Players Books

One cannot help but be moved by this little book of various sayings of and articles about Satchel Paige. Yet this is one of the most delightful reads I have experienced in quite a while. David Sterry and Arielle Eckstut have put together a collection of witicisms and rare articles that will delight the baseball fan and history buff.

Beautifully illustrated with vintage photographs and pictures, this book is a gem. A reader will learn about the spirit of a man who looked Jim Crow in the face and won!

I'm not much of a baseball fan, and Satchel Paige has always just been a name to me, but a friend showed me this book and I couldn't resist reading it. I do like history, philosophy, and stories about people with integrity who overcome obstacles to do what they love and live by their own standards, and Satchel Sez pleased me on all of those levels. For those of you who are as uninformed as I was before I read this book, Leroy "Satchel" Paige started out with a job carrying suitcases at the age of seven and went on to become the greatest pitcher baseball has ever known, with stats that far outshine the records set by white players who were allowed careers in the big leagues. Satchel played in the Negro Leagues for almost his entire career - he spent a few years in the Major Leagues. He was eventually named the oldest rookie when he was in his sixties. "Age is a question of mind over matter," he said. "If you don't mind, it don't matter." The book is colorful, fun, and easy to read, pairing quotes and anecdotes by and about Satchel with lots of photographs of the man himself. Satchel's humor and easy-going nature are captured here, but at the same time the book portrays his grace and dignity, a side of him that has often been overlooked due to racial stereotypes. Satchel has lots of advice to give on everything from baseball to aging to women to stomach trouble. Some examples are: "Slow down, you last longer," "Be satisfied in your own world," and "Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Home plate don't move." He also offers inspiration, such as, "You have to believe in yourself. When you believe, you do." One of my favorite quotes could be applied to the racism he faced: "It's not what you don't know that hurts you. It's what you know that just ain't so." I'm also impressed by Satchel's goodwill. For sure, he trash-talked and was never modest about his genius, but he was generous at the same time. Once he didn't show up to the Negro League equivalent of an All-Star game because the owners of the teams refused to donated all of the proceeds to returning wounded GIs. When he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (Negro League players were supposed to be recognized separately), he said, "There were many Satchels." I am simultaneously impressed, informed, and inspired by Satchel Sez, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Satchel Paige. Just saying the name brings to mind a personality as vibrant and singular as any seen in the world of baseball. This short, effective book presents a glimpse into the truly marvelous wit and wisdom of the pitcher who seemed terminally young, throwing baseballs with purpose and precision into his 60s. A pitcher who once struck out 24 batters in one game. A player many claim was the ultimate master of the pitched ball. A competitor with constant chatter and quips. A man who was relegated to second-class citizenship because he was African-American, yet with whom all the white teams of the 1930s wanted to play against in the barn-storming games because he was such a draw. Take a peak at this book and you'll glean a new insight into the man who became a legend. The authors have captured the essence of Satchel via quotes about and by Paige, lots of photographs, stats, stories, and memorabilia all wrapped in a wildly successful graphic design.

I read this play for a college comparative literature course and it was great. Moliere is extremely easy to read and his work is very enjoyable. You can't help but be astonished by Arnolphe's views of women, but his ignorance gives you a good laugh. Enjoy!!

Bolt achieves with his translation of Moliere's classic comedy what David Hirson did with his 1991 play, La Bete. While remaining true to the general language of Moliere's time and rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter, Bolt is still able to sprinkle modern touches that make the comedy pop out even more. Bolt's British wit sparkles through the French comedy, making for an enjoyable read as well as performance.

Interesting, too, is Nicholas Dromgoole's introduction, which makes some incredibly interesting points yet also keeps in tone with Bolt's take on Moliere's commedia dell'arte-influenced School For Wives.

Whether you're a fan of Moliere or a novice to his works, Bolt's translation of The School for Wives is a fantastic read that keeps the comedy alive, even after 350 years.

I read this play for a French Lit. class (in the original French)and enjoyed Moliere's sense of humor. I laughed out loud as I watched everyone's plans go horribly awry. A great classic social commentary. It centers around one man's obsessive fear of cuckoldry (when a man's wife cheats on him), and the extremes to which he goes to avoid this. He practically emprisons a girl/young woman so that she can be raised properly and will make a faithful and obedient wife when she finally matures. This of course leads him into a muddle of confusion and coincidences as everything goes wrong . . .

This book was awesome! I recommend it to all children. It is very inspiering.

I loved the book. Even though I'm 15, I bought the book because I have always admired Scottie Pippen. After reading the book, I feel like I know this player, and I like him even more. He's told many stories that you don't expect to hear from a hotshot basketball player in this book, which is why it's so special. He shared the tough stuff he went through, and you respect him more. This book is one of the most cherished books of mine!

Greg Brown has created a wonderful series of books with various athletes. These aren't empty ego trips, they are quality stories with valuable lessons on sportsmanship and responsibility. We have bought several for our grandson, and the special bonus has been that since his Dad is a sports fan as well, he enjoys reading them to him. These books are very good, I was pleasantly surprised by the morals and good behavior advocated and encouraged by these athletes. I highly recommend them.

This is such a rich and deep work. Its exploration of human longings and relationships is powerfully poetic. One of its predominant notes is longing and disappointment in life. The Masha who opens the play telling of her unhappiness seems to signal what is to come, a series of lonely cries from characters each of whom fails to attain what they most want. The estate owner Sorin laments never having fulfilled his dream of being an author, or his dream of having been married, and now even his dream of living out his last years in the City, in Moscow. His sister the actress is in one sense a typically Russian character filled with passionate contradictions, generous in helping the misfortunate but unbelievably vain in regard to her own status as actress. Her son Constantine frustrated by the love of the actress Nina is too troubled by the sense of inferiority which comes from his having spent a childhood in the company of his mother's successful friends. Nina herself madly in love with the writer Trifonov with whom she runs off with, only to be abandoned by , is too another broken character who nonetheless persists and fights on, as she goes out to the provinces to renew her acting career. Fame and success too do not provide the key to happiness as is demonstrated in the life of Trifonov.
This play demonstrates Chekhov's incredible capacity for creating living characters, and the tremendous emotional richness of his work.
A masterpiece

Inspired by a real-life incident of the death of a sea gull, this is hailed as the best written play by Chekov, The Sea Gull tells a poignant love story centered on literaray nonentity Konstantin's tragic quest for a burgeoning actress Nina. Swirling around the country estate are characters who reflect Konstantin's pain and suffering in their own harshly realistic ways. In this famed play, Chekov introduces a brand new form of literature as to emphasize characters other than plot. Instead of placing characters beneath a steady frame, Chekov lets his characters guide the subtle movement of the sad tale of devastated dreams and hopes. The dying sea gull symbolizes the emptiness of defeat and further stressing the beauty of life. The fullness of being simply alive comes beaming with power and touches life.

I still can never figure out why "The Cherry Orchard" is hailed as his masterpiece and put in all the Drama anthologies to represent his work. To me "Ivanov", "The Sea Gull" and "Uncle Vanya" are his great works. "The Sea Gull" however ranks on the top of my list as his best work. A tragic tale of the meaning of love and being an artist with comic tones and timeless characters. All of the emotions and situations are realistic to real life. The play is more personal and has more meaning than average Realism. The first time I saw "The Sea Gull" I fell in love with it so much I saw it the next day again. It's one of the rare four act plays that I can enjoy the whole performance and not be bored. Anyone who wants to see Chekhov's brilliance should read this play and the others I mentioned.

What if the White Sox had been the first major league team to field a black player? Rutkoff imagines it, populating his rich story with people both real and imagined. Among the real: An imperious, double-dealing Chuck Comiskey, owner of the White Sox. Among the imagined: The Negro League hero who makes the leap into the majors a black blues singer from Memphis whose heartbreaking tragedy is a riveting subplot and the Jewish fixer who finds himself in the middle. Full of fascinating historical detail (the author is a noted historian at Kenyon College). You've never heard of this small-press novel, and what a pity: It deserves an audience among baseball fans, Chicagoans, history buffs, blacks, whites, and just about and anyone else who cares about why America is the way it is today.

Full disclosure: If you read and love "Shadow Ball" as I did, you may also enjoy my novel "To Love Mercy" -- because it's a virtual sequel to "Shadow Ball." "To Love Mercy" takes the story forward three decades, to 1948. It's a tale of blacks and whites, Christians and Jews, how children see the world, conflict and forgiveness ... and the White Sox!

This is a beautifully written and imaginatively conceived historical novel. Its author is a well-published academic historian who teaches at Kenyon College. This is his first novel. Peter Rutkoff brings together several strands of American history (e.g., baseball, race, and Chicago.) Real people--Rube Foster, Charles Comiskey, and Shoeless Joe Jackson--encounter the author's wonderfully-drawn fictional characters. Rutkoff's evocation of Chicago is also as superb as it is knowledgeable. And the storyline--which I won't reveal--is most compelling. This is, as they say, a page turner. If your literary appetite combines baseball and American history, read this book!

I came to this book through my interest in social history. I came away from the book a fan of baseball as well. The author drops you into 1919 Chicago and into the heads of all those involved in a high-stakes and incendiary decision to bring a Negro player to the Chicago White Sox. Despite a new appreciation for baseball, for me the highlight of the book is the portrayal of "small" lives. The tragedy that racial prejudice brings to a young, poor woman coming to Chicago from the South makes this book resonate much longer than any game-winning home run.

There are thousands of biographies of Shakespeare. Picking which to read can be a challenge. "Shakespeare the Player," by John Southworth, is the third Shakespeare biography I've read. I recommend it highly for its passion, its premise and its detail. This book leaves you with an appreciation of, not just the writer of the most famous plays in the world, but the actors he wrote FOR and the roles he played IN. In a readable, well-organised presentation, Southworth turns Shakespeare the austere genius into Shakespeare the warm human being.

Shakespeare learned his craft by acting first and writing second, contrary to conventional treatments of his life. These are the points that struck my interest:
. Shakespeare the apprentice actor, playing roles in other writers' works, learning to be part of a team of players, learning to read an audience's reactions, learning to read fellow actors' abilities
. Shakespeare the company sharer, investing in his company when he had the experience and money, becoming a stakeholder whose written plays were part but not all of his substantial contributions to the success of the team
. Writing specific parts that fit specific actors
. Emphasis on time on tour as well as at home in London

Southworth is an actor and director who brings experience and research to provide supporting detail for his points:
. Superb familiarity with the plays and lines (making the most readable and engaging summary of Shakespeare's works I've ever seen)
. Examples of influences of lines from other Elizabethan plays, in which Shakespeare performed as an apprentice, on lines in his earliest written plays (showing influence on his development as a writer from his experience as an apprentice).
. Line by line comparisons of Sonnets and Plays (and discussing how Shakespeare's love for plays was greater than his love for poems)
. What roles Shakespeare would have played (kingly but not always the king; roles that allowed him to coach apprentices and influence performance tone and style of the overall play during rehearsal)
. What roles his fellow actors and apprentices would have played (roles for his fellow veterans, roles for the apprentices showing them off and developing them into experienced veterans in their own right)
. Queen Elizabeth's and King James' support for players in general and Shakespeare's companies in particular (and the differences in plays that the two respective monarchs preferred)

This book, and SHAKESPEARE OF LONDON by Marchette Chute, are the only works known to me on Shakespeare that emphasize his work as an actor-director. Once one is reminded that Shakespeare was one of the leading actors in the various companies in which he worked and for whom he wrote, much of his life and career arc make far better sense than they do in the usual biographies that concentrate exclusively on his writing, as if he sat every night in a rented room and generated page after page with no actors or theater in mind. It also supplies a very different picture of how the members of any given successful group of players spent the year, particularly in its demonstration that even players with a dedicated, available playhouse in London still necessarily spent a good part of each year on tour.

Any discussion of the details of any part of Shakespeare's life is necessarily 99% speculation and 1% ambiguous documentation. However, Southworth's guesses as to the roles taken or preferred by Shakespeare in his own plays are soundly based on Southworth's lifelong experience as an actor in many performances of most of the Bard's plays, and generally made sense to me. It would be fascinating to get some clearer idea of the roles he took in the plays of Jonson and Marlowe, and Southworth does make some guesses, at least for the Marlowe plays that had the most obvious influence on Shakespeare's own earliest plays.

Southworth pictures Shakespeare as a whole-hearted "man of the theater" from well before his hasty marriage until just a few weeks before his untimely death in his early 50s. It's a picture that is consistent with what we know about the Elizabethan and Jacobian theater, and which remains consistent with the few documents that place Shakespeare at any given spot at any given time, doing any specific thing.

In short, it's a highly-recommended eye-opener.

As an academic, I could resent the sometimes acerbic references to academics in John Southworth's Shakespeare the Player, but as an academic I learned more from this non-academic book than I have learned from many academic books on Shakeespeare. The book is written by aprofessional theater person, an actor/director, who has a thorough knowledge of Shakespeare's plays and of the interactions among casts and playwrights and stages and plays and performances. From this background, he proposes and credibly supports four lines of argument: a) that there cannot be any lost years in Shakespeare's biography: to do what he did, Shakespeare had to have had an extensive apprenticeship in the theater, and Southworth adds evidence in support of the theory that this was Leceister's company; b) that there is no credible evidence that Shakespeare ever retired from the theater, and much circumstantial evidence from theater lives to suggest that he did no such thing; c) that Shakespeare was primarily an actor/director in his own plays, and not primarily a playwright, in his own eyes and the eyes of his colleagues; and d) that the roles he chose for himself, roles like Iago in "Othello," were characterized by being somewhat detached from the action, frequency of appearance on stage even when not speaking, and often a kind of controlling relationship with the other characters. The style is clear, unpretentions and very readable, the presentation direct, knowledgeable and carefully argued with detailed and credible evidence. I found the book to be the most helpful single book in illuminating Shakespeare and his plays that I've read in the last ten years.

this a cool book on Shaq just going over what he does on&off the court.Shaq is a real cool Dude.He has alot of Fun at what He does.a Fun Read.

A friend referred this book to me and it is great - for kids of all ages. The author did a great job of making an adventure out of Shaq's real life story. The kids love it, which makes it both fun and a great reading tool.

My son loved this title. It is one of the best in the series we have found so far. I would recommend to to anyone who is looking for something to inspire their "little athlete."

A realistic view point of a teenage girl who thinks she needs to be thin to be successful--and catch the boy! An important read for any girl who feels the pressures of society to lose weight.

A very good book for Teenagers. Lot of helpful information for everybody. Enjoyed reading this one.

Yet another wonderful, funny an creative book exploring a topic very true to younger aged girls. Keep them coming Dona!

"Sky Kings" was one of the new books at the 1999 convention of the North American Society on Sports History. The Kentucky Public Libraries named it to their Suggested Reading List. Researchers at the Schomburg Research Center in Harlem, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and the Association for Professional Basketball Research in Phoenix have all found the material useful and entertaining.

IF YOU LOVE NBA OR GLOBETROTTER FOLKLORE, READ IT

LOVE THE FRESH INSIGHT ,RARE PHOTOS,GREAT GIFT IDEA FOR TRIVIA MATERIAL, YOUNG FANS, OR HISTORIANS

The book Snake is the biography of Ken Stabler the Oakland Raiders renegade quarterback of the 1970's. The book was very interesting and was very detailed. I recommend reading this book if you are a football fan. Also if you are an Oakland Raiders fan this book is for you. If you do not vulgar language or talks of sex, drugs and rock and roll you should not read this book. The book had many strong points, which include very detailed recolations of games and wild nights. My overall opinion of the book is that was very interesting and if you have a weak stomach this book is not from you. Snake is a book for football lovers and if you liked this book check "I'm the Assassin" by Jack Tatum another renegade from the Oakland Raiders in the 1970's. Go Raiders.

This had to be one of the funniest behind the scenes sports books ever. Shocking tales of hot-tub orgies, drunken spree's, and other general hedonism highlight page after page. And there is some football, too.

What were considered rumors about the wild lifestyles of the Oakland Raiders are actually truths according to one of the leaders, Kenny Stabler. Drinking, honky-tonking, reading the playbook by the jukebox light, womanizing and oh yes - football are some of the sideshows in this book. This is not only about the "Snake" but also about the other characters from the Oakland Raiders during their heyday.