OT: Any Suggestions on Good Baseball Books for Gifts

[Aquifer]

Ball Four--Jim Bouton
Summer of '49--David Halberstam
October, 1964--David Halberstam
A Whole Different Ballgame--Marvin Miller
Once More Around the Ballpark--Roger Angell
Sandy Koufax--Jane Leavy

Ball Four remains the best of it's kind, to me. A book about people more than baseball. Halberstam's pair are incredible reads--chronicles of an era as much as great baseball writing. Miller's recount of the coming of the Player's Union is a fantastic read. Angell remains among the most poetic of baseball writers, and Jane Leavy did a masterful job of a reluctant Sandy Koufax, who remains almost larger-than-life. I wish I could have seen him pitch. You'll read all of these more than once, I suspect.

[johnmh71]

I personally like anything written by Rob Neyer and I also recommend "The Glory Of Their Times", but only for someone who is a diehard baseball fan.

[jgmp123]

What I Learned From Jackie Robinson, by Carl Erskine. Great book and amazing insight from one of Jackie's closest friends.

[dougko1]

The Brothers K - David James Duncan

Sort of a Brothers Karamosov with baseball as the through theme.


Cardboard Gods

From the blog of the same name. The writer uses his collection of baseball cards as a starting point to pontificate about life.


7 The Mickey Mantle Novel - Peter Golenbock

Raunchy. Written as a novel but containing a lot of "true" stories about the Mick. Includes his favorite jokes, and various exploits.

From amazon:

Mickey Mantle loved sex. And getting drunk. Those are the topics of discussion as the baseball hero, now in heaven, pulls up a chair with writer Leonard Shecter. Together they rehash Mantle's life, from his X-rated bedroom exploits and his treatment of fans to his relationship with the media and his phenomenal career. Nothing is left uncovered in a story that reveals Mantle's dark side.

Funny.