2003

Pete Rose
My Prison Without Bars, by Rick Hill, 2004,
Pete Rose: Baseball's All-time Hit King, by William A. Cook, 2004, 241 pp.

Tris Speaker:
Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life Of A Baseball Legend, by Timothy M. Gay, 2007
Spoke: A Biography of Tris Speaker, by Charles C. Alexander, 2007
Tris Speaker, by Opie Otterstad, (Not out yet)

Rube Waddell:
Rube Waddell: Butler's Outrageous Southpaw, by Eric D. Duchess, 1998
Rube Waddell: The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout Artist, by Alan Howard Levy, 2001, 327 pp.
Just a Big Kid: The Life and Times of Rube Waddell, by Paul Proia, 2007

Honus Wagner:
Honus Wagner: The Flying Dutchman, by John Harrington/Adam McMahon, 1992
Honus Wagner, by Jack Kavanagh, 1994
Honus Wagner: A Biography, by Dennis/Jeanne Burke DeValeria, 1995, 320 pp.
Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's "Flying Dutchman", by Arthur D. Hittner 1996, 336 pp.
Honus: The Life And Times Of A Baseball Hero, by William Hageman, 1996, 218 pp.

John Montgomery Ward
Baseball's Radical for All Seasons: A Biography of John Montgomery Ward, by Stevens, 1998, 272 pp.
Title is A Clever Base-Ballist: the Life and Times of John Montgomery Ward, by John Di Salvatore, 1999, 479 pp.

Carl Yastrzemski:
Yaz by Carl Yastrzemski and Al Hirshberg. 1968
Baseball, the Wall and Me by Carl Yastrzemski and Gerald Eskenazi. 1991.

Cy Young
Cy Young: Baseball's Legendary Giant, by Ralph H. Romig, 1983, 182 pp.
Cy Young, by Norman L. Macht 1991, 64 pp. (Baseball Legends series) (Juvenile)
Cy Young, by Reed Browning, 2000
The Story of Cy Young, by John Phillips, 2005

http://baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=34421&highlight=Cobb+McCallum

[Meely]

Bats,Brats, and Stats

The best baseball book I have read in recent memory was Bats, Brats, and Stats by George Brennan. Yankees fans of the 1977-1978 teams will really appreciate it, but anyone who eats and breathes baseball will devour this book up.