Good books I've read recently, how about you?

With the play-off picture starting to heat up, I'm currently re-reading my copy of "Three Nights in August", written by Buzz Bissinger. Fascinating story written through the eyes of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa during a 2003 series between the Cubs/Cards for first place. This was back in the Cub's Sosa heydays, and as Pujols was emerging as a star for the Cardinals. Great read.

Thanks for another good topic JB. I'll take your suggestions and echo The Yankee Years. Great read, especially the first 1/3 (covering the first few years of Torre's reign with the Yanks).

I also recommend Josh Hamilton's book, though not so well written, nor enjoyable to read due to the nature of the subject matter. For me, Hamilton comes well short of being a hero, but just the same I found it a very interesting read.

Wayne, thanks for the reminder about Bissinger's book. I had that written down somewhere as a must read and never got around to it. I will now.

just picked up The 33 year old Rookie by Chris Coste and so far it has been a good read. It chronicles his 11 years in the minors before getting called up. It is a real testament to a players determination.

(How is that for a suffering Mets fan?- reading a book about a Phillie player during this dreadful Mets Season!)

The Last Best League

I'm not a real big reader but I have to say I really enjoyed Josh Hamilton's book as well.After reading the book,it's hard not to have alot more respect for him as a man as well as a player.It was very inspirational.

Wayne,

I read "Three Nights in August" a few years back. What an eye opener! It was indeed a great read.

Not much of a book reader myself, I recently got caught up in a book "Senior Year" by Dan shaughnessy
All about his baseball experiences with his son in HS. Made me laugh a few times, as it was easy to relate.

I loved "The Last Best League". I also recently read a book called "Safe at Home" by Bob Muzikowski. It's based mainly on the creation and growth of two Little Leagues in housing projects in Chicago. The author teamed up with a community leader and tried to provide a baseball league for a group of kids with very little, to say the least. It also talks a lot about faith, and the growth of Muzikowski himself, along with looks at some of the success (and a few not so successful stories) that had some sort of connection to the Little League.

i'm reading (american icon ) now. good read, sad but good.

i've read a few good baseball books this summer, i agree with those above. some good books.

for any red sox fan,great read.. (feeding the monster). starts a little slow, but highlites the sale of the team.touches on small market teams etc.

Bugzee, good call! Can't believe I forgot about "Senior Year". Raed it a couple of years ago when my son was just starting high school, and I could really relate to Dan's experiences. Must read for high school baseball parents.

I've been on a bit of a baseball book reading craze this summer.

I went to Powell's books in Portland where the baseball section is 20 to 25 feet long and higher than I can reach. As a result I loaded up on books!!! Here are some of the titles I picked up:

Rise of the Bulldogs - focuses on the 2008 college world series champion Fresno State Bulldogs. It was OK but reads like it was rushed out to take advantage of the market. Left me also wondering about its accuracy (pretty hard on FSU coaches). (5 out of 10)

Road to Omaha - Also built around the 2008 CWS - but with some nice background material on the history of the CWS in Omaha, this covers all of the teams in a little less detail but with more about the games and the people behind the games. (7/10)

A False Spring by Pat Jordan. A very well written although somewhat depressing book about the author's 3 years in the minor leagues in the early 1960s. Follows him from High school through his signing as a bonus baby and his struggles to make it in the minors. (9/10)

A Nice Tuesday by Pat Jordan. Pat has never answered the question what if - so as a 50 something, he attempts to make a comeback for an independent league team. Language and off the field situations take away from the story line.(6/10)

Veeck as in Wreck by Bill Veeck - one of my favorite books as a kid, I couldn't resist picking it up in a first edition hardback. Still as funny as ever - one of my top 10 baseball books of all time. (10/10)

Some of the other titles I've read this summer:

Beyond Belief - Josh Hamilton Josh Hamilton had it all as the first player chosen in the draft with off the chart skills. This book however is more about his descent into a drug and alcohol driven hell - and his path all the way back to the All Star game last year. (8/10)

The Last Best League - Another one of my favorites which I re read on a regular basis. (10/10)

Just finished The Yankee Years - and am currently in the middle of a pretty interesting book on umpires - book is called "As They See 'Em - A Fan's Travels in the land of Umpires" by Bruce Weber.

Two of my all-time favorite baseball biographies - the Clemente book by David Maraniss and the Ted Williams book by Leigh Mountville. Those were two fascinating people (not to mention incredible ballplayers).

as son started his "senior year" last week, i pulled out our dog-eared copy.....it's taking me longer than normal, because i keep skipping around to different parts. i'm a fan of it because so many parts resonate true with me and my family!

this year's going to be one big roller coaster of emotion. he's signing his verbal commitment this week.....

quote:

Clemente book by David Maraniss

Tremendous book; I can't think of a biography I would rate higher.

Here is one that I plan to read, after hearing the author interviewed on local radio yesterday:

Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star

Five stars on Amazon: Chief Bender "pitched his way into the Hall of Fame with the Philadelphia Athletics from 1903 to 1914. Swift’s carefully researched portrait of Bender reveals a life and career characterized by hard work, dignity, and success but always shadowed—especially early on—by prejudice."

The topic is of special interest to me, as I had a close friend in college who was a pitcher and also an american indian, and I can picture him facing some of the same prejudices.

"The book's most exciting parts are the play-by-play of games Bender pitched. Details, including which pitches Bender threw, make this book an excellent read."

Thanks for all the other book suggestions - I'm planning to pick up several of them for myself, my husband and son!

Julie

not to change subjects, but.........
has anybody seen the movie "playing for peanuts"? i just found out about it today while looking for something else on line. sounds great.

David Maraniss wrote a book called, "Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero".

He's an excellent writer and its an excellent book. I enjoyed this read very much.

I'm about a 1/3rd of the way through "The Machine," a recently published book about the 1975 Cincinnati Reds.

Like "The Yankee Years," this book has wider appeal than just to Reds fans. Its about baseball, inside and out. From the front office to the clubhouse to the field.

You all know Rose, Bench, Morgan, Perez, Sparky, et al. I think you will find it fascinating...the inside of that team and a lot of insight into their success...a little different than the image at the time.

At this point in the book (about 1/3rd), I think Pete Rose is painted in a better way than he has painted himself in his later years. This is about his competitiveness and drive on the field, where it came from...and you can draw some lines from that to his problems down the road and actually feel a little bit better about how he got there.

The stories about Sparky paint a far different picture than I imagined as a teenager living in Cincinnati. Interesting stuff.

Here is a link:

The Machine

I'm not big on reading sports books. The last one I read was The Mental Game of Baseball. I suppose the last two books I've read could affect your game ...

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

The Reason For God by Timothy Keller

I am a huge fan of reading all types of books
including: Baseball books, Combat Systems, Bridge,
Retirement, Childrens, Stand-Up, History etc.


For the newbies and true fan:
Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's
Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply
Serious Geeks

The Hidden Language of Baseball: How Signs and
Sign Stealing Have Influenced the Course of Our
National Pastime

The Code: Baseball's Unwritten Rules and Its
Ignore-at-Your-Own-Risk Code of Conduct

Coaching Baseball For Dummies

Benchclearing: Baseball's Greatest Fights and
Riots

For the Die hards

The Hardball Times Baseball Annual [HARDBALL TIMES
BASEBALL A-2009

The Official Rules of Major League Baseball 2009

For Those SABR types
Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues,
Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year
in Baseball History

The SABR Baseball List & Record Book: Baseball's
Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics

The Baseball Research Journal (BRJ), Volume 37

Amusing Reads

Is This a Great Game, or What?

America's Game

Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot: The Life and
Times of a Sportscaster Dad


Bear's Baseball Books Favorites & Christmas Gifts
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero

The Teammates: A Portrait of Friendship

October 1964

Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball

Science of Hitting

A Hitting Clinic: The Walt Hriniak Way

The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak
Performance

The Mental ABC's of Pitching: A Handbook for
Performance Enhancement

Ted Williams and the 1969 Washington Senators:
The Last Winning Season

Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible

Art of Pitching

The Boys of Summer

The Era, 1947-1957: When the Yankees, the Giants,
and the Dodgers Ruled the World

The Bill James Handbook 2010

Many others

A few I liked:

Clemente - The Passion and Grace of Baseball's last Hero - Maraniss

Ty Cobb - Stump - (Biography updated)

Heart of the Game - Life, Death and Mercy in Minor league Baseball -Price -(Story of Mike Coolbaugh)

The Corporal was a Pitcher - Berkow - (Story of WW2 Vet/Pitcher Lew Brissie)

The Crowd sounds happy - A story of love and madness in an American Family - Dawidoff - (Refuge from a tough childhood in baseball)

Odd Man Out - A year on the monund with a minor league misfit - McCarthy (Yale Pitcher in the minors)

The Complete Game - Reflections on Baseball,Pitching and Life on the Mound - Ron Darling (Great for Mets fans but more for Pitchers)

Also as noted by others: The Last best League and Senior Year are great for fans and parents of kids trying to "make it".

quote:

Originally posted by Wayne:
With the play-off picture starting to heat up, I'm currently re-reading my copy of "Three Nights in August", written by Buzz Bissinger. Fascinating story written through the eyes of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa during a 2003 series between the Cubs/Cards for first place. This was back in the Cub's Sosa heydays, and as Pujols was emerging as a star for the Cardinals. Great read.

It was not a bad read, but it started off rough for me because he slammed my favorite book about baseball...Money Ball by Michael Lewis. I think he was relying on LaRussa for his opinion and then sharing it as if it was his own. I almost set it down at this point, but I kept going.

Personally, I think Bissinger was less critical about LaRussa than he should have been. The book was LaRussa's insight and opinions through and through. Much more so than Money Ball. Billy Beane did not commission or have editorial control over Money Ball as did LaRussa with 3 Nights.

Just another opinion...

"We are Soldiers Still" by Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway....exceptional


I am in the middle of the W.E.B. Griffin series of books "Brotherhood of War"

have read
The Leiutenants
The Captains
The Majors
The Colonels
The Generals
The Berets

need to buy the "The new Breed"

I have:
The Aviators
Special Ops

that will rap up the series...since I travel a great deal for my job, I do a lot of reading in airports and hotel rooms....

Piaa-If you are looking for a new series, I recommend author Vince Flynn. Read them in order, I think you will be amazed how much real life in in his fiction work.

Not a baseball based book, but one I have purchased and plan on giving to my eldest, a college freshman, when he returns home for Thanksgiving break....

It's by a really special author - Tony Dungy

It's titled - UNCOMMON

http://www.coachdungy.com/book_uncommon.asp

I recently had to read The Kite Runner for my Honors English class. I have to say it's a great book, probably one of the best I have ever read.

As They See 'Em
by Bruce Weber

"A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires"

A couple others to consider:
1) Fantasyland (Sam Walker). A Wall-Street Journal reporter goes overboard into the world of fantasy baseball. He joins an invitation-only league of baseball geeks and other assorted sabermetricians. He actually scouts his players in spring training and hires his own statistician. It's actually quite funny and shows how absurd grown men can be when it comes to fantasy baseball.

2) Foul Ball (Jim Bouton). Describes the political quagmire of small-town politics and Jim Bouton and an associate try to purchase and save a small-town ballpark and bring a baseball team to the community.

Also, highly recommend Last Great League, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by lebanonbb:
I recently had to read The Kite Runner for my Honors English class. I have to say it's a great book, probably one of the best I have ever read.

I enjoyed that one too!

I haven't read any of those but they sound interesting. I'm still working my way (slowly) through moneyball. I just recently read a good childrens baseball book that promotes paying it forward through the game of baseball. It's called a glove of their own. Nothing an adult would read, or even an older player. Definitely for the younger ages (ex: t-ball, etc) like a parent reading it to them before bed. It's short and rhymes.

Shold I finish moneyball?

quote:

Shold I finish moneyball

ygpbb321: I'll bet we're having the same issues finishing that book. IMHO, it doesn't get any better but you're better off finishing it than not. If that makes any sense.

I recently bought a book for my son "Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams, John Underwood, AWESOME BOOK. Every young player should read and re-read this book.

The other MUST READ for young hitters is a book written by the late Charlie Lau, "Lau's Laws of Hitting- The Art of Hitting .440"