Baseball Books

Harvard Boys tells the story of a father and son's times in Minor League Baseball. No game has brought fathers and sons together more than America's past time, and this is truly evident in this recount. This account is heart felt, genuine, and a great read for any baseball fan.

I liked the book Harvard Boys.

The book brings out the realities of baseball (good and bad). The book illustrates that baseball management people really are not very bright and are poor judges of talent. Baseball management think a pitcher has to throw 90+ miles per hour or they are not a prospect --tell that to Jamie Moyer (he wouldn't even get a looksee tryout today.

In the book Wolff talks about how baseball is a game of rhythm and about being in the groove, yet guys are signed and then cut within days or a week... Players need a chance to settle into the surroundings and get 200 at bats to really be evaluated.

A smart guy like Rick Wolff proves himself in spring training hits .300, does all the right things and yet still gets cut without a legitimate shot. -----That is not logical..

Baseball is run by old school thoughts and practices. Baseball needs to get rid of the good old boy system and update its evaluative techniques. There must be a place in baseball for smart guys from Harvard "who can play".

Bottom line: When the book ended, I wanted to keep on reading....Enjoyable!

When I first picked up "Harvard Boys," I didn't know what to expect. However, I was happily surprised! Despite this being John Wolff's first book, he has proved himself as an incredibly talented writer with a very natural writing style that lends itself to easy reading. I thought the book was very honest, and despite the fact that I have never played in the minor leagues, I found myself relating to his moments of uncertainty as well as moments of triumph. I especially liked all the parts that included Ian Church...I'm a big fan!
A great book - I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

I finished this book in 6 hours. Anything that can shun my A.D.D that long gets 5 stars. However, when I saw the title of this book I thought it was some story of an ivy league fight club in some fraternity basement. I totally did not expect a father/son story of going from Hahvid to minor league baseball. I started reading just for laughs and my feet hurt after 25 minutes standing there. I finally said F it, and shelled out the 20 bucks and rolled home with it. About 5.5 hours later I finished the damn thing. Only get this book if you have a few hours to kill, its one of those books you will not put down till you finish it. The stories in here were not only fired up, but really interesting as well. Funny to hear a harvard grad talk about the struggles/laughs that minor league ball can bring about. The younger Wolf (John) is crazy.

First off, I would like to say I enjoyed this book tremendously. As a former ballplayer myself, I was a little skeptical about how minor league baseball was going to be portrayed. I was afraid this book was going to be a cheap rip-off of the uber-successful movie Bull Durham. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that as I was reading, I felt as though I was living vicariously through John. It was like I was reliving the struggles and joys of having good and bad days at the plate. I really liked the commentaries comparing and contrasting the minor leagues from yesteryear to today. I thought that was a very original touch. Overall, Harvard Boys is an easy, very enjoyable read for everyone who loves the game of baseball and wants to get a sense of what minor league baseball is all about.
-Ian

High and Tight is a tried and true page-turner, an excellent sociological study of two rising urban stars who found that life in the big apple was too much for them to handle. The book also reveals some interesting stories concerning the other members of the 1986 Mets, a team divided in two camps-bible beaters and party animals.

dis is very goods book. me recomend to people who enjoy thrilly baseball parties

HIGH AND TIGHT could have been one of those works that is closer to an overblown magazine article than a full-fledged book. But author Bob Klapisch keeps the pages turning, and it's over quicker than a 1985 at-bat against Dwight Gooden and, unlike that at-bat, leaves you wanting more. The new book HEAT by Gooden and Klapisch serves as a part two for Doc. With Darryl Strawberry's Yankees comeback and subsequent health challenges, can yet another entry be far off?

Having grown up and watching Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden shine for the Big Apple's "other team," I was initially afraid to read this book. I was afraid of the brutal honesty that I would encounter and about tarnishing the images of my two childhood heroes. I was right, the book is brutaly honest, yet so captivating, I really couldn't put it down. The book follows the careers of the two men from thier days growing up to their darkest hours. I really enjoyed watching both players before I read the book, but after reading it, I feel as though I know them personally and was right there with them during all of the incidents that took place. I respect these two men so much for having conqured their demons. Nothing they acomplish on the field could ever equal the magnitude of the personal victories that they have attained. Kudos to author Bob Klapisch for capturing the reader's attention with his captive descriptions of the players' individual situations.

Very sad, but honest story. There were things in the book I never knew. I recommend it to any baseball fan

Hollywood and Sunset is an absolutely splendid novel! I have been cherishing it and savoring it page by page over the past four days, and will be dwelling with it for many years.

Starting with stark details and emotions, Luke Salisbury creates almost immediately an intermixing of time and place--between generations and people and cities and times of life--that is far beyond the ability if not the perception of the transcendentalists he invokes, such as Emerson and Whitman. Everything reverberates against everything else in the novel, with Antietam providing a deep base that underlies everything until even it is lifted away to a new level in the final pages. It is a novel that moves me deeply, saddens me, and elates me. The images are stunning, and the layers of symbolism and imagism are laid one on top of another as the layers of an onion skin.

I feel as though I have been sitting in a room of shifting shadows listening to a complex discussion between Emerson, Nathaniel West, Faulkner, Fitzgerald and a few others, with Hemingway maybe nodding his head in one or twice to bark out something. Probably Doctorow is sitting there in the shadows too, though this is much more clear of image than his works. And my own darn life is in that room talking with them also. Mr. Salisbury has the ability to have made this an intensely personal reflective experience. It ends as a terribly real and uplifting experience within the electronic shades and shadows we have erected our current civilization of commerce upon. A man is a man for a' that and a' that, as Burns would have said.

I expect that he is already talking with one studio or another about having this attempted as a film as well. If not, he should do so.

Henry Harrison has made it his life's work to destroy his high-profile enemy, filmmaker D.W. Griffith.

A writer for the Atlantic Monthly, Harrison blindly risks his marriage, his relationship with his son, and the business he shares with his wife, to pursue his misguided passion. But when his wife tells him she is having an affair on the same day he is to come face-to-face with Griffith, Harrison's world is suddenly turned upside down.

A historic novel set in the early twentieth century, Hollywood and Sunset tells the dramatic story of a man who, when faced with losing everything, comes to discover that his only true nemesis lies within himself.

Luke Salisbury, author of several works of fiction and non-fiction, including The Cleveland Indian and Blue Eden, writes for a sophisticated audience with a penchant for fine detail. His characters are interesting, well-developed and extremely engaging.

Armchair Interviews says: The story is vivid, theatrical, and full of emotion--a truly brilliant literary work.

Luke Salisbury's novel utilizes the historical fiction approach typified by Gore Vidal to detail the encounter between an Eastern critic and the notorious director of BIRTH OF A NATION. The opening chapters lead one to expect another chapter in the tedious history of "Griffith bashing" whereby one film has led an over-critical evaluation of the director's other works. But, instead, the author supplies not just a recreation of 1916 Hollywood and its contemporary players but two leading characters affected by deep-rooted prejudices, one of whom will change remarkably by the end of the novel while the other will, at least, recognize his limited perspectives. HOLLYWOOD AND SUNSET thus becomes an engaging early twentieth century comedy of manners dealing with recognizable characters trapped within their own particular ideological perspectives but who, sometimes, have the chance of transcending them. This is a really interesting achievement demanding wider readership and recognition.

Have you ever read an historical novel and wondered what its protagonists were really like? Are you interested in Hollywood and how the place got its start 90 years or so ago? Then read Luke Salisbury's "Hollywood and Sunset." You'll find that D.W. Griffith and his star, the luscious Lillian Gish, were just as outrageous (and hot) as today's denizens of LaLa Land. And you will come away from this page turner wanting to put your hands on Griffith's early film classics "Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance."

I highly recommend Salisbury's novel. But be warned, its racy in places and probably not the best gift for your maiden aunt!

I don't normally read contemporary fiction, but I went through Luke Salisbury's novel in one sitting and enjoyed every page of it. Its vivid characters -- Howard Gaye, the English actor who dresses like Jesus and behaves like Lothario; the sweetly enigmatic actress Lillian Gish; and Harry Harrison, the narrator, who tries out many roles in his life but who fears he's stuck playing a cuckold -- and rich, authentic period (1916) detail give Hollywood and Sunset its flavorsome charm. But it's Harry's pixilated, often misguided but ultimately successful quest for redemption that resonates with this reader: here's a guy who does just about everything wrong but comes out all right. There's hope for us all, I guess.

"The Holmes Limit" is a fine story, whether or not you're a big fan of baseball. There are plenty of insider tidbits for die-hard fans of the sport, but the characters are what really carry the story along. I read it from start to finish in about 45 min and enjoyed every minute. It even made me laugh out loud in a couple of spots. Try it ... you'll like it!

This is a great story about the development of a baseball prodigy and his ex-big-league coach. I read it in one sitting, a testament to its quick pace. The characters are well-developed and the bittersweet surprise ending is a real gem.

Definitely a cool "what-if" kind of story. I started reading and found myself captivated.
Worth a lot more than 49 cents.

The story was very well written. It held my attention throughout.
The characters were alive and well depicted. I loved the suspence and
the unique way of finding the MISTAKE.

I completely enjoyed The Holmes Limit. The story captures your attention immediately. I especially recommend the story to kids that play team sports or parents of children that play sports. The ending was great!

When one Edwin Henderson, a Harvard-educated African American physical education teacher - was introduced to basketball in Washington DC in 1907, he envisioned it as a method of organizing black athletes to allow them to excel at northern while colleges. In sports, he reasoned, blacks would get a fair chance to succeed. Hot Potato details the birth and rise of black amateur basketball in America, examines college basketball and the origins of the CIAA, and surveys the rise of black professional athletes. A truly outstanding sports history evolves.

Kuska has given us some details to back up the legends of black basketball stars from the first half of the 20th century. Many of the individual names are known and the New York Renaissance team has been heard of by real basketball fans. This book gives us some details and further understanding of what the individuals went through and what modern basketball owes to them. A GREAT READ!! Hope to hear more from this fine writer and sports historian.

I am the granddaughter of Samuel Buck Covington. I'd just like to point out in the editorial by John Grasso, from Guilford, NY, that my grandfather, Samuel Buck Covington was mistakenly referenced as "Cunningham". Samuel Buck Covington was an outstanding athlelete and pillar of the Washington Metropolitan community. He was honored to be part of the writing of this wonderful book and the naming of the title "Hot Potato". Growing up he told countless stories of what it was like breaking barriers and playing semi-professional basketball for the Washington Bruins against teams such as the Harlem Globtrotters. This is a wonderful tribute to those who came through during this time who had gone unnoticed. I am proud to say he was my grandfather. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the final product of this book. Samuel Buck Covington died in September,1998 . . . Cheryl Moore

There aren't enough adjectives to describe this important work on an oftentimes overlooked part of U.S. history/sports.

Bob Kuska takes the reader on an exploration of the development of black athletics at the turn of the last century, with his focus surrounding basketball teams and leagues in New York City and Washington, D.C.

The chapters are in chronological order by year and highlights the important personalities, teams and events in the two cities and throughout the country - from youth leagues to the colleges and beyond.

I am particularly impressed with Kuska's acknowledgement of many individuals that time had seemingly forgotten. The ten years of research he did certainly accomplished his goal of giving the reader a complete understanding of the era.

To set a clear path to the future, our society must have an appreciation of the rough paths taken by those who confronted the hideous Jim Crow laws and other forms of racisim & truly learn from the past.

America's game was changed forever, but not just on the hardwood floors. These heroes knocked down barriers and opened the door for others to pursue their dreams, no matter what the odds.

Seldom does a basketball historian find a book on basketball in which more than 75% of the material is new to him. Bob Kuska's new book - Hot Potato: How Washington and New York
Gave Birth to Black Basketball and Changed America's Game Forever is such a book.

It is a chronicle of the earliest days of Black basketball in the two cities where its impact was greatest and covers the period 1905 through the 1930s. There have only been a handful of
books written on basketball history of this period and none of them devote more than a few pages to Black teams.

More than a decade of research went into this work which includes a detailed reference section and twelve pages of photos.

The story begins with Edwin Henderson, the first major contributor to Black basketball and concludes with the New York Renaissance - the Hall of Fame team of the 1930s. Both amateur and pro basketball are covered.

Along the way the basketball exploits of such legendary figures as Paul Robeson and Cumberland Posey are detailed along with Fat (not Fats) Jenkins, Pop Gates, George Fiall, Bob Douglas and many others.

The intriguing title came about as a result of an discussion with Sam "Buck" Cunningham, one of the players interviewed during the research for the book. "The players today are much better than we were - ... but there is one thing that we could do better. We could pass the ball better than they can now.
Man, we used to pass that basketball around like it was a hot potato."

This is definitely a must addition to the library of a basketball historian. Thank you very much, Bob."

I love this book

It is the greatest book I've ever seen

Mr. Millikin has done his homework on Mr. Foxx. This book is well researched and by far the most accurate book ever written on Mr. Foxx. Mr. Millikin goes to the extreme to inform the reader, not only on Foxx's baseball career, but on his entire life. Once you finish the book, you feel like you actually knew Mr. Foxx and appreciate his success on the diamond that much more. Thank you, Mr. Millikin for your hard work...your book is one I am proud to have on my bookself!!!

Mr. Millikin must of spent a great deal of time researching on Mr. Foxx. I know of no other book written on Mr. Foxx to be more accurate and true. If you are interested in Mr. Foxx, this is the only book that I would recommend. Great job, Mr. Millikin and I look forward to your next book.

This book has detail about Foxx that has never appeared anywhere before except possibly contemporary newspapers. Foxx's minor league career, largely ignored by previous biographers, is treated extensively. A compelling treatment of the life of a Hall of Famer who hasn't received as much publicity as many players of lesser talent.

A very informative book. It covers his childhood until his death. Mostly it covers his major league career of 20 years but covers his childhood in Maryland with lots of good details too. However, after his playing years (20+ years) is covered rarely quickly in about 20 pages. It was well written, but sometimes had too much game by game details and stats. Is this book worth the 40.00 price tag? No, and I'm a huge Foxx fan. Cut the price in half or wait for the softback edition to come out, and save yourself 25.00 bucks. A few pictures in the book that are average-nothing spectacular.

After traveling to most of the ballparks in this country for our own ballpark website my only regret looking back is that this book wasn't available from the start! This is perfect for anyone who wants to see the ballparks of the Major Leagues (and actually it's perfect for anyone who just loves ballparks). The book is chock full of beautiful glossy photographs and details about the ballpark and it's surroundings. It will let you know before purchasing your tickets where the best seats for the money are, so you can get the best bang for your buck. With the price of tickets these days, this information alone is worth it's weight in gold. Interesting facts and a list of likes and dislikes makes great reading for anyone who simply just loves baseball. An absolute must have for the ballpark pro or for someone who just loves the game...

This book is so imformational about all of MLB stadiums(when this book was made) I love this book it is good for any baseball fan or sports fan. It is a good book to read while your bored.

I know very little about baseball parks, but very much enjoy the sport. My job has me traveling all over the country and I needed a source for information on where to go, what to see and what to avoid. Mr. Mock's book gives me all three is a concise and easy to read format. It fits in my briefcase pocket and tells me all I need to know when I need it. Well done and intersting!

As a ballpark nut myself, I can honestly say that this is one of the best introductions to the intricacies, idiosyncracies, and personalities of the 30 big league parks. Mock -- webmaster of the excellent ballpark resource baseballparks.com -- writes with both enthusiasm and a critical eye, explaining the best and worst aspects of these stadiums. While incorporating terrific photographs from his travels, Mock also includes tips on finding the best seats, what to eat, and information on spring training, websites, and ballpark history. For the money, I don't think a fan can find a more useful and valuable source of information and opinion to keep alongside the road atlas when hitting the road for a baseball roadtrip.

After traveling to most of the ballparks in this country for our own ballpark website digitalballparks.com, my only regret looking back is that this book wasn't available from the start! This is perfect for anyone who wants to see the ballparks of the Major Leagues (and actually it's perfect for anyone who just loves ballparks). The book is chock full of beautiful glossy photographs and details about the ballpark and it's surroundings. It will let you know before purchasing your tickets where the best seats for the money are, so you can get the best bang for your buck. With the price of tickets these days, this information alone is worth it's weight in gold. Interesting facts and a list of likes and dislikes makes great reading for anyone who simply just loves baseball. An absolute must have for the ballpark pro or for someone who just loves the game. (and it's cheap too!)

My 2/3 year olds can count now thanks to this book. They ALSO love the baseball song that is at the end of the book.

As a media specialist who has worked with K-5th graders for years, I have a really good sense of which books are keepers and which books are crap. I've used this book for years as a read-aloud during baseball season, tied in with "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "Casey at the Bat." My younger students love the humor in this book. They really "get" it. I don't like to re-read books over year after year because there are so many good books kids ought to hear, but I do give in to repeated requests for this one because my kids look forward to it so much.

We're always trying to buy another decent copy to add to the shelves for our students, but it's getting tougher to find. I'm mystified by why publishers and booksellers discontinue good, fun books like this--while continuing to give prime shelf space to inane books like "Walter the Farting Dog."

If you are lucky enough to find a nice copy of this book, buy it! Added bonus: the music and the lyrics are in the book for the original song. You'd really hit jackpot if you could find both the book and the Tom Paxton recording of the song.

I fell in love with this book when I stumbled across it in a bookstore, and had to buy it "for my daughter." Luckily, she LOVES it (she's almost 3), too!

The other reviews give a good summary of the plot, so I'll just add that I've found this book to be a good conversation-starter about all kinds of topics, ranging from winning and losing, giving your best effort, not giving up, baseball rules, different kinds of monkeys...all kinds of things, and it changes over time.

All in all, it's been a very rewarding and refreshing book that I don't mind reading over and over, and my daughter loves coming back to.

A delightful baseball book about trying hard and overcoming obstacles. The slow, fat hippos put their patience and weight behind a baseball game and beat the monkeys in this jungle game. Enjoyed by my 10 month old son, who comes running whenever I read a passage from the book...whacka, whacka hoo boys - monkey, monkey, monkey,

This second of the Paxton--Schmidt combo (Going to the Zoo was the first) was a real winner in our family! The lush illustrations hilariosly depict the underdog hippos in a valiant fight to the finish. With a pathos that made my kids as well as myself cheer out loud at the ending, Jungle Baseball hits a home run--we loved this book!!

This autobiography reads like it was actually written by Kent Hrbek; it's fun, enjoyable, and not an in-depth introspective look back at his life. It hits the highlights of his career, briefly touches upon his upbringing, and has no tales told out of school from the dugout. If you're looking for depth, don't bother.

Hrbek comes across as a rare athlete who realizes that the important things in life are not being bowed down to and worshiped because he could hit a baseball. He's honest about his love of beer, his family, and not caring that much about conditioning.

Long-time Twins fans like me will relish this, but wish it had just a little more.

I really enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. First, Kent Hrbek is a really likable guy who isn't out to impress anyone. He is a truly genuine individual, which is admirable and refreshing. He is also very interesting. No, this book isn't written on a graduate level, but who cares? It's about baseball, a team full of good guys, and one fun loving guy in particular. I read this book right before I read the book written by John Schuerholz. Wow, talk about opposites. The "genius" Schuerholz has no clue about things like the Hrbek charm.

After reading 'Tales', I felt like I had actually been in the dugout with the Twins. The book keeps moving, doesn't well on any point too long and provides just the right amount of detail. Hrbek and Brackin have delivered a baseball classic.

Hrbek's antics and honesty come through as genuine. He seems like a guy were he your neighbor you could just walk up to and have a nice, casual conversation. His views on baseball provide insight for the fan from the other side of the stadium fence. I remember watching him as a kid whenever the Twins came to Seattle, and he was always an impressive player. We ran into Hrbek on the street in downtown Seattle one day and he lived-up to his friendly guy image in person too.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in baseball or the Minnesota Twins in particular.

As a Minnesota Twins fan for some forty years, this may be perceived as a somewhat biased view...but I truly don't believe it is. Most of those who follow the game closely, and appreciate its significance on the national psyche for more than a century, will respect this straight-arrow summary--of Kent Hrbek's team, in particular; but, even more importantly, for the significance and integrity of the game in general. Though an unsung hero in terms of individual awards, he was, in the eyes of many objective baseball observers, as good as any--and better than most--first basemen to play the game. And he was an excellent clutch hitter (e.g., his grand slam homerun in the sixth game of the 1987 World Series) who knew the strike zone, and rarely swung at a bad pitch. But, as he emphasizes in his book, his two World Series rings, and the undying support of true baseball fans in the upper Midwest, and throughout the country, totally overshadow the fact that he was, inexplicably, overlooked for the individual honors which, in the view of many, he so richly deserved. He and others refer to his approach to the game as that of a throwback...the type of player from the game's glory days. This is arguably as high a tribute as can be given a player. And, because these qualities are, sadly, in short supply in today's go-for-the-money atmosphere, Kent Hrbek--nearly thirteen years after his early retirement--is still missed by those who love the game... for the game. And for all of those, "Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Minnesota Twins Dugout" is highly recommended. --Ron Howe / Erskine, Minnesota

This book was a great, quick read of antecdotes from Hrbek's career as a Twin. He reveals a lot of suprising off-the-field information that baseball players rarely reveal in career retrospectives. If you were a Twins fan in the glory year runs of 1987 and 1991, you have to check this out.

10 years ago when I bought this book at my local Target and had it signed by both authors, my first grandson was mere days old and I bought it for the future. The future is NOW. My grandsons are playing baseball in the same park that the '92 and '93 winning teams came from so the book has a very special meaning. Jeff Burroughs and Tom Hennessy's description of the actions of Little Leaguers, Coaches, Managers and officials is dead on, even now 10 years later. When I was reading this book, I was either laughing hysterically, trying to read bits and pieces aloud to "Grandpa" or nodding in total agreement and understanding. This is a must read for every Little League Parent/Grandparent, but for pete's sake, don't let the kids read it!

This book is a classic. I lived through these stories and they are all true. It was the greatest year of my life being a Long Beach Little League World Champ, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. This book allows me to remember everything that happened in the summer of '93. I get goosebumps thinking about it. I loved it! I recommend for everyone to give this book a read.

After reading this book I think everyone should! This book is a great book about the adventure in winning the Little Leauge World Series two years in a row. This book gives a great description on all the players and other coaches. This book helped me believ e you can do anything if you really work hard towards your goals!!!! I learned many pointers off this book and enjoyed reading it!!!!!! I suggest everybody should read this book!

For those involved in the national organization of Little League, especially at the all-star level, this is a very entertaining book. Lots of interesting details about the protocol and the accomodations at the regional level and also at Williamsport. Burroughs is very funny describing his escapades as a coach, dealing with all of the classic issues from managing disgruntled parents to dealing with kids who are slightly left-of-center. If you are a Little League addict, I recommend this book!

The Little Team That Could was pure enjoyment. Jeff Burroughs gives an honest, balanced account of the 1992-1993 Long Beach Little League All-Star teams that reached the pinnacle of success. He describes the thrill of victory and the joy of working with young people. At the same time, he tells about the aggravation of dealing with some Little League parents, officials, and umpires. As a manager in the Little League program for 17 years, I could relate to both the good and the bad. I am so glad I found this book on amazon.com. I wholeheartedly recommend it to any Little League coach, parent, or player.