What's the best Baseball Book Fiction and Non you have read?

[MooseDog]

Non Fiction - The Glory of Their Times and Boys of Summer are head and shoulders above.

Fiction - I'm not much of a fiction reader but I did enjoy The Art of Fielding.

[mattsey9]

Non-Fiction: John Helyar's Lords of the Realm is one I keep turning back to. Keith Hernandez has a book that I can't remember the title of that documents his thought processes for one MLB game. Great stuff.

Rob Ruck's Raceball and anything by Adrian Burgos also fit the bill for the historian in me.

[Jerry G]

Fiction: Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella (Loved the movie, Field of Dreams, but the book is even better.)

Non-Fiction: October 1964 by David Halbersam. Lots of info on the first Cardinal's World Series of my life.

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by Jerry G

Fiction: Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella (Loved the movie, Field of Dreams, but the book is even better.)

Was just reading this thread for the first time...astounded that it took until page 3 for someone to list this classic book! Also loved Kinsella's The Iowa Baseball Confederacy.

Cheers,
Blair

[CobbvLajoie1910]

Save GOTT (the clear #1), the non-fiction list begins & ends with Charles Alexander's Ty Cobb. IMHO, it's the finest bio of its kind.

Hank's bio on WaJo ain't half bad either.

[darwinbulldog]

Fiction -- If I Never Get Back

Non-fiction -- Babe: The Legend Comes to Life

[byrone]

"Veeck and in Wreck" is my favourite baseball book. Usually read it once a year.

Haven't read any non-fiction baseball books.

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by Bosox Blair

Was just reading this thread for the first time...astounded that it took until page 3 for someone to list this classic book! Also loved Kinsella's The Iowa Baseball Confederacy.

Cheers,
Blair

I tried real hard to like the two Kinsella books. Shoeless Joe lost me when he built only left-field...truly odd.

I took more time on the Iowa Baseball Confederacy - actually finished it...but when you have a statue playing right-field and a time-traveling balloon landing in center...just too much.

[bobbvc]

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

[obcbobd]

Non-Fiction. So many. Babe, The Legend Comes to Life.

Fiction. Bang the Drum Slowly

[joeadcock]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

Agree on the BALL FOUR

[LKeeler]

My favorite non-fiction baseball book, and one of my favorite books ever read, is "The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry and The Boys of Crenshaw" by Michael Sokolove. Extremely poignant story about the lives of youngsters growing up in South Central LA and their love for the game.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by joeadcock

Agree on the BALL FOUR

I am re-reading Ball Four after having read it about 20 years ago....the new Netflix documentary on the Portland Mavericks inspired me to dig it out.

[VintageBall]

Our very own Hank Thomas wrote a GREAT bio about his grandfather, entitled Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train.

He had great material to draw from

And the writing is terrific.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by VintageBall

Our very own Hank Thomas wrote a GREAT bio about his grandfather, entitled Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train.

He had great material to draw from

And the writing is terrific.

Yes! I highly recommend this one as well. Really, really great book.

[JakeStahl'sGloveSHows]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

Ahh Ball Four. Thanks for the reference. Many years since I read that but remember thoroughly enjoying it. Will need to re-read.

In 1972 I was 11 and in the hospital recovering from an emergency appendectomy. An Aunt gave me a copy of "This Great Game". It took my youthful love of baseball to another level. Hands down the most impactful baseball book for me. The photos were extraordinary, for that time. Here's a link to an article on it:
http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.co...-to-the-masses

Others I've enjoyed:
Moneyball (of course)
The Bronx Zoo
5 Seasons

[deadballfreaK]

As a deadball era fan The Glory of Their Times is far and away tops on my list, but I'll give an honorable mention to the late Jim Brosnan's The Long Season. Ball Four basically followed that book with a little more spice.

Haven't read much fiction. I'll take another book that has not been mentioned: The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Douglas Wallop. As a Yankee hater it had me from the title. I also like the movie Damn Yankees based off it, although it has a song or two that are clunkers.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

"Ball Four" needs to be mentioned. Loved "Glory of their Times" also, but that's 2 Non-fiction.

I agree both are the best for each baseball era.

Best fiction I've read was Pete Rose's autobiography "My Story" where he adamantly denies gambling on baseball. (Of course he admitted he did gamble on games several years later).

[clydepepper]

The book that provided me with the most 'new' information at the time was the first Historical Abstract.

It was also broken up into bit-sized pieces for a ADD-type like myself: The ultimate easy read!

[tjv815]

For myself,being a Red Sox fan, it's Faithful by Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan. There are so many great books out there and I am with everyone giving a thumbs up on Glory of Their Times.
For fiction, I have to go with The Natural
This thread is great. I have been out for a while, recovering from a health related issue. I love to read, and being a teacher and a coach, and a married father of three, I don't have much free time. But I have done more reading this year than any I can recently remember. A lot of good next reads have been mentioned. I'm really leaning toward the Luckiest Man book as my next read.
TJ