Which books should I ask Santa to bring?

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Posted By: Rob

Christmas isn't too far away, and I'm getting hounded by the family for ideas. So I'm thinking I may ask for a few books. So what are your favorites to recommend?

I think two that I'll ask for are The Glory of their Times (which edition is "best"?), and Lew Lipsets Encyclopedia.

Frank W, you've mentioned the encyclopedia a few times. When I did a quick search on amazon, quite a few variations came up (see below). Which one do I want?

Thanks,
Rob


1. The encyclopedia of baseball cards by Lew Lipset (Unknown Binding - 1983)

2. Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards: Early Gum and Candy Cards by Lew Lipset (Paperback - Dec 1984)

3. The encyclopedia of baseball cards: Volumes 1, 2 & 3 combined by Lew Lipset (Unknown Binding - 1998)

4. The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards, Volume 1 - 19th Century Cards by Lew Lipset (Paperback - Dec 1983)

5. Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards: 20th Century Tobacco Cards, 1909-1932 by Lew Lipset (Paperback - Dec 1987)

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I am in the middle of reading "Spalding's World Tour" by Mark Lamster and so far it is a fascinating read. Well worth the cover price.

http://www.amazon.com/Spaldings-World-Tour-Adventure-Baseball/dp/1586483110

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Posted By: Jeff Kennedy

Well for anyone that is a "DeadHead" like me, you can't go wrong with Cait Murphy's "Crazy '08". She did a great job on this and although at times she get's a little sidetracked on things, it helps to paint the overall picture of what life was like back in 1908.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Rob- go for the three volume combined set.

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Posted By: JK

Rob,

Get the latest edition of Glory of their Times. If Im not mistaken, it has a few additional interviews included.

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Posted By: MEWheat

"Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History", by Cait Murphy. It was a well written book with a lot of interesting stories. I'd highly recommend that book.

I also enjoyed The audio version of "The Glory of Their Times" by Lawrence Ritter. The audio version is supposed to include additional material not covered in the print version. It was enthralling listening to the old timers that played with Cobb & Mathewson tell their stories first hand. Ritter also asked a number of the players from the deadball era which pitcher was the hardest to hit against.....and most said Walter "Big Train" Johnson. That question was asked on the VBC Forum before...

Both are available from Amazon; I believe I downloaded the audio version of "The Glory of Their Times" directly from iTunes.

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Posted By: JK

I also have the audio version of glory of their times - its fascinating. The only problem is that it does not include all of the interviews that are in the book.

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Posted By: Bob Pomilla

Though a much less ambitious work than those alluded to above, I recently picked up and enjoyed something called "Haunted Baseball". It's about ghosts, legends, superstitions, curses and the like, regarding the players, teams, old ballparks, hotels, etc.

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Posted By: John H.

"I also have the audio version of glory of their times - its fascinating. The only problem is that it does not include all of the interviews that are in the book."

But it does have a lot of content from the guys that are included that didn't make it into the book. "The Glory of Their Times" CD set should be at the top of anyone's wantlist that doesn't have it.

John

Edit: Henry Thomas' "Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train" is the best book on an early 20th Century player that I have ever read.

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Posted By: Anthony S.

I concur with the "Crazy '08" recommendation. Really fun read. And it's nice to get to know the some of the idiosyncrasies of the players on these vintage cards we collect.

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Posted By: Fred C

Looking at your list there only seems to be reference books about cards. Expand your selections and read about the history of the game:

"The Beer and Whiskey League" is a great read. The book follows the AA from the beginning to end. A great 19th century subject book.

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Posted By: joe

It's Christmas, why not ask for these?

Joe



Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Hey Rob,

#3 up there gets you the reprint of all 3. The 1st was on 19th century stuff, good for an Old Judge collector, or someone after Harpers Woodcuts. The Early Candy and Gum book covers your E cards, caramel cards, good stuff on Cracker Jack, ZeeNuts... and the 3rd covers T cards, T3s, T201s on thru T215s and upwards. GREAT stuff for a T206 collector, or 5s, 7s, 10s, 11s and 12s. Really good stuff. I bought each soon after they came out. And then bough all 3 again when he almost ran out of copies.

Other great stuff:

The Glory of Their Times, book and cd set.

The Ballplayers.

Baseball When the Grass was Real.

The Celebrant (one fantastic novel, a must for a Mathewson fan).

The Minor League Register, by Lloyd Johnson (if you like minor league cards).

The Pacific Coast League, by Bill O'Neal (if you like Obaks or ZeeNuts).

The Historical Baseball Abstract, by Bill James.

... I've come back to add The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, by Johnson and Wolff, almost of no use if you only care about major league activity, but if you're digging around for where minor league teams were when, standings, the coming and going of franchises and leagues... this is a great book for that.


If you got those from Santa, you're the MAN!!!!

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Posted By: Jason L

I have begun assembling a list of reading material. It is still very rudimentary (unedited) and I started it to make sure I didn't forget some ideas...maybe this could be of some use in your searches?

http://www.thetriple-l.com/recommendedreading.htm

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Posted By: Zinn

but I actually enjoyed "The Card". Easy poolside read at Caesar's this year.

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Posted By: leon

Speaking of "The Marinolli Treasure by Hal Lewis (Book) in Mystery & Crime" I have 3-4 more copies.....If folks email me I will send one out for you free of charge...as long as you promise you will read it. I don't care what you do with it after that but please don't just get one to put it on ebay or sell it. First come first served and I will let you know if you got one. The books are at home and I know I either have 3 or 4. Maybe if someone is 4th or 5th then one of the kind Net54 members that get one will pass it on..I will help facilitate that with contact info........best regards

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Posted By: Bob

Alan Hager's book should put you in a merry Christmas mood as you chuckle throughout it

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Posted By: David B

Since collecting vintage I have become a Hal Chase fan. What is the title of the book about him that I have seen mentioned here before? Something like The Dark Prince?

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Isn't it funny how there are so many fans/collectors of the nefarious ballplayers of yesteryear? Makes me wonder if Barry Bonds will be a favorite amongst vintage collectors 100 years from now.

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Posted By: Anthony S.

David, the Hal Chase book you're thinking of is "The Black Prince of Baseball."

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Posted By: Alan

My favorite is

Classic baseball cards: the golden years, 1886-1956 by Frank Slocum

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Posted By: David B

Thanks Anthony

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Posted By: Rob

I really appreciate all of the feedback! I'll let you know what Santa brings!

Rob

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Posted By: pas

Shoeless Joe, WP Kinsella. Much better than the movie IMHO.

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Posted By: Bob

Kinsella- The Iowa Baseball Confederacy; Stein- The Ginger Kid (Buck Weaver); Fleming- the Unforgettable Season; Asinof- Eight Men Out; Mazur- Autumn Glory; Weisberger-When Chicago Ruled Baseball; Stark- The Year They Called off the World Series; Solomon- Where They Ain't and Okrent- The Ultimate Baseball Book.

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Posted By: Bob B.

Another great book with loads of deadball and 19th century info:

BALLDOM "The Britannica of Baseball" by George Moreland, copyright 1914.

Talks about origins of the game,complete year by year rosters of all the clubs,history of other leagues and assosiations,and much, much more. Too much to list. Can usually find a reasonably priced copy on ebay, and Clean Sweep's Nov. 29 auction has a copy. Highly recommended.

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Posted By: Max Weder

Joe

If you are especially good this holiday season, you should ask Santa for a copy of the dust jacket to Busting Em. I have only seen one copy in the last 20 years, even though the book itself is not uncommon.

Bobby

Balldom is quite common on ebay, and I believe was even reprinted in a hardcover edition. An original is easy to find, but somewhat difficult to find in nice condition.

As for me, if a secret Santa from the south could bring me 5 Sporting Life Booklets (how .... won the world's championship for 190*), that would be very nice.

Max

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Posted By: davidcycleback

Just remember that Santa's toys are made with foreign labor.

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Posted By: Cy

I just sat down and sent Rob an E-mail to tell him about some of the books that I truly liked. After re-reading the E-mail, I thought that maybe others might want to hear about a few books. Please note that I am not a voracious reader by any stretch of the imagination. But these books were quite easy to read and enjoy. Plus the CD set is awesome. Here is the E-mail I sent.

The absolute first thing you need to ask for is The Glory of Their Times CD set. The book is nice and has more articles in it than the CD. But the CD set has the actual interviews that Larry Ritter did when he was researching the book. This set is not just the book being read, it is Smokey Joe Wood, Sam Crawford, Rube Marquard, Jimmy Austin (my favorite interview), Lefty O'Doul, Hans Lobert, Chief Meyers and more players actually talking to Larry, telling their stories first-hand. If you like old baseball cards, this is the best item you can buy. I am not kidding. Amazon.com has it for $26.37 and shipping is free. You will love this set.

I am not a person who reads a lot. But I did read a few old-time baseball books lately.

"Rube Waddell: The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout" is a great book and extremely easy to read. The words flow so easily with the story of the zaniest player ever. It is pricey at $29.95, but it truly is worth it. It's a great read.

"Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train" is a must book for any fan of vintage baseball. The story of Walter Johnson is rich and wonderful. It is also written by a friend of mine, Henry Thomas, who, by the way, is Walter Johnson's grandson. This is a great book and priced at $18.21.

"The Unforgettable Season" is a book about the 1908 National League pennant race of the infamous Merkle boner. What makes this book so special is that the entire book is newspaper articles. The book is entirely edited daily newspaper articles that chronicle the season. This is terrific because you not only get a first-hand experience of the pennant race, but you also get a first-hand experience of the style of writing from that era. This is a cheap book, $11.96.

I have a couple others I liked. "Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend" ($11.53 in paperback), "The Black Prince of Baseball: Hal Chase and the Mythology of the Game" ($23.95)

I hope this helps. The prices I quoted are all amazon.com and if you buy over $25, the shipping is free. But you must get the Glory of Their Times CD set. It is magical!

Sincerely,

Cy

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Posted By: Rob

Thanks everyone so much for your recommendations! Truly appreciated to get this many responses.

Rob

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Posted By: Adam

Not that I mean this to be a shameless plug, but the book I read the other month (and have put up for sale in the B/S/T section for books) called "Baseball's Best" by Tom Meany and Tommy Holmes was wonderful.

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Posted By: LenK

"Voices From Cooperstown" 1982 by Anthony J. Conner....Baseball Hall Of Famers Tell It Like It Was.......and "Baseball As I Have Known It" by Fred Lieb (hall of fame writer)

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Posted By: Ed Ivey

Lucky to be a Yankee, by DiMaggio. I have one that my Dad got signed in the 40's.

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Posted By: DMcD

A great companion to Glory of Their Times would be Baseball's Golden Age: The Photographs of Charles M. Conlon by Neal McCabe and Constance McCabe. Many beautiful Conlon b&w photos of our cardboard heroes. Amazon has copies. The indispensable SABR Deadball Stars volumes with all the mini-bios would fit right in with Ritter and the Conlon book.

I just discovered Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf. Looks like it might be a good resource on the subject of baseball books. http://rksbaseballbookshelf.wordpress.com/