All Entries in the "Book Reviews" Category
A Book Review: Jack and Larry by Barbara Gregorich
What do you get when you cross a successful Major Leaguer, one of the most historic teams in Major League baseball and an adorable dog? Author Barbara Gregorich answers this question in her new book Jack and Larry: Jack Graney and Larry, the Cleveland Baseball Dog. In this children’s book told in a prose style, [...]
The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, A Book Review
A mention of Mickey Mantle seems to start more arguments about where his rightful place is on the all-time list of greatest baseball players. The Mick has a following unlike almost any player, which is evidenced by fans’ willingness not only to pay top dollar for his baseball memorabilia, but for aspects of his life [...]
The Big Show: Charles M Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs, A Book Review
While there are strong debates raging today as to what sport should not be considered America’s pastime with football, basketball and baseball all making their sound arguments, there was a time when this was not in doubt. During the first half of the 20th Century, there was really only one choice for the sport that [...]
A Moment in Time, A Book Review
It’s amazing how fast one’s life can change. In one split second on October 3,1951 aveteran pitcher with multiple All Star appearances went from being one of the most respected players in baseball to forever being known as a goat. When Brooklyn Dodger right hander Ralph Branca gave up the homerun to New York [...]
Six Decades of Baseball: A Book Review
Author Bill Lewers has possibly lived a life many baseball fans would trade for. In his work, Six Decades of Baseball, Lewers chronicles his time surrounding the game of baseball across the nation. Lewers, a Red Sox fan who never lived near Boston, and actually grew up in New York City, presents a story of [...]
October 1964: A Book Review
Ironically the time period with the least amount of time spent on it in David Halberstam’s book October 1964 would be October 1964. Don’t let this come as a deterrent to reading Halberstam’s work, because even if you aren’t interested in baseball, but enjoy learning about how different people act in life, this is certainly [...]
The Fireball Kid: A Book Review
Novels about sports, specifically baseball, usually fall in one of two categories. Either they are written about a kid who is bullied at school and finds their way on the diamond, or a middle aged man who hasn’t played in decades, but all of the sudden has Major League talent. Fortunately this is not the [...]
“Circle Change” by Gabriel Busch: A Book Review
In “Circle Change”, author Gabriel Busch attempts to fuse a love story with a profound tale of reflection and redemption. Luckily for the reader, he succeeds by connecting on several levels. Set against the backdrop of major league baseball dreams and aspirations, the novel has something to offer for just about any reader. Make [...]
A Review of…Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN
If you are a baseball fan, chances are, you spend countless hours every year following the game you love in some capacity on ESPN. While most currently see ESPN as a sports entertainment giant who is almost too large, just as many probably forget the perilous times when ESPN was first getting [...]
The Way of Baseball – Finding Stillness at 95 MPH : A Book Review
Stillness is not something most people think of when they picture a fastball being thrown in their direction. However, in his new book, former MLB All Star Shawn Green attempts to explain to readers the how they can find meaning in all parts of life, whether they are flipping burgers or stepping in the batter’s [...]
Play By Play: A Book Review
Neal Conan’s voice is known by many across the country due to his coverage of political issues on National Public Radio’s show Talk of the Nation, not for baseball play calling. Despite his popularity and the security of employment gained through being with NPR, Conan had a chance to do what many baseball fans dream [...]
Baseball Miscellany: A Book Review
Serious baseball fans tend to think they know the answers to the serious baseball questions that non-serious baseball fans may not even understand, let alone be able to answer. What these serious fans may not realize when they are explaining what VORP means to their seemingly impressed co-worker, is that they don’t even know the [...]
Cardboard Gods: A Book Review
Usually I don’t write book reviews in the first person, but I will make an exception here because I feel it is the best way to illustrate the magnitude of this specific work. “Cardboard Gods: An American Tale” by Josh Wilker is on the surface, a story about a boy and his baseball card [...]
Pinstripe Defection: A Book Review
David vs. Goliath stories never get old and sometimes it feels like the public has heard all of the ones worth hearing. Author Clay McKinney teaches readers there’s at least one more relatively unknown story out there that pits the little guy versus the big guy in a big way. In “Pinstripe Defection: A Small [...]
Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella; A Book Review
Even some who consider themselves serious fans of the game of baseball probably don’t know the true historical significance of the career and life of Roy Campanella. To many, Campanella is just a name of someone who is in the Hall of Fame, but he accomplished so much more on and off the [...]
Baseball in the Garden of Eden, A Book Review
If you are someone who still whole heartedly believes Abner Doubleday is the soul person responsible for creating America’s Pastime, author John Thorn has some major news for you. In his new work Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, Thorn examines many “myths” of the game so many [...]
Book Review: Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert
Timothy Gay is known to those who read extensively about baseball as a good writer, but more importantly, someone who is willing to do the research required to undertake accurate storytelling of some of the most interesting, and important, times in baseball history. In “Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert: The wild Saga of Interracial Baseball [...]
Remembering Fenway Park, A Book Review
When Harvey Frommer set out to write the history of Fenway Park, he no doubt knew he had his work cut out for him. This is not a book where if the author just muddled through their research, they could get away with it as its focus is one of the most famous meccas of [...]
Book Review: Derek Jeter from the Pages of the New York Times
Derek Jeter may not be one of the ten best players in baseball any longer and many fans will argue how much he has been responsible for his own greatness, but one thing is for sure, when Jeter’s name comes up, people listen. That’s what essayist Tyler Kepner and the other writers of this book [...]
Book Review: Glory Days: The Akron Yankees of the Middle Atlantic League 1935-1941
Many in Northeast Ohio would be surprised to learn that the disliked New York Yankees used to have a farm team bearing their same name right in their backyard. While fans in this area of the country do not have the contempt for the Big League Yankees as, say, those in Boston, there is still [...]
Book Review: Arm Chair Reader Grand Slam Baseball: The Lore and Legends of America’s Game
If a sports fan is looking for the perfect reading partner in the bathroom, this book may provide them with just what they are looking for. With over 400 pages of baseball facts, statistics and stories, Grand Slam Baseball is sure to teach even the most knowledgeable of baseball fans a thing or two about [...]
Book Review: Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Spots Are Played and Games are Won
What happens when one of the most renowned finance professionals in the country gets together with one of the mist intelligent sports writers in the country? They create a perception of sports that has never been heard before. In Scorecasting finance scholar Tobias Moskowitz and sports journalist L. Jon Wertheim attempt to answer questions that [...]
A Review of Positional Hitting by Jaime Cevallos
If used correctly, Jaime Cevallos’ book, “Positional Hitting: The Modern Approach to Analyzing and Training Your Baseball Swing”, could revolutionize the way players approach hitting and improve their swing mechanics. In my opinion, this book is a modern transition from Ted William’s book “The Science of Hitting”. In fact, the author told me that Positional [...]
A Review of High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball by Tim Wendel
The Hardcover version The full title of this book is “High Heat: the Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time”. Its chapters are named after different aspects of pitching: The Windup, The Pivot, The Stride, The Arm Acceleration, The Release, The Follow-Through, and The Call. It [...]
REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: An Oral and Narrative History of the Home of the Boston Red Sox
Click this Link to Buy “Remembering Fenway Park” THE BABE. THE KID. THE CURSE. THE MONSTER. A CENTURY OF STORIES. REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF THE BOSTON RED SOX Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.Welcome to Fenway Park. Six days after the Titanic sank in the [...]
SCORECASTING: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Adam Rifenberick Press Box Publicity Phone: 912.349.4437 E-Mail: adam@pressboxpublicity.com Advanced Review Copy of “SCORECASTING: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won”, by Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim (Crown Archetype, 1/25/11) Available to Media (January 6, 2011) — “SCORECASTING: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are [...]
![Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession [Hardcover]](http://baseballreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/9780802119391_500X500-150x150.jpg)
Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession [Hardcover]
from the publisher… When award-winning journalist Dave Jamieson’s parents sold his childhood home a few years ago, forcing him to clear out his old room, he happily rediscovered a prized boyhood possession: his baseball card collection. Now was the time to cash in on his “investments,” but all the card shops had closed, and eBay [...]
Video Interview with Author of 25 Greatest Players of All Time
Author/Sportscaster Len Berman on his latest book, ‘The 25 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time’ on the Fox Business Network. They also touch upon the topic of Brett Favre before they start talking about Berman’s book. They talk about the topic of how people should view top athletes. Should fans look differently at them due [...]
An Editorial of the Book: Strike IX by Paul Lonardo
STRIKE IX tells the plight of the 1999 Providence College Friars baseball team and their beloved sport, which they learned would be eliminated at the end of that upcoming season in order for the school to comply with the federal regulation, Title IX. Written to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of PC’s historic season, this book [...]
A Glove of Their Own: A Grand Slam On and Off the Field
This article is being reprinted by permission… Every so often in the sports industry, do you encounter a genuine person who is trying to making a difference without a hidden agenda. Bob Salomon is one such individual. Over the past month, I have gotten to know Bob and truly what he is about. His book, “A [...]
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