Any good baseball book recommendations?
 

Good afternoon All!

I was wondering if anyone has some solid recommendations in regards to baseball books...preferably history of baseball, especially during the 1900-1941 time period...perhaps the 1950's as well. Whether it be baseball in general or a biography you really enjoyed, I am all ears. Thanks in advance for the feedback!!!!

"Wait Till Next Year"
 

I just finished this book, written by Doris Kearns Goodwin, and really enjoyed it. Kearns, you may remember, was featured in the Ken Burns PBS "Baseball" feature from a few years ago.

A memoir, she depicts her live growing up and tells how her love of baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers began, and is quite insightful of a different day and time. It's a easy, pleasant read and if you choose to read it yourself, I believe you'll find it very good.

The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence Ritter

Anything by Robert Creamer and Charles Alexander is going to be well-written and and interesting. Personally, I love Bill Veeck's books.

Ken

I just read a bio on Lefty Gomez written by his daughter. Full of surprising information. It was a Kindle purchase.

These are all great recommendations,..I am sure I will be adding these to my library shortly, thanks everyone!!!!!!!!

Not baseball, but a friend of mine has told me I needed to get the following book. Said it was really good:

http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World...ion/1400064163

Basically its about Louie Zamperini who grew up in the 20's, competed in the 1936 Olympics, was in WWII where his plane went down and, "On a May afternoon in 1943, Louie took off on a search mission for a lost plane. Somewhere over the Pacific, the engines on his bomber failed. The plane plummeted into the sea, leaving Louie and two other men stranded on a tiny raft. Drifting for weeks and thousands of miles, they endured starvation and desperate thirst, sharks that leapt aboard the raft, trying to drag them off, a machine-gun attack from a Japanese bomber, and a typhoon with waves some forty feet high. At last, they spotted an island. As they rowed toward it, unbeknownst to them, a Japanese military boat was lurking nearby. Louie’s journey had only just begun."

Anyways, not baseball, but somewhat sports related and from what I've been told by others, a great story about a veteran..

Unbroken is a must read. Especially for the younger generation.

Absolutely!!! One of those books that you stay awake 2-3 extra hours every night because you can't put it down.

Ken

Two great ones I have read in recent months are Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson and Wicked Curve: The Life and Troubled Times of Grover Cleveland Alexander. The David Fleitz book on Jackson is the best bio I have come across on Shoeless Joe. It goes far beyond the Black Sox Scandal and presents a more balanced look at the man than the hero worship of Jackson in Eight Men Out and Field of Dreams. The book also details the 30 years of Jackson's life following his banishment from baseball more than any other source I have found.

Likewise, the John Skipper book on Alexander is a fascinating read of a man whose demons (alcoholism, epilepsy, shellshock from World War I) completely overwhelmed him over the last 20 years of his life. Over the final couple decades of his life, Alexander slid into an existence of constant unemployment, drunkeness and poverty, despite the efforts of numerous people in baseball to help him either through jobs or just outright handouts. I am a Phiilies fan, so in addition to the gripping tale of Alexander, the Skipper book also provided some of the best information on the 1915 Phillies National League pennant winners that I have read anywhere.

http://www.amazon.com/Shoeless-The-L...tz+joe+jackson

http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Curve-T...over+alexander

Echoing Green, Josh Prager's incredible book about the 1951 New York Giants. Best researched baseball book in a long time. An incredible story and the writer puts you in 1951.

Echoing Green
 

+1

A fun, easy read is "Pitchin' Man: Satchel Paige" by Hal Lebovitz. It was also a Kindle download. As one would think, a lot is said about Negro League baseball.

Richard Ben Cramer's Joe Dimaggio:The Hero's Life was incredible. A necessary read I would argue. Best J

It's an oldie, but I really enjoyed Richard Goldstein's "Spartan Seasons: How baseball survived the Second World War." Published by MacMillan in 1980.

Must Read
 

+1000

The Glory of Their Times
 

+1
I believe that this is the best book on early baseball ever written, period!

Ron Keurajian's Baseball Hall of Fame Autographs book is a must for all collectors of Hall of Fame autographs. Amazon is where I got mine.

I also loved Glory of Their Times.

I echo Richard's thoughts on Ron's book, it is incredible!!!

The Ginger Kid about Buck Weaver is a terrific book also.

This is great stuff, thank you everyone! I am gonna have plenty to keep me busy!

Baseball Before We Knew It, The Card and Operation Bullpen are also great

I've been reading Pinstripe Empire: The Yankees From Before The Babe to After The Boss by Marty Appel. Great book about the history of the Yankees with goes into great deatail about their Highlander years. I am really enjoying this book.

Mike

I'm currently reading The Victory Season by Weintraub. I am really enjoying it. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...victory-season

Although I too love Glory of Their Times I equally loved The Bullpen Gospels which I read in one sitting because it was so enjoyable.
http://dirkhayhurst.com/books/the-bullpen-gospels/

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/6/1...baseball-books

I know this post is older, but here is an article with some relevance even though much of it is already known....

Tim

Negro League Baseball Collectibles Guide
 

In another month or so, I will be selling my recently completed Negro League Baseball Collectibles Guide which will be in full color and consist of 270 full size 8 1/2" X 11" pages picturing approximately 1,000 Negro League items, including traditional cards, postcards, cabinet cards, premiums, broadsides, programs, original press photos, etc. Price range estimates will also be included for each item and there will be a total of nearly 400 significant Negro Leaguers documented.

If anyone would like to reserve a copy/copies in advance, please e-mail me at: vguerrerobb@yahoo.com. Cost for each guide will be $29.95 plus USPS shipping.

I am reading Halberstam's Summer of 49 right now, then All My Octobers and Moe Berg's biography are next.

Congratulations Phil! You really jumped on this project full steam, and I'm sure it will be a very useful and interesting item.

Thanks, Scott.

Phil