Teams Books

One of the best baseball books ever written and one that makes an important contribution to the history of baseball. This book belongs on any fan's shelf along with Ball Four, The Boys of Summer, The Summer Game, and The Glory of Their Times. Well written and easy to read it brings to life the author's 1973 season on the road with the Indianapolis Clowns. While it is a diary of one of the last seasons of one of the last great barnstorming teams, it is really a book about an earlier era of baseball. It is filled with entertaining stories about colorful characters that probably can not be found anywhere else. Without rhetoric, the book also looks at race in society, through baseball. I highly recommend it.

I have read this book 4 or 5 times over the last 20 years. It is right up there with Jim Bouton's Ball Four and Sparky Lyle's Bronx Zoo. If you can find a copy of it I highly recommend it.

I first read "Some Are Called Clowns" as a teenager when it came out in the 1970's, and I still have my original copy. It's a diary of Bill Heward's 1973 season pitching and managing the Indianapolis Clowns, the last surviving Negro League team from the 1930's and '40's. It's extremely engaging and well-written and you'll get a lot of baseball history along the way, but this book goes well beyond sports. It's an outstanding social piece, too, a very non-judgmental study in race relations from within a sports setting. Tons of great stories (funny and sad), and lots of genuine characters...some of whom appeared in the Bingo Long traveling All-Stars movie in 1976. I have literally read hundreds and hundreds of baseball books, and this one is easily one of my ten favorites. I can't recommend it highly enough, even if you're not a baseball fan.

A little-known but terrific read. The reader can taste, smell, and feel the experience of the tour. Highly recommended.

This is one of the top 5 baseball books ever written. Lighting in a bottle. If you can find a copy, buy it and read it to your kids.

As a former Lynvet, I attended many of the ganes highlighted in the book. Additionally I knew so many of the players mentioned who were a few years older than my friends and I. A few even were our coaches as we moved through the Lynvet organization. These flawed heroes modeled some risky behavior that many of us idolized. Consequently some of us followed in their troubled footsteps. And yet, the strength of character that they also modeled motivated recovery as well. The quasi-hero, Larry Kelly was responsible for many success stories including my own for which I could never repay him. I say a prayer of gratitude to him and all the fascinating old friends that the author recalls.
Jim Matthews, M.Ed. [...]

As an ex-Lynvet player and Annopolis grad, I thouroughly enjoyed "State of Grace." Mr. Timberg successfully brings you back to a much more difficult, but, in many ways, a simpler time. He provides vivid and colorful descriptions of his teamates and the challeges that they faced while entering adulthood.

"State of Grace" is a timeless book about young men living difficult lives, by today's standards, and through football and comraderie find their ways through life. I recommend this book to everyone, but especially to teenagers and their parents.

This memoir will never be dated. The son of a Ziegfield girl and an aspiring songwriter Timberg's book has you rooting for him from the beginning as challenge after challenge threaten to keep him down. He pulls himself into manhood and takes us with him in this superbly crafted work. His goal, Annapolis, is preceded by two years of trying to obtain an appointment. During this interregnum, he joins a sandlot football team made up of good, sometimes errant, boy/men wondering about destinies. A page turner.
S.D. Segalini
Falmouth MA

This book will appeal to anyone who grew up in the 50's/60's, especially in the New York area. The football aspect is a thread; the focus is on coming of age and the changes in society that took place in that era.

It was a personal bonus to me in that I knew the Stuyvesant High School folks mentioned in the book. They were a special breed, dealing with long commutes to school & practices while succeeding in one of the most academically challenging high schools in the U. S.

As I came to know the Lynvets in State of Grace, I found myself caring about each and every one of them while rooting for them to succeed in the games of football and life.

Robert Timberg comes across as an uncomplaining, grateful warm human being who appreciates the hardships of his life for the lessons they taught him, and the good things that happened to him and his buddies for the rewards they brought for trying. Unlike Frank McCourt , who, in "Angela's Ashes" and "Tis" constantly complains about his life growing up and shows very little appreciation for the good life that this country has given him. He should take a lesson from Timberg, whose book is equally as good, who loves his country and his fellow man.

It was wonderful to read about the bond between the Lynvets and the competitions that helped almost everyone to mature to his potential.

Despite a surface knowledge of football I thoroughly enjoyed "State of Grace", and the plays are so well described that it doesn't take much familiarty with the game to get involved and root for the Lynvets.

I highly recomment reading this book.

I. C. Lefferts - Litchfield, CT

I refer to this book on a nearly daily basis, and it is a must for any serious baseball fan. If you're in a fantasy, roto or sim league, you need to have this book.

Don't miss it.

When's the new one coming out?

John Sickels does a tremendous job. The book is well organized, well written, thorough, and doesn't cloud the joy and anticipation of baseball. The best of the STATS books, and always on my 'must-buy' list every year.

there is no better, more accurate source for minor league future stars and role players available at any price. John Sickels is the best!! He spends his winters watching baseball, and he spends his summers also watching baseball. he talks to coaches, managers, players and scouts. his seven skill approach is the most accurate forum for determining future success. I learned the importance of strike-zone judgement, and noone can convince me it's not the single most important factor in determining future success. My roti-team is stocked with Sickels reccommendations. Eric Chavez, Gabe Kapler, and Matt Clement for starters. it's easy to say now, what great players they will be, but John told me FIRST!!!

I'm writing this because Sickels deserves it. After years of roto info overload I now prepare for Draft Day with only three books: Sporting News Baseball Register (so i can see the statistical history of every player on the 40-man rosters), and the masterpieces from Benson and Sickels. The key in a competitive league is all timing, and Olkin gives you a better feel for WHEN a player will bloom than anyone else. John, thanks for helping me win 5 out of 6 league titles in the last two years. But I'm worried now that my competitors will start noticing your book at my side...

If you're a serious fan like me, especially if you do fantasy baseball, purchase this book. It is the most comprehensive text on the top prospects in baseball and a must have!

I constantly refer back to it throughout the baseball season.

I absolutly liked this book!
The author did a great job explaining what to do and HOW to do it.
It improved my own skills to train and guide employees on an individual basis. And that was beneficial to the whole company.
I highly recommend this book for anyone in a position of leadership, management and even employees with a vision.

This engaging book illustrates the value of questions in developing others, gathering information, and thinking through our daily activities. An easy read filled with good information.

It is amazing how very simple Stop Telling Start Leading is to understand. The material is in no way inferior, but is presented in such a simple manner, you can read it in one sitting.

(Full disclosure: this book contains a copy of the FunStandard.org which I maintain.) This book should be required reading for anyone thinking of managing or leading people, covering all the things you need to do to succeed, or, in other words, all of the things managers so often don't think about resulting in unnecessary failure. I particularly liked the chapter on building teams, providing a framework for doing so to avoid a mistake that often dooms projects before the first meeting is even held -- haphazard assembly of individuals, mistaking "organization chart" for "team". This book's distilled wisdom will make you a better manager in a very short time.

-- This message was also posted on MLPF and LinkedIN Lions ---

Most people appreciate the difference grandparents made in their lives. While their parents are much more concerned with how a child should be, their grandparents have the patience to create the space for the child to become who they really are. Basically it is the felt difference between emotional stress and emotional support.

The same is true for management books. Most management book authors are like parents, telling the child how it needs to be. And managers are like children, wanting to live up to expectations. Do you have friends or relatives who are a manager? Do you feel they could use some emotional support? After all, being a manager is quite often a challenge, and sometimes it is more than one can bear. These are the times when they need some kind of support.

Here's the good news. My friend and mentor, Frank Kanu, has published a management book that will bring your manager friend the emotional support (s)he sometimes needs. Here's an example:

"When there's no plan, deadlines are missed, budgets are overextended, customers are unhappy, employees are angry and exhausted, and managers have to clean up the mess." (p128)

I remember the time when i was an employee, and i read "the Dilbert Principle" by Scott Adams. And for the first time in my life i felt the emotional support, coming right out of this book.

This book by Frank Kanu, "Stop Telling... Start Leading !" is such a book. If you would like to give your friend the emotional support that you think (s)he deserves, then by all means, buy the book and give it to her or to him. The book is available from Amazon.com.

As a gift for you, i will throw in a free PDF version of my own book "Bilocality and the inner world of attention". I feel that this way, we've all done just this little extra, to help those who need us most.

Let's continue improving our life and those we care about.
Warmest regards, Ron
http://www.whatisattention.org

With the recent untimely passing of baseball hero Kirby Puckett, it's particularily worth noting that SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: BLACK BASEBALL IN MINNESOTA includes an oustanding chapter on the life of Puckett.

The chapter on Puckett's life was penned by sportswriter and author Jay Weiner, who was the Twins beat writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune during the 1980s. Weiner does a brilliant job in telling the "rags-to-riches" story of the offspring of the Chicago housing projects who became the smiling face of the Minnesota Twins.

Weiner reveals the essence of Kirby Puckett, warts and all, and gives the reader a deeper sense of the tragic aura of Puck's career, injury, blindness, groping for posterity, and his induction into baseball's Hall of Fame.

Perspective is needed on Puckett and his place in the baseball record in Minnesota and author Weiner does this in SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: BLACK BASEBALL IN MINNESOTA. The book gives TWINS fans a new level of understanding of baseball in Minnesota, tying the past to the present, to see how it all fits together in a lively style, rich in storylines, filled with pathos of the intertwining of the themes of manhood, fatherhood, and brotherhood. A great read for fans of Puckett and of the Minnesota Twins.

Twenty-three articles by a variety of authors, mostly college professors and journalists, cover the different facets of black baseball in Minnesota from its first days in the latter 1800s down to contemporary times. The general theme running through all of the diversified articles is the "America Dream" and the "American Tragedy" reflected in the histories of the teams and the careers and lives of individual players. The American Dream part of the theme deals with how playing baseball allowed players to strive for high personal achievement as well as enjoy various levels of economic security and social recognition. The American Tragedy part takes in not only the racism and discrimination players faced, but also personal troubles and disappointments of some of them. Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays appear along with many relative unknowns. The exploits of teams named the Fergus Falls Musculars, the Quicksteps, and the Brown Stockings, among others, are related. The vibrant Minnesota black baseball scene going back well over a century is treated in a popular style profiling great and other notable players and following the courses, and occasional dramatic moments, of the teams.

Hoffbeck and his group of writers slice through baseball history in a unique way. Minnesota is not known for its baseball history or its African-American history, so at first glance it does not appear to be a very meaty topic. However, the writers have managed to cull together stories dating from the 1870s, covering the local town team right up to major-leaguers with the Twins. Some of the giants of the game stopped in Minnesota on their way to "the show" and therefore the book appeals to all baseball fans, not just Minnesotans.

"Swinging For The Fences," is a fascinating journey through Minnesota african american baseball history from the late 19th century to the present day. The book focuses on themes such as race, manhood, brotherhood, and fatherhood, and traces the struggles and triumphs of several black ball players who lived and played in Minnesota.Through the stories of remarkable athletes such as Bud Fowler, Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, Dave Winfield, and Kirby Puckett, the authors trace the vivid, if not well known,saga of black baseball in the upper midwest , from the town team days right up to the arrival of the Twins and beyond.Unlike many baseball histories, "Swinging For The Fences," doesn't overwhelm you with mind numbing facts and figures and a real love for the game shines through. The book also contains many never before published photos. Painstakingly researched and beautifully written, "Swinging For The Fences," is as exhilarating and fulfilling as a ninth inning rally !
-Todd Peterson, Member, The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)

When one thinks of "black" baseball, an image of Jackie Robinson trying to break the Major League Baseball color barrier with the Dodgers comes to mind. About the last thing one would expect is to associate the lily-white state of Minnesota with black bseball, yet, in this intrigingly interesting book, Dr. Steve Hoffbeck shows how many other black baseball players suffered the same struggles as Jackie Robinson, their stories being told for the first time.

Dr. Hoffbeck has assembled a team of 11 writers to tell the detailed story of black baseball players in Minnesota that begins in the late 19th century and ends with sad story of the fallen hero Kirby Puckett. This is not a book that revels in baseball statistics; rather, the writers focus on the players themselves: who they were, where they came from, the color barrier conflicts each had to face, and what happened to them after baseball. It is this personalized approach that grabs the mind of the reader, and makes this book so interesting.

The book is divided into 24 concise chapters, each centered on a particular black baseball player or team. My favorite player chapters were as follows:

1. Earl Batty and his attempt to bring racial equality to the southern "plantation" owner of the Minnesota Twins, Calvin Griffith.
2. Satchel Paige's baseball barnstorming days in Minnesota. I am amazed with the pure pitching genius of 'Ol Satch, and how he was not allowed to compete against white major league baseball players until he was 42 years old in 1948. Even at that age (Paige being the oldest rookie to ever play major league baseball), Paige amazed the fans, his teammates, every batter he faced, and even the umpires with his amazing throwing skills. What a shame a man like Paige was denied his chance to excel at his first love while in his prime - just think of how the record books would look if Paige pitched 20-plus seasons in the major leagues!
3. Toni Stone, the first black woman (or any woman of any color for that matter) to attempt to pitch at the major league level.
4. The chapter on the tragic story of Kirby Puckett, the first black Minnesota baseball superstar, who had the fans of Minnesota in his back pocket, and then lost it all to allegations of spousal abuse and infidelity. Minnesota has never gotten over the fall of their hero Puckett and we lament to this day the sad ending to his stellar career.

The above chapters are only my personal highlights of what has come together as an excellent book on black baseball. Other chapters deal with lesser known black players in Minnesota, yet, the themes of persistence through intense racial persecution and taunting, the shared black brotherhood of baseball, and the sacrifices these men went through to pursue their love of the game shine through.

Hoffbeck and fellow writers have contributed a vital link to the previously untold "missing" history of black baseball.

This book should be in the collection of anyone who loves the game of baseball, for it documents the early pioneers of black baseball, and shows the heavy financial and emotional price the players had to pay to seek their places in the game of baseball. Modern-day black baseball players owe a debt of gratitude to these early pioneers, for it was their superior abilities, pride, and persistence that finally brought down the long-standing nearly impregnable racial barrier of American baseball. Cudos to Hoffbeck and Company for telling their compelling stories.

Jim Konedog Koenig

I read all three of Leigh Wade's books, 'Tan Phu: Special Forces Team A-23 in Combat', 'The Protected Will Never Know', and 'Assault on Dak Pek', in order, and loved them all. Wade spent multiple tours in 'Nam, between '63 and '70. He was not only a professional soldier, but a professional Special Forces soldier, so his point of view is a lot different from Joe Smuckatelli the Average Grunt. These books are gritty and honest and I hightly recommend them all- Tan Phu being first in the series and covering the pre-buildup Vietnam of 1963. In fact, I think I'd go so far as to say that I enjoyed these as much or more than any other series-type books on Vietnam (and I've read a pile of 'em.)

I enjoy Leigh Wade's writing style and had read one of his other books. This book is his account of his first tour in Vietnam as a junior commo sergeant in a remote A-Team. Lt. Nick Rowe was on this team, and Wade's account of the operation that lead to the capture of Rowe (author of Five Years to Freedom) and Cpt. Rocky Versace (who was awarded a CMH posthumously for his actions as a POW) is a good addition to the historical record. After reading this book I re-read the beginning of Five Years to Freedom. It is very enlightening to read the two first person accounts of the battle. Both were accurate and insightful, and the differing perspectives helped illustrate some of the chaos of battle and fog of war. This book is a good personal record of the war from a junior green beret's point of view, uncensored and unapologetic.

This author kept my attention the whole time. Read this book, its great.

Tan Phu was the Special Forces camp from which three Americans were captured in South Vietnam on 29 October 1963. If you read James N. (Nick) Rowe's Five Years to Freedom, then you'll want to read Tan Phu to get the rest of the true story on what happened to the 12-man Special Forces Team A-23. As the cover says: "every night you fought just to stay alive." Well written, and a good book to whet your appetite for reading more history about Special Forces operations. After reading Tan Phu, rent The Green Berets video starring John Wayne, which did a good job overall in portraying the daily struggle of isolated Special Forces camps to stay alive surrounded by the Viet Cong

Leigh Wade proves that with American ingenuity, and old fashion guts, you can do a lot of damage while minimizing friendly casualties. He also shows the reader that regardless of your primary MOS - he was a commo man - while assigned to a Special Forces A-Team, you are going to fight and kill like a proven grunt, which he did well, and often. Reading Wade's story helps me put Vietnam in perspective. He tells it the way it happened to him, and there's plenty to get your attention. He - through his writings - makes me proud to be an American. Way to go, Leigh!

Run and buy... This book has a lot of good exercises and ideas for developing teams. I specially found it helpful dealing with group processes, e.g. how to work with roles, conflict, tasks, cooperation and other topics. I have read about 30 books about teams and games/ activities: These book is one of the top three. My best recommendations!

Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan designs activities and games for training programs and to improve human performance. Glenn Parker is a team-building expert. When the two of them paired up to create Teamwork and Teamplay, they were able to offer 38 team-building and training exercises that work.

The value of this book begins with its introduction. Thiagi and Parker start by identifying 7 different types of teams and guidelines for using the activities. Those guidelines include steps to take so you are prepared to facilitate the activity, steps to take during the activity, and what to do after the activity is concluded.

Activities include skill-building in consensus-making (don't miss "Escape from Gilligan's Island" here!), ethics, motivation, team effectiveness, stages of team development. . .and more.

Thiagi and Parker include three indices at the end of the book: a topical index, a primary use (team-building or -training activity) index, and a time/number index.

Trainers, coaches, facilitators, and team leaders will find themselves returning to this book again and again. I have worked several of these games into my training sessions, with great results, and am eager to try even more. The activities are fun and groups find them engaging and energizing, and the learning points are solid.

I met Thiagi few years ago when I was still in Bloomington, Indiana (when I was still a PhD student). I love his game and simulation seminar a lot. This book include a lot of his "tricks" and pratical guidelines for those trainers who would like to motivate the team sprit and so on. A highly recommend book

Being one of those relatively concrete-sequential, oldest child, ISTJ (for the Myers-Briggs aficionados) people, I started my consulting career a little wary of all these "touchy-feely" group activities that trainers use when working with groups. Well, times change and (maybe) people do, too. I have done a fair amount of group facilitation and training, and have found all kinds of activities to be very beneficial in getting people to identify, focus on, and move toward shared goals. Many trainers discount or are ignorant of the requirements of adult learners -- most adults won't sit still (literally) for traditional, classroom-style instruction for more than 45 minutes at a time.

This book is an excellent, concise, easy-to-follow resource for anyone working in either team building or team training environments. As explained in the book's introduction, team building "...increases the ability of an intact team to work together...," while team training "...increases the knowledge and skills of the participants in various aspects of teamwork and being a team player...." The book presents many exercises for each type of team experience.

Each of the 38 activities is organized in an easy-to-follow format that includes:

* purpose * team size (minimum/maximum recommended group) * required resources * time (to complete) * room setup * steps * debriefing * variations * templates, charts, overheads, as applicable

The book also includes appendices that sort the activities by primary use (team building or team training), time and participants, and by topic area (desired outcome or issue being addressed). These appendices make it easy to determine at a glance which of the 38 activities are most appropriate for a particular group or setting when designing training.

The value of the introduction bears emphasis. Many books have forgettable introductions; this book's introduction is an excellent short essay on the value, uses, and benefits of building and training teams. Read it slowly -- the authors make their points quickly. If you skim, you'll miss something important.

Whether you're a consultant or in-house trainer, regardless of organization size or mission, this book is a handy tool to improve the quality, participation, and outcomes from your groups training.

More is just what this phenomenal book of new and exciting trainings offers any aspiring and inspiring trainer. The trainings can be easily grouped and shared to produce high impact.

In returning from a weekend seminar of team building and communication courses, several trainings from this manuel helped to provide for a high-impact seminar with team-work problem solving, team interaction and production, opportunities for great transitional shorties between programs (adaptability is immense!) and communication inside the team.

Metcalfe, Our Team, ET, Escape from Gilligan's Island were among the courses used and combined with others throughout the seminar. Worthwhile trainings and with some ingenuity and creativity, easily adaptable to fit any size of audience!

I highly recommend this book for trainers looking to provide something new or something different in seminars on team work and communication.

I know I can't wait to implement more trainings from the book into helping others become better team players!

Not only does this book give a remarkable description of the 97'/98' season but also a in depth look at the previous seasons and how the Jazz came to be in Utah. It is the best written Jazz book I have ever read and I will read it over and over. Michael Lewis has wrote the book in away that all the memorable moments come rushing back to you as if you were still in front of the T.V. celebrating with your friends. It brings it back to life.

This book is a summary of the 97-98 Utah Jazz season; and even as a diehard Jazz fan, I didn't know of some of the sticky situations that went on in their season and what a miracle it was that they made the finals. The whole state of Utah (they're all Jazz fans, right?) needs to read this book; along with any other Jazz fan.

Not only does this book give a remarkable description of the 97'/98' season but also a in depth look at the previous seasons and how the Jazz came to be in Utah. It is the best written Jazz book I have ever read and I will read it over and over. Michael Lewis as wrote the book in away that all the memorable moments come rushing back to you as if you were still in front of the T.V. celebrating with your friends. It brings it back to life.

I just finished this book and I can't say enough about it. It describes the Jazz's season perfectly! If you get 1 book this year make it this one.

I bought this book recently and I must say that I love it! The author is honest about the team, writing about the good times, bad times and how players react to all kind of distraction. I strongly recommend this book for all the Jazz fans out there. This is a well written book which alows the reader to travel with the team, hear what they have to say and see how they react to reporters for example. Just buy it.

Do you want to get more out of your team or run it more effectively - then this book is for you. As a trainer, I look for tools that can help me get more out of my employees and team members. This book is a great resource for any manager or HR person.

Great Book the author uses clear and Insightful examples to illustrate his ideas.

The author builds upon "Tools for Team Excellence," his previous work, this time focusing on leadership. He provides an advanced set of approaches and techniques for successful team leadership. This self-study book explores the central qualities of leadership in a team environment. It includes a toolbox for analyzing a team and methods to help a team help lead and build itself. The book is loaded with key points, extremely well written and organized, and offers many examples, 36 exercises, 21 highlighting tables, chapter summaries, and after-chapter reviews. A book that sparkles with substance.

This is a solidly written, clear and comprehensive guide to leading teams. Author Gregory E. Huszczo touches on almost every subject a team leader needs to know - what skills are necessary, how you develop them, how you build teams, what you do when conflict erupts and so on. This book is an excellent introduction to team building for someone newly assigned to a team. It also offers important advice for executives of companies that are considering a team approach to management. The style is clear and straightforward, but quite academic. The author cites research and evidence to back his assertions, but he does not provide much in the way of entertainment. We find that those who like to swallow their management lore straight from the bottle will savor this book; those who prefer to mix it with anecdotes may wish to imbibe elsewhere.

I had the opportunity to attend a class with Gregory Huszsco on building teams. I have to say that the class, as well as the book, was very informative and very well thought out. Those of us who are in teams, managing teams, or thinking of using teams in our organization all should read this. It should be required reading for management and all team members.

this the book to own! Jay Barker did a great job of assemebling the history. It will be a book to pass down to my two sons....opps, I forgot! I gave both of them one for Christmas.

Bought this for my dad for Christmas and he cannot stop talking about it! He loves it! I highly recommend this as a gift - the receiver will think you spent $100 for it.

This book is more than a book. It has everything you could imagine and is very well written by former alabama QB Jay Barker. I sat, totally amazed by everything in this vault for over 2 hours, reading stories, talking to my dad about games he'd been too, having travia matches with my "know-it-all" brother, and wishing I had another book for myself. This book looks great on the coffee table of my moms house and is a suitable sub for the Bible (until mom saw it there, Apparently "The Bear" isn't God after all.). If you like 'Bama football then, this book will make you love it. This is THE GIFT for the holidays or any other special occasion.

My husband is a diehard Bama fan, and this was just to be an addition to the collection he already has... But, this could be the best one yet. I was amazed at the amount of information, history, memorabilia, quality, everything. I was expecting another "book", not a scrapbook of Alabama football history. Way to go Barker!

Being an ALABAMA FOOTBALL fan I may be biased, but this is a great book nonetheless.
No other book does more in chronicling the history of football at THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA. From its humble beginnings in 1892 to the arrival of head coach Nick Saban in 2007, this book has it all.
Inside is a plethora of artifacts (recreated, of course), including but not limited to:
A program from BAMA's first football game in 1892
Tickets to historic games
1950s pennant
Period stat sheets
more...