Baseball Books

Like some other reviewers of this book, I bought it directly from the author at a local festival in North Carolina. I bought it because I found Kevin to be very engaging and I really wanted to support a local author. The book is a quick read, the story is compelling, but I kept getting distracted by the writing style. Spare as his story telling is, I think Kevin needs and deserves a really good editor. That said, I plan to purchase the sequel when it arrives because I do want to find out what Kevin's fictionalized version of himslf does next.

In fact, it was partly the cover that made me want to read it. It looked unusual. Unfortunately, I don't see much, if any, correlation between the cover and the story within. Kind of strange. Strange also, are the other reviews of this book. Something smells fishy--like the same person wrote most of the reviews maybe. They are all 3 or 4 sentences and have the same tone. Odd.

Anyway, about this book...It was a very quick read as Kevin Cropp is a very efficient (and pretty effective) writer, in my opinion. The thing I most took away from this book was the wonderful, subtle message through the story that life is too short to let troubled relationships fester. Don't try to figure out why, how, how to stop, how to change, a person/relationship or how to figure out why people choose to do what they do. Just accept the one(s) you love, unconditionally, at every step, wherever they are. All else will fall in place. This book would have been even better had I had more of an interest in baseball. A good book with a simple but powerful message.

The Time Keeper is a wonderfully heartrending tale of love and loss, forgiveness and reconciliation. Anyone who's ever had problems with their parents or with their children needs to read this book. It's great to see such good work come from a new up-and-coming novelist, and I can't wait for the sequel. Kudos to Kevin Cropp!

This book really hit home for me. I had a close family member who was dying of cancer and the author's description of the emotional and physical journey of his mother was spot on with my experience. I did not know what the book was about before picking it up to read, and therefore, was not expecting to identify with the characters. I am looking forward to Mr. Cropp's next work.

Growing up in Fayetteville and playing baseball with Kevin this was a story that really moved me. I got the book Christmas morning, and finished it Christmas night. I am not an avid reader, and my wife couldnt believe how much I enjoyed the story. I am looking forward to the sequel, and all other books that Kevin writes.

Playing With The Enemy is a beautifully written account of a man's dream, never fully realized, and the benefits which were achieved as a result. It captures the "sports" interest, essential history of World War II, the choices that shaped one individual and his whole family. It is dialogue at its best, a statement of a son's gratitude to his father and a tremendously interesting story that might never have been revealed had not Gene Moore's final hours been a time of sharing with his son, Gary. The writing in this book is superb, and, being from a small town in Illinois myself, makes me proud that the story has been told. No one should miss this account because it is entertaining and it teaches. I encourage its reading with willingness to see one's self and to recognize that our dreams, though worthy, can be redirected to even greater attainment than we might have imagined. Thank you, Gary Moore, for a true story excellently presented for us all!

Dr. David Lawson
Retired Church of God National Executive
Church of God, Anderson, Indiana

I loved this book!! It's a true story of Gene Moore who was a super baseball player and a super person. It shows how he cared about other people. Hard to put this one down. Can't wait to see the movie. A must read for anyone who enjoys a good book, this is it!!

Gary Moore's book is a gripping story that takes hold of any history or baseball fan. Even if you're not a fan of either one, it's still a great read. The way he tells the story makes you forget that it's a true story, and the way he blends the facts together into a brilliantly crafted story that will be loved for generations to come. Mr. Moore's wonderfully crafted novel made me want to learn more about the U-boats, and some day I'll make the trip to Chicago to see the real thing.

To my friend: Wonderful job! Can't wait to read your next masterpiece!

This book is such a wonderful reflection of Sesser and the southern Illinois area. The hopelessness of the situation during those depression years but the constant strength and hope of the people who kept life from being hopeless is so evident and well described. As a native of the area, the joy and celebration when anyone makes it big or even almost makes it big is a truth that resonates with this writing. What a great task Gary Moore has completed in forcing his father to talk. What a wonderful job of writing this great book of memories, pain, joy and victory.

I read Playing With the Enemy after meeting the author at a bookstore. I was intrigued by the subject matter of the story as my father, like the author's, had been scouted and signed by the Dodgers and was ultimately 'unsigned' due to an injury, at about the same time in history that Gene Moore was. While the surface similarities of our fathers' stories introduced me to the book, I found much more between the lines. The story of Gene Moore's experiences is indeed heartwarming and poignant. The mood of the story stayed with me and I found myself pondering two sub-themes. The first is the relative ease with which two seriously opposing teams could "level the playing field" (pardon the pun) and find, through compromise and acceptance a commonality agreeable to all. This wasn't just an Army/Navy rivalry, but Navy/Nazi. In spite of opposition from the powers that be, one young man's dream and drive accomplished on a small scale that which would heal the world if the idea caught on! Imagine looking at the enemy and instead of seeing only ideologies and hatred, seeing another human being with basic human characteristics, fears, families etc. and building on those similarities. What a concept! The other theme that I felt as a subcurrent running through the story is the sadness of the silence of the father. What Gene Moore perceived in his own history as reason for shame, pain, and self doubt, his son Gary saw as inspiration for telling a story too big for him to keep inside. What if Gary had never heard it? Their story has inspired me to be more open with my own children about who I am and the events that helped to form me. Turns out...they really want to know. Playing With the Enemy is a little gem of a book. If you read it solely for the baseball and WWII stories you'll love it. But I would also suggest that you read it for the bigger lessons within. There can be extraordinary power in the commission of ordinary acts.

I really enjoyed listening to the stories from some of our classic baseball heros. They brough history to life. This audio book was one of the best purchases I've made. I truly enjoyed just listening to these remarkable men tell there own stories of baseball's past.

I have been an avid reader of baseball history for most of my life and I first purchased this book in the 80's and wore it out and purchased another copy. There isn't a season that goes by that I don't read it again. When you read the interviews of the ballplayers, recorded by Lawrence Ritter, it's as if you are a fly on the wall hearing the conversations first hand and the ghosts of seasons long past are brought back to life.

You get a first person account of some of the most famous moments in early baseball history through the fond recollections of some of the participants. Merkle's boner, Snodgrass' muff, Wambsgan's unassisted World Series Triple play are all recounted. The most entertaining parts of the book recount tales of Germany Schaefer stealing first base, the chronicles of Charles Victory Faust, and Wilbert Robinson attempting to catch a grapefruit dropped from an airplane. You get a glimpse of Ty Cobb from his teammates Davy Jones and Sam Crawford. You get several different takes on the great manager John McGraw from several different players who once played for him.

This is hands down the greatest sports book I have read. It's not only a great history of the early days of 20th century baseball but a wonderful piece of Americana. The book breaths humanity and paints a portrait of the ballplayers of the past who played for the love of the game unsullied by steroids and multimillion dollar contracts.

If you love the game of baseball as it once was and still should be this is a "must read"...some of the players interviewed by Ritter were unknown to me and I was fascinated to learn of their exploits...I ordered an additional three books and sent them to long time fans of the game...If I was a GM today in MLB I would have every member of the team read this book so that they might appreciate the game as it was in its infancy...the modern player (in most cases)doesn't realize how fortunate he is to wear a major league uniform and earn the money today for playing a "game"

This superb oral history of baseball circa 1900-1920's contains many priceless tales. After Ty Cobb died in 1961 author Lawrence Ritter (1922-2004) took his tape recorder and traveled the USA to interview 22 surviving players from that remarkable era. We hear from top stars and established players, including Ed Roush, Sam Crawford, Smokey Joe Wood, Chief Meyers, Sam Jones, Bill Wambsganss, etc. Each player reminisces in his own way, recounting games, teammates, owners, managers, crowds, ballparks, etc. Some talk at length while others are briefer, but each is articulate and illuminating. I particularly liked Rube Marquard's memory of visiting the Chicago firehouse where he'd once slept as a transient, Stan Coveleski's view that baseball kept him from the coal mines, and the remembrances of Davy Jones and Jimmy Austin. It was also interesting to see how these players viewed superstars Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth. This book provides readers with a superb sense of baseball before night games, air travel, TV, radio (except after 1922), farm systems, and in some cities, Sunday baseball.

Ritter set a standard with this superb oral history. The players interviewed here have all departed (the last in 1988), but their memories live on in this superb book. Fans might also enjoy BASEBALL WHEN THE GRASS WAS REAL, a similar effort about a later era by Donald Honig.

Statistically, baseball back then couldn't be more at variance with the game now. Cy Young threw 511 career victories, and 750 complete games. In 1909, Ty Cobb led the majors both in batting average (.377) and home runs (9). Cobb's teammate Sam Crawford hit over 300 triples in his career.

What to make of such numbers? Lawrence S. Ritter's "The Glory Of Their Times" strips away the statistical confusion by getting to the heart of Major League Baseball's early days, the players themselves. An economics professor, Ritter invested his downtime from 1962-66 in interviewing elderly men, baseball players all who knew what it was like to face a Walter Johnson fastball, or have Ty Cobb slide into the base they were covering.

"People were more unique then, more unusual, more different from each other," says Davy Jones, who played on the Tigers with Cobb and Crawford. "Now people are all more or less alike, company men, security minded, conformity - that sort of stuff. In everything, not just baseball."

Transcriptions of Ritter's interviews with Jones and 21 other former players, including Crawford and two others then in the Hall of Fame, makes up the whole of "The Glory Of Their Times," published in 1966 and later extended with four more interviews in 1984. Nearly all the interviews offer both testimony and color for the game as it was then.

Bill Wambsganss tells us about his unassisted triple play in the 1920 World Series, and how Ring Lardner once used his last name to rhyme with "clam's chance" and "Ray Chapman's pants". Fred Snodgrass tells us about his famous muffed fly in the 1911 World Series, and how his New York Giants tried to psyche out the Philadelphia Athletics by sitting on the dugout bench, ostentatiously sharpening their spikes.

You hear so much about another famous World Series moment, the Merkle "boner" of 1908, that you feel like you were there on the field, too. There's a Rashomon-like quality to hearing various interviewees give their different takes on such things as the character of John McGraw and whether "Giant Killer" Harry Coveleski was run out of the league when he was caught chewing on bologna. (Snodgrass says so, while Harry's brother Stanley, a major-league pitcher himself, calls it "a lot of bull".

Not all the interviews are riveting. One wishes Ritter could have pushed some of the old players more, like the rumors that swirled around Smoky Joe Wood involving fixes. But allowing the subjects the reins probably drew more color out of them than a Grand Jury could have. I love how Crawford keeps telling Ritter he hasn't much time to talk, while giving Ritter one of the longest and most entertaining interviews in the book, describing how players would allow themselves to be rubbed down with "Go Fast," a noxious combination of Vaseline and Tabasco sauce that made them sweat like a sauna.

"I hope I haven't said anything I shouldn't," Crawford says at the end. "There are a lot of the old-timers still left,you know, and they're liable to say, 'That fathead, who the hell does he think he is, anyway, popping off like that!'"

If you like baseball even a little, you will enjoy "The Glory Of Their Times" quite a lot.

The author does a good job of showing contrasts in this entry. Not just between the families, but from one scene to the next. To open with the tee ball practice and go to the shooting was a brilliant depiction of how quixotic life can be. Great job.

When I first read the story line, I wasn't sure it could all come together well. But this 15 page sample changed my mind. It is well written, flows and leaves the reader wanting more. Well done. I hope we will see more of this work and more from the author. She deserves to be in the top 100 and more.

This excerpt grabbed our attention immediately. The characters are very realistic.The setting is complex. When do we get to read the rest of this story? We are intrigued.
We feel this author has a reservoir of talent and hope she does very well. Looking forward to reading more of Ms. Shank's works.

An incredible start for this author. The characters are immediately engaging and real and the insight involved in the plot is one only someone who knows the issues can achieve.


I can't wait to read more!

It's easy to write a tense melodrama about the clash of good and evil. It's the mark of real talent to show the inadvertent evil committed by decent men. Many authors would have made Ed O'Fallon their bad guy, a cop out of control. Shank shows him struggling to coach his daughter's team of six year old girls in tee ball. He has been set on to this by his wife, for his sin of taking his sons' sports too seriously. The picture of this tough guy taking on an organization named "The Purple Unicorns" is savory indeed. Then in the afternoon, he accompanies a SWAT team on a no-knock raid.

But something goes badly awry. They are at the wrong address and Ed shoots the wrong guy. In the next chapter, we meet Patrica Santillano, a nurse and now a widow as she learns of her husband's death.

The author has made the reader care equally for both families. This is thoughtful, exciting literature, asking big questions. I have only one question: why hasn't this been published already?

When I looked up Darryl Brock to see Havana Heat, I was thrilled to see that If I Never Get Back was rated 5 stars by *SO* many people. So I'm adding my own rave.

I read a library copy of this book shortly after it was published. I loved it so much that I immediately bought my own copy and some extras to give away. I even wrote a fan letter to Darryl Brock, who wrote back and included some cartoons & other items that were apropos to the story.

I love the entire book, but want to add special mention about the last page or 2. The ending is unique and charming and absolutely perfect. I can't help but smile whenever I think about it.

The book is like a grown-up fairy tale based on an actual historic era. If this appeals to you, READ THIS BOOK!!

"If I Never Get Back" by Darryl Brock has something enjoyable for everybody. It's a historical novel with adventure,danger,action,humor,fantasy and romance, but will be especially loved by those who love time travel and baseball(and train enthusiasts as well). You'll go back in time and escape to a time with no electricity,phones, credit cards, TV, radio or cars, but in the just post civil war era of 1869, there was our National Pastime - Baseball.

Sam Fowler does not start out as the most likeable character. He's a drinker,has a bit of an anger management problem, and is brooding over the separation from his beloved little girls due to a messy divorce. On top of that he has just been notified of the death of his own absentee father(no great loss to Sam) but has the dubious job of burying him.
The boozing had led Sam to "milky" periods where things are just not quite in focus. While at the train station on his way back from dealing with his father, he is having one of his episodes and falls into unconsciousness. He awakes on the same platform but things are quite different. He hops the train - some old classic - and finds himself aboard with one of the first pro ball teams - The Cincinnati Red Stockings.

Not knowing at first, if he is hallucinating or just having a bad day, he eventually comes to realize he has somehow gone back in time and forms a relationship with the team. He travels with this extraordinary group of young men and becomes a big part of their world.On his transcontinental travels- using the early RR system, horse and buggys, etc)there is one adventure after another. He falls in love with a woman he feels a deep connection, gets in hot water with some real toughs who are after him throughout, befriends the great Mark Twain, has a spiritual connection with an apparition,and plays baseball 19th century style - a might rougher and faster then today's version of the game. He's even involved in a shoot out in a poker game in a western saloon! While searching for the reason he is there(an enjoying the change of pace quite a bit), he becomes a new man. One we can't help but cheer for as his life is in danger at so many turns.

The book is a page turner. You can't help but become attached to Sam and the boys. Brock puts you right there in the 19th century, with remarkable detail of each city,the trains,food,clothes,dress,etc and through Sam we are living the life of someone who has gone back over a hundred years(this book was published in 1990, so there are even more differences now!).The Civil War plays a small but integral part of the story too. And then there is Baseball - we are treated to a real look at how the game was played, and feel the intensity with which they played.Even then, the game was popular and the players heroes. But think of never seeing them play unless you were fortunate enough to actually be at a game.

Also available in hardcoverIF I NEVER GET BACK. A Novel. check for best deal and availability

I for one was having such a great time, I hoped he would never get back! Baseball, apple pie,old trains, wonderful colorful characters...and a refreshing look at historical America....enjoy!.....Laurie

I first read this in high school. I reread it recently and am happy to say that is still one my top favorite books.

This is a book I've read several times. I'd like to know where Mr. Brock found out so much about Charlie sweazy, Asa Brainard et al, to make these characters come alive the way they do. There were a few political issue editorials Darryl brought into the story. But these surely do not detract from the book. I wish I had Andy Leonard as a brother as well.
You will hate to see the end of this book as it is entertaining(and historically accurate) from first page to last. As I said earlier, it's my favorite baseball book and one of my favorite of any genre.

This is one of the greatest baseball novels ever written. If you like baseball,time travel,romance and "rooting for the good guys" this is a book that will never get old. I'm sorry they never made a movie if it. However I doubt Hollywood could do it justice. Superb!!!!!!!!!!

I am giving this to a friend of mine's son who is nine who could care less about Derek Jeter or the Yankees. That is how good I think that this book is. It shows how Derek was focused on his goal from age 8, and I am going to get more copies for children of my friends to give to them when they turn 8.

Great book and great lessons for kids. Shows what can happen when you are ambitious enough and try hard enough. Great book about Derek and where he came from and where he wants to go!

After reading the first couple of pages I knew right away that this book would be a good one. The reason Derek Jeter became so well known is because he started very young knowing what he was going to do in life. Throughout high school and college Derek Jeter was an outstanding athlete and student, but at times he did have those people that said that he couldn't do it and that he couldn't make it to the major leagues. This book would be recommended to those who look at Derek Jeter as an idol and also are athletes. Reading this book could change the way you look at Pro athletes and maybe even inspire you to do better.

Book review mod 1

Over the summer I read a few books. One of those books was The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your by Derek Jeter. I choose this book because I'm a Yankees fan and love Derek Jeter. This book is a great book for someone who needs a role model. Derek Jeter is an amazing role model he had strait A's growing up. In this book Derek Jeter tells you how he grew up and how hard it was for him and how he never stopped trying to get what he set his goals for. This book is wonderful it shows you how any body can do it. His dream his whole life was to play short stop baseball for the New York Yankees. This book is one of those books that will inspire a person to go out and try harder then every one and get what he set out for. That's how good this book is, your are into baseball and trying hardest any way. This book is written well and will show you how a person who really like really tries his hardest and never gives up and will do what ever he has to, just to get what he sets out for. If there was a rating for this book it would get a 10 out of 10 or 100 out of 100 or 5 stars. That's just my opinion. This book is just like I said be for just one of those books that just makes a person want to do something good in life or achieve a goal or something. In this book Derek Jeter said that he would write all of his goals down and check them of as he achieved them threw out the year. This book is wonderful inspiring and just an all around baseball lovers dream book, if I was to recommend this book to anyone it would defiantly be a YES! This book is one of my favorites and would hope it would be one of yours as well. =]


By Kevin Lunn

This book starts off as derek jeter stating that he wil play for the New York Yankees when he is 8 years old. They discuss the 10 rules about how to live you life and what to do. Growing up derek had alot of racial problems with his parents. He had one black and one white, and he had a sister, they were a really close family.

growing up there were many racial problems in his town. He went to college in Kalamazoo michigan. He played baseball there and now hes making millions doing what he loves. He said he loves to wake up every morning knowing he loves his job.

Derek is always saying set your goals high so you are always working toward them. Not too high to where you cannot reach them but just high enough that you have to work at it to get to them.

This is one of the greattest books i have ever read. I will give 2 thumbs up. It was a very interesting book becuase i lvoe baseball and i want to be exactly like derek jeter.

For young and inexperienced players, Ted Williams' name may no longer hold the magic it did when I was growing up and playing baseball. But most of us "old-timers" will still remember that Williams was the last professional ball player (in the MLB) to hit over .400 for a full season. So when my Little League aged son was struggling a bit at the plate a season ago, I broke out my copy of Williams' The Science of Hitting to look for some kernel of wisdom that would help my son get out of his slump.

But, the first line in the book is an admonition that today's best hitters fail more than they succeed "...even if you're a .300 hitter...you are going to fail at your job seven out of ten times." This statement is at once encouraging as well as discouraging. That is hitting in a nutshell (triumphant in success yet unbelievably humbling and potentially discouraging in failure) and any good player will need to remember that success as a ball player is measured a bit differently.

The admonition out of the way, Williams' book splits the topic of hitting up into two basic parts--first, the physical mechanics involved in hitting; second, the mental duel taking place between the batter and pitcher.

Much of what is written in the book is the result of Williams' conversations with great hitters of the past. As a result, much of the advice in the book is shared in the form of readable anecdotes, which make the book easy to read and enjoyable for baseball aficionados as well -- where else are you going to learn about Harry Heillman's philosophy of hitting?

One of the primary keys to Teddy Ballgame's success was his swing. The best "old-time" hitters (and Williams was certainly one of them) had a nearly a flat swing plane, flat wrist-roll and a low, rather than high finish. Most of today's hitters' display an upper cutting arc and high finish to their swings. Yet, in the "dead ball" the old-timers managed to wrack up nearly as many homeruns but had much higher batting averages and strike-out to hit ratios. This ended up being the clincher for me. I noticed immediately that my son had started trying to uppercut the ball so he could hit more homeruns (after hitting his one in his first at-bat of the season).

We started working on having him hit line drives and sure enough he raised his average from .175 to .403 by the end of the season. Then this season he kept the swing we worked on and ended up hitting .390+, but also leading the league in home runs, finishing with 22 (including 6 in the post-season).

The other thing that Williams writes (which is often misinterpreted) is that he'd never swing at a pitch he hadn't seen before. Often time people will swear (incorrectly) that Williams never swung at a pitcher's first pitch. Williams was, if nothing else, a student of the game. He intently studied pitchers watching them warm up, watching them from the on-deck circle and mentally replaying previous at-bats in his head. When he stepped into the batters box he had a game plan and he had a good understanding of what a pitcher threw and when. My son used this part of Williams' game as well and it was fun to watch him "studying" the opposing pitchers.

Thank you Ted Williams! My son, whose name is Theodore William by the way, earned the nickname "Teddy Ballgame" from his coaches and teammates as well.

Williams text in The Science of Hitting is accompanied by the wonderful pen and ink illustrations of Robert E. Cupp. These drawings and other explanatory photographs to help illustrate the points Williams is trying to make and really enhance the book.

If you are a player, coach or just a parent wanting to help your son or daughter improve their game, this book is a must have!

I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE READ THIS WHEN I WAS LOANED A COPY FROM HIGH SCHOOL COACH - UNFORUNATELY I NEVER GAVE IT BACK, UNTIL NOW - BUT I DID SHARE IT WITH MY COUSINS AND THEN SONS AND DAUGHTERS - AND NEPHEWS - ALL TO FANTASTIC RESULTS...THIS IS THE HITTERS GUIDE BY THE GREATEST HITTER OF ALL TIME...THANK YOU TED WILLIAMS - AGAIN AND AGAIN...

Nice read, talks about a ton of ideas for hitting better, have used some of them, and have noticed improved power to the opposite field.

Ted Williams was the second best player of all time, anytime he speaks or writes about baseball, it's in your best interest to soak up the info.

- I think this should be the first book on hitting any baseball player reads.
- Should be "The ART of hitting." Very little, if any, science in this book. Mostly stories and tips from Ted Williams.
- Ted Williams makes a great point that 50% of hitting is from the neck up. Many players are physically capable of hitting a baseball but lack the confidence to do it in a game. Mr. Williams gives some very good information on developing game confidence.

This book, along with "The Art of Hitting .300" by Charlie Lau, simply belongs on every ballplayer and coaches bookshelve. This book is rather simple in format, yet loaded with subtle tips and techniques.

Are there books that may be better? Absolutley.

However, these two books are the foundation on which all others are built.

If you dont own it, buy it!

Jackie and Me is a book about a kid named Joe Stashack. He has the power to touch baseball cards and go back in time to when that card was printed. Joe is supposed to write an essay on African-American Heroes. He loves baseball so much he does his report on Jackie Robinson. There is also a contest where the best essay wins a trip to Kentucky Kingdom. Joe really wants to win. Joe goes to his favorite baseball card shop but they don't have a Jackie Robinson 1947 card. Jackie will break the color barrier which is not an actual barrier but it is the law, yet in 1947 he hasn't broken it yet. So they don't have the card, but they do have a Jackie Robinson 1947 signature. Joe is able to travel back through time and he learns something from Jackie. You must stay cool and do not use violence. This is a great book. -Andromeda Grade 5

The book I am reading is Jackie and Me. It is written by Dan Gutman. I think this book deserves five stars because it has real events but at the same time its fiction. It's about a kid who travels back in time to meet Jackie Robinson. But the next thing he knows he gets stuck back in time. So the next thing he tricked ant a bat boy to give his Ken Griffin Jr. Card back the key to get back to his time. He also wrote Babe and Me Honus and Me.

Jackie andme is the best baseball book ive ever read but the thing i hate about it isthere is a kid namedant whosi very negative and hecalls african americans bad names thatwe cant speak of but i would recomend the book if you like baseball.

This book was very powerful in climaxs and the segregation.As I read this I was mad at the terms and the abuse the african american people had to stand up to and in doing so were at risk of being killed.But at the same time I enjoyed hearing about the early 1900's ball players so i rate this book a 4 star book.

I purchased the book as a gift for my children. They love the series and have all of them. I highly recommend the series. It engages the minds of the readers in a fictional, imaginative way for those avid baseball lovers.

I read The Promise and it was a baseball fans dream, full of Yankee anecdotes and the sharing of personalities such as the batboys Ralph and Joe, the clubhouse man Pete Sheehy, big pete little Pete, Al Rosens stolen bat, the great Rizzuto, Berra, the antics od Stengle and martin, and the GREAT JOE DIMAGGIO- I aM AFRAID THAT BEN CRAMER'S BOOK ON DIMAGGIO WILL TRANISH HIS MEMORY. i HOPE NOT. WE NEED HEROES AND TO ME DIMAGGIO WAS A BASEBALL HERE AND A MANS MAN--

If you like tradition and the history of the game read Searching For Heroes The Quest oF a YANKEE BATBOY . i LIKED THE BOOK BECAUSE IT WAS INFORMATIONAL AND INSPIRATIONAL- The Yankees of the fifties were team players who played for the love of the game---A GREAT BOOK.

I read The Promise and it was a baseball fans dream, full of Yankee anecdotes and the sharing of personalities such as the batboys Ralph and Joe, the clubhouse man Pete Sheehy, big pete little Pete, Al Rosens stolen bat, the great Rizzuto, Berra, the antics od Stengle and martin, and the GREAT JOE DIMAGGIO- I aM AFRAID THAT BEN CRAMER'S BOOK ON DIMAGGIO WILL TRANISH HIS MEMORY. i HOPE NOT. WE NEED HEROES AND TO ME DIMAGGIO WAS A BASEBALL HERE AND A MANS MAN--

my name is dean and i live in farmingdale---- about two months ago Mr. Carrieri appeared a Borders book store and spoke about his experiences as Yankee Batboy in the 50s---- his eperiences were fastinating. His hero was Joe Dimaggio wh kept his promise to young joe and Joe Carrieri kept his prmise to the reeaders who share his love of the game. Dimaggio may not have been a hero to everyone but he was a hero on the field and that was the focus of the story. The writing was clean and the read fast----I loved it.

I HAVE BEEN READING SOME NEGATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT DIMAGGIO AND THAT MAKES ME MAD. THESE INSIDE WRITINGS SHOULD BE BETTER LEFT UNSAID. WHAT RIGHT DOES A WRITER HAVE TO REVEAL THE INNER MOST SECRETS OF A PERSON BE HE BEGGAR KING. IT IS NOBODIES BUSINESS TO READ THAT DIMAGGIO WAS GREEDY OR CHEAP.THAT IS WHY I LIKED THE PROMISE. IT DESCRIBED A GREAT BASEBALL PLAYER WHO SYMBOLIZED GRACE AND STYLE-AN AGE OF INNOCENCE-WHEN PLAYERS PLAYED FOR THE FUN OF IT-

We bought this and "New York Yankees: an Illustrared History,"for a Yankee fan. He keeps them on a table next to his favorite chair and each time we visit, there are more little bookmarks and notes. He had told us how much he was enjoying them, but the sight of that well used books showed us that we chose a perfect gift.

The Olympian

A Yankee Century" ($16, Berkley). Baseball's spring training does not truly reside in the deserts of Arizona or near the sands and swamps of Florida. It resides in the hearts and minds of children-turned-adults, who carry with them years of baseball lore and feelings (rational or not) of intense rivalry.

So the paperback version of "A Yankee Century" is just the ticket for warming up to the first crack of the bat. As one raised on the Baltimore Orioles, I can do nothing else but hate (rationally or not) the Yankees.

That said, 100 years of Yankee baseball is a walk through much of baseball history. Harvey Frommer's book covers so many of the details that fans love to savor that it's irresistible.

Frommer stays out of the statistic pit (although there are plenty of numbers), instead making a winning delivery out of stories and quotes that will help baseball fans stay sane on a rainy late-January afternoon.

The Olympian, Olympia Washington

This N' That with Tony Mack:
BLACK ATHLETE SPORTS NETWORK

BOOK REVIEW: A YANKEE CENTURY\\
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BRISTOL, CONN---Earlier this year, you may have read a book review I wrote on the historic relationship between Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. That book was penned by noted baseball writer and historian Harvey Frommer.

Prof. Frommer has since come out with another historic baseball book, this time about the sport's most celebrated franchise.

Frommer, who authored "The New York Yankee Encloypedia", has now penned "A Yankee Century: A Celebration of the First 100 Years of Baseball's Greatest Team".

Not only does Frommer give an oral history of the Pinstripes, but there are several rare photos of Yankee greats past and present.

From Babe Ruth to Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig to Reggie Jackson, and all those in between, "A Yankee Century" is keepsake dream for fans of the Bronx Bombers and a nightmare for Yankee haters all over.

Even though this review is being written by a lifelong Met fan, I found this to be a very entertaining read.

One of the things that was enjoyable about the book is how Frommer has separate "Yankee Stories" on the well-known and lesser known ex-Yankees.

A humble Chris Chambliss talks about coming over from the lowly Cleveland Indians in a 1975 and then winning the pennant with a dramatic homer in the 1976 ALCS against the Royals.

Frommer also writes about the plight of Elston Howard, the first Black to play for the Yankees. His struggles on and off the field are chronicled along with a review of his very understated career as a player and coach.

The breathtaking and sometimes tumulous career of Reggie Jackson in pinstripes is also well chronicled. "Mr. October" had one of the greatest moments in Yankee history when he hit three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

At the time, it gave the Yanks their first World Series title in 13 seasons and he would help them go back to the next season.

Among some of the other African American players that are featured in Prof. Frommer's book are Jeter, current third base coach and ex-captain Willie Randolph, Bernie Williams, and Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.

The book also includes a comprehensive trivia quiz, quotes, anecdotes, and other entertaining features for all baseball fans, Yankee or otherwise.

If you know a true Yankee fan, it's a great addition to their library.

If you know a true Yankee hater, this will be a best way to start an arguement.

BOOK REVIEW: A YANKEE CENTURY
By Tony McClean
BLACK ATHLETE SPORTS NETWORK

BRISTOL, CONN---Earlier this year, you may have read a book review I wrote on the historic relationship between Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. That book was penned by noted baseball writer and historian Harvey Frommer.

Prof. Frommer has since come out with another historic baseball book, this time about the sport's most celebrated franchise.

Frommer, who authored "The New York Yankee Encloypedia", has now penned "A Yankee Century: A Celebration of the First 100 Years of Baseball's Greatest Team".

Not only does Frommer give an oral history of the Pinstripes, but there are several rare photos of Yankee greats past and present.

From Babe Ruth to Derek Jeter, Lou Gehrig to Reggie Jackson, and all those in between, "A Yankee Century" is keepsake dream for fans of the Bronx Bombers and a nightmare for Yankee haters all over.

Even though this review is being written by a lifelong Met fan, I found this to be a very entertaining read.

One of the things that was enjoyable about the book is how Frommer has separate "Yankee Stories" on the well-known and lesser known ex-Yankees.

A humble Chris Chambliss talks about coming over from the lowly Cleveland Indians in a 1975 and then winning the pennant with a dramatic homer in the 1976 ALCS against the Royals.

Frommer also writes about the plight of Elston Howard, the first Black to play for the Yankees. His struggles on and off the field are chronicled along with a review of his very understated career as a player and coach.

The breathtaking and sometimes tumulous career of Reggie Jackson in pinstripes is also well chronicled. "Mr. October" had one of the greatest moments in Yankee history when he hit three homers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

At the time, it gave the Yanks their first World Series title in 13 seasons and he would help them go back to the next season.

Among some of the other African American players that are featured in Prof. Frommer's book are Jeter, current third base coach and ex-captain Willie Randolph, Bernie Williams, and Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.

The book also includes a comprehensive trivia quiz, quotes, anecdotes, and other entertaining features for all baseball fans, Yankee or otherwise.

If you know a true Yankee fan, it's a great addition to their library.

If you know a true Yankee hater, this will be a best way to start an arguement.

In the northeast, the winter of 2003-2004 will be remembered as one of the snowiest, iciest, coldest and dreariest in recent memory. A YANKEE CENTURY was the perfect cure for those miserable days. Filled with the baseball history that took place on the sun-drenched field of Yankee Stadium, Harvey Frommer has provided us Yankee [and most baseball] fans with a warm nostalgia and a good feeling for the springs and summers to come.

With equal parts statistics and anecdote, the book is a well-balanced exploration into the most successful sports franchise in history. Peppered with wonderful photos (some that I had never seen before), this 400+ page book moves swiftly. The writing is respectful without becoming sentimental. And Paul O'Neill, who I will always remember as our favorite water-cooler kicking hothead, proves to be a sensitive and articulate commentator. Congratulations to both writers.

A YANKEE CENTURY is a great exploration into the Bronx Bombers, and by extension, to the history of 20th century baseball itself.