View Full Version : A book you HAVE to read
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05-04-2002, 06:41 AM
Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>I'm always looking for good vintage books. Robert Creamer's "Baseball in 41" is still one of my favorites - concentrates on how people of that time viewed the Williams and Dimaggio feats. I liked it so much I permanently changed my softball number to "41".
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05-04-2002, 10:33 AM
Posted By: <b>TBob</b><p>Havana Heat by Darryl Brock in which the story of Luther "Dummy" Taylor's attempt to make it one last time with the Giants is told. It is much, much more than a basball book. It contains all the glory of the golden age of baseball but is a story about life. I think you can find relatively inexpensive copies at Half.Com and other places on the Internet. Five Stars!
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05-04-2002, 10:43 AM
Posted By: <b>Andy Baran</b><p>Darryl Brock is my favorite author. As good as Havana Heat is (and it is great), his first book, If I Never Get Back (about the 1869 Red Stockings), blows it away. It is my favorite book of all time. I think that it is out of print, but can probably be found on the internet. It is my understanding that Darryl is currently writing a sequel to it. I can't wait.
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05-04-2002, 12:40 PM
Posted By: <b>Brueso</b><p>Stengel and Ruth books, and enjoyed his interviews in Ken Burns' Baseball.
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05-04-2002, 01:19 PM
Posted By: <b>jeff</b><p>It's always great to hear of a baseball book or two I haven't read. (There aren't many.) But in case there is an earthling remaining who hasn't read it, Lawrence Ritter's "The Glory of Their Times" is simply the best. Especially for those of us who collect early 20th century baseball. The first time I read it, I got to the end and basically started it again. It's that good.<BR><BR>Jeff
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05-04-2002, 05:09 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>Y'know, modern authors are sometimes just as good as old ones:<BR><BR>Ty Cobb, by Charles Alexander<BR>Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robibnson and his Legacy, by Jules Tygiel<BR><BR>Theoretically, the newer the book, the more the author has to build on in the way of old books. Doeasn't always work that way of course. But these two are great.<BR><BR>
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05-04-2002, 05:15 PM
Posted By: <b>Elliot</b><p>A book I haven't heard anybody mention is "Baseball's Golden Age: The Photographs of Charles Conlon". I think the subject matter is self-explanatory and some of the images are awesome.
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05-04-2002, 05:55 PM
Posted By: <b>scott</b><p>This really gets into what a psychopath Cobb was, but you still admire him. I guess in his own time he was perhaps considered as evil a sports figure as Mike Tyson, but he was very very smart and Tyson...
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05-04-2002, 06:55 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>Hey, this beats baseball cards in two ways:<BR>1) it's cheaper<BR>2)you can read it, or look at it, for hours.<BR><BR>I have quite a few Conlon photos of Blacksox and related people; i wonder if any of my photos will be in the book?
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05-04-2002, 07:18 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p> <BR><BR><BR> I'm cool<BR> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/PoetAsylum/suave.gif">
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05-04-2002, 11:10 PM
Posted By: <b>TBob</b><p>The Ginger Kid by Irving Stein (The Buck Weaver story).
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05-04-2002, 11:12 PM
Posted By: <b>TBob</b><p>The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg (and who doesn't love Matty???) named by W.P. Kinsella (Shoeless Joe, etc.) "simply the best baseball novel ever written," and Hoopla by Harry Stein (who also wrote Ragtime)
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05-05-2002, 09:13 AM
Posted By: <b>W.M.</b><p>David Halberstam Summer of' 49 and David Halberstam October 1964.
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05-05-2002, 03:49 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>by Harry Stein. Another Buck Weaver story!
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05-07-2002, 01:25 PM
Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>Y'all had given this rave reviews, but it's still even better than I could have imagined. This is definitely a MUST for anyone who likes looking at card images. I got mine for $59 at www.abe.com, and it's in perfect condition,with a dust jacket,except for an inscription. It doesn't have many ecards, but I can forgive them! Loaded with 1800's issues.
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05-07-2002, 07:21 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>If only I could tremember who did...
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05-07-2002, 07:29 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>at a little second-hand bookshop called "Half Price Books". When i told the saleslady I'd been looking for it for 2 years, I coukld tell she wanted to change the price, but she didn't.<BR><BR>but that's nothing--i found my favorite novel at a HUGE second-hand bookstore in Oakland after looking for it for 10 years. When I told the guy, he looked at the title, and the author, and shrugged his shoulders: "Never heard of him," he said.<BR><BR><BR>
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05-07-2002, 07:39 PM
Posted By: <b>TBob</b><p>How about E.L. Doctorow as the author of Ragtime? What I should have said was that Hoopla compares to Ragtime in writing style and excellence.<BR>My bad.
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05-08-2002, 10:22 AM
Posted By: <b>Brueso</b><p>...for the first time and I'd almost like it to never end! It's particularly interesting to read some information here and there about some players that we see in vintage cards but who don't get as much press as the usual.<BR><BR>I imagine a book of Conlon photos would be great. I have one of those sets of cards put out by the Sporting News of his photos and they are gorgeous. Sometimes it's a great photo of a player you know, sometimes it's just an interesting photo of a player you don't know too well.
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05-08-2002, 10:54 AM
Posted By: <b>Marc S.</b><p>For Conlon photos. Probably focuses a bit too much on the HOFers for my taste, but it is a wonderful book to include in my library.<BR><BR><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810981777/qid=1020790347/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1749360-5775223" target=_new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810981777/qid=1020790347/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1749360-5775223</a><BR><BR>
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05-08-2002, 06:19 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>Ragtime is sort of flashy, while Hoopla! is sort of hometown. Of course, Chicago IS my hometown.
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05-22-2002, 08:55 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>I couldn't put "Havana Heat" down; the Conlon book is nice, but (maybe just because they're mine) I like some of my Conlon photos better. Would LOVE to have that Buck Weaver, though! It's funny, I keep getting more and more Buck Weaver photos, and none of them quite--do it!<BR>"Havana Heat" $4.50 with shipping (trade paperback-new e-Bay Half.com))<BR>Golden Age of Baseball: the Photographs of Charles Conlon $35.00 (also new hardback Amazon "marketplace" store)
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05-26-2002, 11:18 AM
Posted By: <b>Robbie Culpepper</b><p>Also read "The Beer and Whiskey League"- a history of the American Association.
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05-26-2002, 12:57 PM
Posted By: <b>Cy</b><p>If you like the book, buy the 4-CD set. You get the actual interviews. It is fantastic. amazon.com has it for about $30 delivered.<BR><BR>Cy
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06-09-2002, 12:22 PM
Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>biography of Montgomery Ward - nice thick book about the pre-1900 HOF'er
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06-09-2002, 06:25 PM
Posted By: <b>TBob</b><p>I have been looking for a long time for a nice copy of Before the Curse by Troy Soos. Anyone have a copy they would be willing to part with at a reasonable price?
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06-09-2002, 11:10 PM
Posted By: <b>Jaime Leiderman</b><p>Has anyone read Preston Orem's mimeographic 2nd part of his 1841-1881 Baseball Book?<BR><BR>Saw one in an old Sloate & Smolin's, and never more.<BR>Please let m know if you have one or know someone who has...<BR><BR><BR>
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07-11-2002, 08:58 AM
Posted By: <b>scott (runscott)</b><p>If you have any more comments to add about vintage books, please go for it - I plan to create a list with comments and board member reviews for the newsletter. Thanks
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07-11-2002, 09:20 PM
Posted By: <b>scott (runscott)</b><p>but just wanted to let everyone know that Amazon.com has a free shipping thing going for orders that total over $49. It's an experiment - shipping will be a little slower, but free if you choose this option. I ordered "Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train" by Thomas and Povich, "John McGraw" by Alexander, and the "Glory of Their Times" c.d. that was so highly recommended by board members.<br><br>--------------------------------------------<BR> Disclaimer<BR>I apologize for any poor grammer, repetitions, or dangling participles that you may locate in the above post...it ain't about grammar nohows.
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07-25-2002, 10:27 AM
Posted By: <b>John(z28jd)</b><p>Just got a book called THAT OLD BALL GAME by David Phillips,bought it at a local antique dealer for 5 bucks,the book has over 250 photos from 1850-1930,with some great 19th century team shots. It was wrote in 1975 and the only problem with the book is,that it seems it wasnt researched to good and just thrown together because alot of the teams are listed as unknown cities and a lot of the earlier players arent known,including a picture of buck ewing marked unknown catcher,but its still great just for the pictures alone
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07-25-2002, 02:24 PM
Posted By: <b>Julie Vognar</b><p>If Harry Stein likes it, it must be good.<BR><BR>Alibris not only has more books than Amazon, it has more NEW books than Am,azon. I still buy stuff from Amazon, though. Like reading their book reviews.<BR>
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07-25-2002, 03:05 PM
Posted By: <b>Andy Baran</b><p>The Celebrant is an AWESOME book. Very well written. It's to bad that the author has not written any other baseball books.