Bats Books

Some years ago I got this book as part of a come-on to join a book club. I finally picked it up with a casual attitude but was quickly given an attitude adjustment. This book is an excellent collection of essays that read more like short stories. The subject matter is quite varied but they all concern US history either directly or indirectly. Many of the subjects concern famous people and/or events while others focus on the obscure people and events of our history. One of my favorites was a biographical sketch of L. Frank Baum in which I discovered that "The Wizard of Oz" was just one of many books about that magical land. Other essays were about inventions, weather phenomena, social issues, etc. All of the essays were well written by a wide assortment of historians. It really was like reading a collection of short stories that just happened to be informative as well as engrossing. I was reminded of this book when I saw a book club offering it as a selection. I thought it was out of print but I'm glad to see it's going to be available again. It certainly was pleasure to read.

Among the masses of great writing here is Thomas Fleming's definitive biographical article on Jersey City mayor and political boss Frank Hague. In addition to being an excellent historian, Fleming's father was a ward leader under Hague, so Fleming had access to a lot of inside stories. Due to Hague not leaving much of a paper trail, this may likely be the best bio we ever have on the man, though it's also worth tracking down Thomas Smith's THE POWERTICIANS.

THIS BOOK IS REALLY CUTE AND ALWAYS GETS A GOOD LAUGH OUT OF MY DAUGHTER AS WE READ IT TOGETHER. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT IS VERY INTERACTIVE AND IMAGINATIVE.

This is a fun story. I teach kindergarten and I love books that are repetitive and have rhythm. The children wanted this story read several times.

George Hall's series of aerial photobooks continues with Air Guard. Discussing the Air National Guard in the 1980s (when the book was written), the book offers a backward glimpse to the days of a larger military confronting the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, the book does a great job at depcting how the weekend warriors of the sky do their job, and is deservingly respectful to those who defended us in the days of Cold War worries.

Amazing bats is an informitive book for people who like bats but don't know much about them. It tells you a lot of interesting facts about a lot of the different facts about them. I say if your interested in bats you should definatly read this book

My nearly-10-year-old son and I have read all of the Andrew Lost series. In #14 they start off riding on a bat, then a cockroach skeleton, and they end up on a bird, which will carry them on to their next adventure... Still full of their humorous exclamations. The adventures are always such fun: Elements of reality melded with the outrageous. We can't wait til the next one!

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Casey fans that day,

For their favorite ballad's history was fading fast away.

So when "Casey's Wife" was hard to find, and other poems were worse,

A pallor wreathed the features of the patrons of the verse.

A staggering few gave up the search, leaving there the rest,

With hope that springs eternal, within the human breast.

For they thought if only Gardner would take a careful look,

They'd put their hard-earned money down, if Gardner wrote a book.

But collecting all the parodies was too much work to do;

Mad Magazine had written one; and Grantland Rice wrote two.

And so the stricken multitude might never get to know 'em,

For there seemed but little chance of learning all about the poem.

But Dover publications has a Casey book to read,

With every bit of Casey lore that you will ever need.

To find these old forgotten poems, you need just take a look,

For Gardner, Martin Gardner, has compiled them in a book.

There is fun in Gardner's comments; there is wit from this old sage;

There are reams of careful research, and notes on every page.

So if you click the button, and wait a day or two,

There'll be Casey on your bookshelf, with all the others, too.

...

Oh, somewhere in these fabled lands, the sun is all too dim,

A band is silent somewhere, and somewhere hopes are slim,

And baseball lore is fading, and no one cares a bit,

But there is great joy in Mudville - Martin Gardner's scored a hit!

Lillian Morrison selects 44 poems written about baseball written by unknown writers to famous writers. Her choice of poetry is inconsistent, but provides a great book for baseball and poetry fans.

When you are a kid and it dawns on you that you are not old enough to play for your favorite baseball team one of the next best dreams you can have is that you are the batboy. "Batboy: An Inside Look at Spring Training" shows exactly how much hard work is involved in that particular dream. Writer Joan Anderson and photographer Matthew Cavanaugh follow young Kenny Garibaldi through a 14-hour-day as the batboy for the San Francisco Giants during spring training in 1994. On the one hand Kenny is shown sitting next to Hall of Famer Willie Mays in the Giants' locker room in Scottsdale, Arizona, but on the other there are more color photographs of his doing his job.

Actually, that would be jobs, because this book is as much as inside look at the hard work of being a batboy as it is about providing a glimpse at what spring training is like. We learn that Kenny has to sort uniforms, answer the phone, deliver fan mail to lockers, unwrap gum, take out the garbage, make endless trips to the laundry, brush dirt off of shoes, put clean towels and batting helmets in place before the game, carry balls and other supplies to the visitor's dugout, and put the rosin bag, pine tar, and towels needed by each batter for warm-upon at the on-deck circle. All of this is before the game even starts, at which time he gets to really be a batboy, and for all of his effort the 13-year-old Kenny receives the sum of $25 a day.

The book also looks at what happens during Spring Training, but it really is not as interesting as learning about Kenny's job. He never talks to the players unless they speak to him and he cannot ask for autographs. But he does drive to work with catcher Kirt Manwaring, a neighbor, and one of the rookie pitchers, Fred Costello, is a former batboy with the Giants, who is willing to play cards with Kenny. Still, young readers will be struck by the need for Kenny to be hard working without being noticed by the players who are working at their jobs. But the kid must be pretty good at it because at the end of the book we learn that he has been hired to be the batboy for the Phoenix Firebirds, the Giants AAA farm team, for the summer.

Once I started reading this book it was hard to put down. The author (Matthew McGough) takes you behind the scene of one of the most prestige franchise of any sports teams. You'll experience what it was like to be on the inside of Yankee Stadium. The star struck kid interacting with the "Stars in Pinstripes". It's a must read book for anyone who has ever dreamed of being a bat boy for a professional baseball team. Anyone who has ever wanted to know what takes place before, doing, and after a baseball game this is also a must read book. You'll also read about the "good guys" and the not so friendly guys who played for the Yankees. Find out it's not always glamorous being a "bat boy". Finally a "kudos" to his parents who made sure school work was always his priority over working Yankees games. Enjoy the adventure!

Andre' Fontenot (former bat boy San Francisco Giants 1974)

"Bat Day" is full of heart and wisdom. I became attached to the contentious conjoined twins, to the jazz-playing orderly, to the beautiful social worker who doesn't believe in herself, and to the old ballplayer on his way out.

The commentary is sharp. It's more of a comment on human nature, though, than on a political party.

Rick Norman has a knack for telling stories. Even if you didn't read the first two books in the Gooseball Fielder trilogy, you'll jump in easily.