Good Baseball Books

[Baldkin]

"The Soul of Baseball" by Joe Posnanski

 

A really great read.

 

As the basis for the book, Posnanski spent the 2005 season traveling with O'Neil around the country as he spread the word of Negro League baseball, love for one another and what has to be described as a calling to a higher state of living - though not through a gimmick or product, but through forgiveness, laughter and genuine interaction with one another.

[Baldkin]

as no one has mentioned any novels thus far, here are a couple of personal favorites... 1) underworld by don delillo - delillo is a pulitzer-quality novelist and underworld is considered to be his opus. the plot of the book centers around one man's quest to find the ball bobby thompson hit to win the '51 series (the shot heard round the world). it was runner-up in a new york times poll of best american fiction of the last 25 years (a 2006 survey).

I read underworld myself, and beyond the first 50 pages or so (Thompson's homer) I really wouldn't call it a baseball book, there just isn't any baseball in it other than the physical item. That's not to say it isn't a great book, though.

[DocLuna7]

I just finished "Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn. Like most of his books it was excellent. Besides that, I love the "Iowa Baseball Confederacy" by W.P. Kinsella. Its a fiction read, but really gets into the heart of the game.

 

Besides that, the Library of America published a book a few years back called "Baseball: A Literary Anthology" which includes various types of baseball related writings.

[MJLiverock]

I would add "Good Enough to Dream" by Roger Kahn as well. I read the book a long time ago as a kid but remember liking it. It is about his summer of being part owner of the Utica minor league baseball team. It provides a different perspective since most of the focus is on the minors and the difficulties of running a low minors team on a shoestring budget.

 

A funny baseball book is Jay Johnstone's "Temporary Insanity." It is basically a recount of his career but is filled with the practical jokes, funny stories and lighter side of life in the big leagues. One of my favorite stories is his recount of locking Lasorda in a hotel room and blowing the smell of fresh made hot Lasagna into the room.

[jschris]

I think I've mentioned it in other threads, but in the last couple of years my long standing favorite, "Glory of Their Times", has fallen to third place. "The 26th Man" is a surprisingly good diary-type book by Steve Fireovid. He had some help from Mark Winegardner putting together that book, and Mark's "Prophet of the Sandlots" is my new #1. It's one of those you won't put down, even if you don't have the time to read it. I knew the ending before picking the book up, but it still was simply tremendous.

 

And I'm glad I wasn't the only one that took an eternity to read "90 Feet From Fame"!

[DocLuna7]

Johnstone's book was pretty hilarious, and I would rank it with Ron Luciano's "The Umpire Strikes Back" as two of the more humorous baseball books out there.

[Brewtacular]

Plugged him before and I'll do it again (and maybe again later!)

 

Robert Whitting

 

You Gotta have Wa

The Meaning of Ichiro(US title may differ)

 

Great reads about Japanese Baseball and MLB and the experiences of players in both leagues.

[tristarscoop]

I actually really liked Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks by Zack Hample. Of course some of it is super simple, but it's a quick easy read and you can skip over the stuff you already know, but I learned a lot. Stupid little detail stuff and anecdotes were really good.

[DocLuna7]

So to get back to this thread for a moment... I am looking for a comprehensive Baseball reading list online, but haven't had much success. Beyond individual suggestions, has anyone seen anything that would be sort of a master reading list?

[hawing]

While on vacation last month, we used a couple of baseball books to pass time during travel delays:

 

In The Ballpark: the working lives of baseball people

 

Working at the Ballpark: the fascinating lives of baseball people...

 

They're both interesting collections of interviews with people involved in all facets of the game, from the front office to the field to the broadcast booth, and beyond. They were both fun to browse on our trip.

 

The latter title includes interviews with a Miller Park beer vendor, the man inside the Bernie Brewer costume, and Derrick Turnbow. The former title includes an interview with Dean Taylor (as a Braves employee).

[mls4]

If you enjoyed "Field of Dreams," you'd probably enjoy the book that inspired it, called "Shoeless Joe" by WP Kinsella. As per usual, the book is even better than the movie.