Review of "New York City Baseball"

Now that the baseball season has ended, it is time to get my baseball fix by reading baseball books.  Since one of the New York teams participated in this year's World Series, I decided to check this one out of the library when I saw it was available.  Here is my review of "New York City Baseball." 

Title/Author:

“New York City Baseball: The Golden Age 1947-1957” by Harvey Frommer

Tags:

Baseball, history, Dodgers, Giants, Yankees

Publish date:

November 1, 2013 (original publication:1980)

Length:

256 pages

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

For baseball fans in New York, the 10-year period from 1947 to 1957 were great times – all three of the teams that called the city home – the Giants, Dodgers and Yankees – had some of their best seasons and their best players.  Harvey Frommer takes the reader back to that decade in this book that tells of the teams and their records from that time.

The book also talks about the mood of the fans when the Giants and Dodgers left for San Francisco and Los Angeles respectively in 1958.  Even though this was not supposed to be the main topic of the book or the chapter that was supposed to set the mood for the reader, this was the best chapter in doing what I believed the author set out to do and that was to describe the teams, the players and the city and their emotions toward their baseball teams. I felt all of these were captured quite well when describing the politics involved in trying to replace Ebbets Field and the ultimate rejection of that proposal and subsequent departure of the Dodgers.

It was also the section of the book in which I learned the newest information, as I was not familiar with that conflict. I picked up this book in order to try to learn some new information about the three teams and while there was some, the book seemed like one long novel with an unhappy ending for 2/3 of the city since the Yankees were left as the only New York City baseball team in 1958.

The writing about the baseball achievements of all three teams is good.  The storytelling is good, especially for a reader who may not be familiar with the New York teams of that era.  Baseball historians or those who have previous knowledge of this era will want to pass on this book, as there isn’t a lot of deep research or new material that someone who has a deep interest in this era wouldn’t already know. 

Overall, this is a decent read to pass a couple hours away to take a trip back to a simpler time in the city when there was always a winning team, or two, or three to cheer on.  But if a reader wants to do research on these teams in this era, it is best to skip this one.

Book Format Read:

E-book (EPUB)

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Golden-1947-1957-BASEBALL-Paperback/dp/B00QNA27KW/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1446862423&sr=8-16&keywords=new+york+baseball+golden+age&pebp=1446862452333&perid=17D6CKWRH80VZS2G7JDH 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/new-york-city-baseball-harvey-frommer/1115234038?ean=9781589798908

Review of "The History of the Hockey Jersey 1983-1993"

When I received a message from the vice president of the publisher of this book, I was very curious and excited at the same time.  Since the time frame would cover when my favorite hockey team, the Minnesota North Stars, were still in existence I wanted to see what would be written about the jerseys.  But that lead me to question just who would want to read about jerseys?  Turns out I was as well as many others.  Here is my review of "The History of the Hockey Jersey"

Title/Author:

“The History of the NHL Hockey Jersey 1983-1993” by Chris Delorme

Tags:

Ice hockey, collection, jerseys, history

Publish date:

September 29, 2015

Length:

160 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The subject of this book was intriguing – an entire book devoted to hockey jerseys?  The topic is only covered for a ten-year period? How many different ways can one talk about jerseys?   These questions and more are answered with very positive results in this book by Chris Delorme.

Targeted mainly for memorabilia collectors, the book has illustrations of every style of jersey worn by all 21 teams that were in existence during the decade covered in the book and also a few by the three expansion teams that started play during this time. What is truly outstanding is that each style of jersey for each team is described in fine detail.  One example – the stripes on the collar of the Minnesota North Stars road jersey changed from a green-white-yellow scheme to yellow-white-green.  Very few fans would catch such a small detail, but Delorme has a description like this for nearly every team’s jersey.

He also does collectors a big favor by explaining some flaws that may occur when buying an “authentic” jersey, such as customizing with a player name that may not be done in the same manner that was done when the player was active.  There is also nice detail about the fabric and materials used as well as the stitching and striping.  For those who collect NHL jerseys, this type of reference guide is very valuable.

During this period, some of the popular features of today’s jerseys such as shoulder patches, alternate third jerseys, and player names being sewn onto the jersey instead of on a nameplate started becoming more prevalent on the sweaters. Delorme not only illustrates these changes, he explains the reasons why some teams made the change and also writes the timelines of companies that made these jerseys like Maska (the company that produced CCM jerseys, the dominant brand of the era) as well as local companies for the teams. 

Through the pictures and descriptions of the jerseys, a reader who is more interested in hockey history than collecting will also enjoy the book. There is a brief write-up of each team’s history and also stories and statistics on key players for the team during the 1983-1993 time period. These players’ jerseys are also the ones that are illustrated with descriptions of the sweater.

While I am not a collector, I did enjoy reading this book and looking at all the jerseys during this time as it brought back many good hockey memories. Therefore, not only collectors will enjoy this book but so will hockey fans that remember the teams and players of the 1980’s fondly and would like to take that stroll down memory lane. It is a very good read for anyone interested in hockey during that time.

I wish to thank Baico Publishing for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Format Read:

Hardcover

Buying link and for more information:

http://thejerseybook.com/

Review of "Team For America"

Recently my son and I attended a football game at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.  We enjoyed the experience and going to a game at West Point is something every football fan should do once in their lifetime.  It inspired me to try to find a book on the Army football program and I found this one.  While I was hoping for more about the history of the program, nonetheless it was a decent read.  Here is my review of "Team for America." 

Title/Author:

“A Team for America: The Army-Navy Game That Rallied a Nation at War” by Randy Roberts

Tags:

Football (American), college, World War II, Army, Navy

Publish date:

November 29, 2011

Length:

264 pages

Rating: 

3 1/2 of 5 stars (good)

Review:

The years of World War II were certainly trying times for college athletics. Many of the potential athletes that would play sports in college were fighting in one of the military branches.  The military academies were losing some of their players early as course work and military training was accelerated to get commissioned officers ready for combat duty quicker.  This did affect the football teams at West Point and Annapolis, but despite these issues, the two service academies had some of their best seasons during this time.

The climactic game between them in this era was their meeting in 1944, which is the subject of this book written by Randy Roberts.  The focus in the book is on West Point, as the book leads up to the big game with descriptions of how West Point was able to hire coach Earl “Red” Blalik, what was done to recruit some of the top athletes, and the overall mood of the campus.  That mood, despite the success of the football team, is mostly gloomy and fatigued from war, much like the rest of the nation.

These are entertaining stories for the most part. There are also nice stories about the two top stars for Army, Glenn Davis and Felix “Doc” Blanchard. Davis’s comment about his speed, stating “God gave me that. I didn’t have to work for it” was a nice little human touch in the story behind a legendary player.

Descriptions of the game of football at the time are also well-written as the brutality of the game is illustrated.  The story of All-American Robin Olds getting his teeth knocked out and how he made sure the opponent who did so received his payback is quite vivid with its detail.  This was also the time when the current T-formation of the quarterback receiving the ball on a direct snap from center was introduce
d – by Army – and the early success of the formation was well-researched and described.

Some war stories are interspersed in the book as well, and this was one of the parts in which I felt the book was more difficult to read as it made the narrative somewhat jumpy and it also was not easy to see the connection between the war story and the football dialogue until well after the war story ended.  The one other problem I had with the overall format of the book is that only 16 of the 264 pages on the Nook-formatted book were about the actual game.  While this seems like it was enough, as it did not get too bogged down with a play-by-play recap, it felt like the buildup to the game was far more important to the book than the actual game.  This seemed to be completely opposite to what the subject of the book would be.

Despite these issues, I enjoyed reading the book as it gives the reader a good look at what the state of college football was in the early 1940’s.  For readers who want to learn more about the game at that time, or about that snippet of football history at West Point, this book is one to read.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Nook)

Buying links:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/team-for-america-randy-roberts/1100273670?ean=9780547511078   

http://www.amazon.com/Team-America-Army-Navy-Rallied-Nation/dp/0547844603/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

Review of "Two Hours"

It seems only appropriate to post a review of a book on marathon running today when the New York City Marathon took place.  This book gives a great "fly-on-the-wall" viewpoint of the sport. Here is my review of "Two Hours."

Title/Author:

“Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon” by Ed Caesar

Tags:

Running, marathon, endurance, records

Publish date:

October 27, 2015

Length:

264 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

While running as a participatory sport has grown to new heights in recent years, the sport’s ultimate signature event for endurance, the marathon, has not enjoyed the same popularity as a spectator sport or as one in which there is much reading material. While there are plenty of books on training for a marathon and some biographies of runners such as Steve Prefontaine, there is very little written about the marathon that a reader can read much like a novel or story and learn about the event.

That void has now been filled by “Two Hours”, an excellent book on the quest by elite marathoners on attempting to break the barrier of running the 26-mile-385-yard event in under two hours.  Ed Caesar’s account of the world of marathon running, told through his interviews and stories of some of the best runners in the sport from Kenya, give a unique perspective of the sport that has not been available to readers before.  While the most prominent runner in the book is Geoffrey Mutai, the 2011 Boston Marathon winner, it is not all about him.

Just about every subject that is applicable to running the marathon is covered.  Whether it is the psychology of a runner, the question of doping in the sport similar to cycling, the training involved, the politics and money of the sport, or the evolution of shoes, Caesar covers it all in a manner that is not too technical for the reader. They all give credence to the belief that at some point in the near future, a runner will be able to break the two-hour barrier, much like Roger Bannister did to the four-minute mile barrier more than 50 years ago. Even if the reader is not a runner or follows the sport closely, he or she will be able to read the book at a leisurely pace and not get too bogged down with too many details. 

I was especially impressed with Caesar’s writing about the question of whether blood doping takes place in the sport.  He makes no accusations or assumptions one way or the other. It is written from knowledge and research, the facts are presented and the reader is left to make his or her own decision on the topic.

The other parts that were extremely well-written were the descriptions of what Mutai has endured, both in his life and in his running career.  The reader will certainly feel connected with the man and will be cheering on Mutai during the chapters on his races.

This is a book I highly recommend for anyone interested in marathons – whether as a participant in these races regularly or just curious to learn more about what makes these elite runners tick. No matter what topic draws one to this book, the reader will not be disappointed.

I wish to thank Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

Book Format Read:

E-Book (Kindle)

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Two-Hours-Quest-Impossible-Marathon-ebook/dp/B00UDCNMFU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1446411359&sr=1-1&keywords=two+hours+the+quest+to+run+the+impossible+marathon

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/two-hours-ed-caesar/1121369234?ean=9781451685848

Review of "Art Ross"

While away at a conference the past few days, it was hard to find downtime for reading.  But I was able to finish one book and start another, so can't complain about that.  The one that was finished was one that I received earlier from the author, so thankfully he was patient enough for me to complete it.  Before I read this book, I never read anything about hockey from the time frame before World War I, so it was interesting. Here is my review of "Art Ross"

Title/Author:

“Art Ross: The Hockey Legend Who Built the Bruins” by Eric Zwieg

Tags:

Ice Hockey, history, biography, Bruins

Publish date:

October 6, 2015

Length:

308 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Casual hockey fans most likely do not know who Art Ross is.  Some may know of him because of the name of the trophy that is given to the NHL player who has the most points at the end of the regular season.  Others, especially who are knowledgeable about hockey history, may know that he was the general manager for the Boston Bruins in their formative years and made them the popular franchise that they still are today.

While this well-researched book by Eric Zweig covers those years when Ross built the Bruins, that was not the most interesting subject he writes about in this book. It covers the entire hockey career of Art Ross including his days as a player. The positions and game were not nearly as defined as they are today.  His position was not really a forward and not really a defenseman. The style in which he played would be most like a defenseman in today’s game but he was not called one. That really didn’t matter as he was considered one of the best players in professional hockey during that era.

At that time, the NHL was not in existence. Instead, professional hockey was a hodge-podge of various teams and leagues. Ross played many of his seasons with the Montreal Wanderers, an appropriate team name for the time.  The business side of the game was cutthroat as well, with player salaries soaring because they could often sell themselves to whomever would be willing to pay. If this sounds familiar, it is because this book illustrates the well-known fact that no matter which game or era, players always did whatever they could to get higher salaries and the owners would always do whatever it took to keep them down.

While Ross’s success in Boston is also well-researched, I found this part of the book not quite as interesting as his playing days. The Bruins’ seasons, both good and bad, are chronicled here and a reader will learn some interesting facts about Ross in this part, such as it was his idea to paint the center red line as a striped line so that it would be easier to distinguish it from the blue lines on a black– and–white television set.

Overall, this is a good book for readers interested in learning more about the early days of professional hockey and for a good insight of the game in the early 20^th century.  It may be a tougher read for more casual fans as it does dig deep into details of the games and later the front office moves.  Hockey historians should make this one part of their libraries.

I wish to thank Mr. Zweig for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

Paperback

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Ross-Hockey-Legend-Bruins/dp/1459730402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445993837&sr=8-1&keywords=art+ross

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/art-ross-eric-zweig/1120823778?ean=9781459730403

Review of "Pudge"

When I found out that Doug Wilson was writing another baseball biography, I was excited.  After reading "Brooks" and enjoying it very much, I was looking forward to this one on Carlton Fisk. Then when I received an advance review copy from the publisher, I was even more excited. Having to wait for publication date to publish this review, I admit that I wasn't too patient - I wanted to read it sooner!  But it was certainly worth the wait as it was an excellent book. Here is my review of "Pudge." 

Title/Author:

“Pudge: The Biography of Carlton Fisk” by Doug Wilson

Tags:

Baseball, history, biography, Red Sox, White Sox

Publish date:

October 20, 2015

Length:

367 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)

Review:

It has been 40 years since Carlton Fisk ended one of the best games in the history of the World Series with a dramatic 12^th inning home run.  The scene has been played many times in those 40 years as the Boston Red Sox catcher frantically waved his arms to the right, pleading for the ball to stay fair. Then came the leaps of joy along the first base line when those pleas were answered. That is the lasting image of the man.

However, there is much more to Carlton Fisk’s baseball career than that one moment. His journey from a small town in New Hampshire to the ultimate baseball honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame in a small town in upstate New York is captured in this excellent biography by Doug Wilson. 

Fisk’s family life while growing up in New Hampshire helped shape him into the ball player he became through his father – something that Wilson repeatedly illustrates throughout the book. Fisk’s legendary work ethic and punishing workouts are just two examples of how this is illustrated.  His high school, college and minor league playing days are also included in great detail to illustrate his desire to succeed.

However, what really makes the book shine is Wilson’s meticulous research and interviews when writing about Carlton’s major league career with the Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox.  The stories from teammates on both teams and the recaps of successful seasons he had with both franchises are captured in a style that is easy and enjoyable to read.  This is because Wilson’s writing is liberally sprinkled with humor, anecdotes and even baseball clichés that don’t sound forced like they do when players use them in interviews. In this book, they just flow naturally with the rest of the text.

It isn’t all peaches and cream for Fisk in his career and in the book. The injuries he suffered and the workouts he endured to make sure he was still in top form when he returned are told in less-than-glorious accounts.  Wilson also writes about Carlton’s acrimonious negotiations with both the Red Sox and White Sox regarding contracts. He ended up leaving both clubs under less than friendly circumstances and the accounts of these departures, while certainly told in a manner that seems more sympathetic to Fisk, are told in such great detail that the reader will feel that he or she is sitting at the negotiating table hearing every insult each side is telling the other one.

Because of all these reasons and more, this is a book that belongs on the bookcase of every baseball fan, whether or not that person saw Fisk play or just knows him through seeing the World Series home run on a highlight show of great World Series moments.  It is a book that it packed with a lot of information on the man and when the reader is finished, the memories will seem like that World Series home run – they will last for a long time.

I wish to thank Thomas Dunne Books for providing an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Pudge-Biography-Carlton-Doug-Wilson-ebook/dp/B00VE731AE/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1445302107&sr=8-1&keywords=pudge+the+biography+of+carlton+fisk

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pudge-doug-wilson/1120919329?ean=9781250065438

Review of "Baseball Dads"

While this was a fictional book that I enjoyed reading, I struggled to decide whether or not to include this book here as it truly isn't a "sports" book.  The baseball is more of a setting to the main part of the story and the characters just happen to have kids playing baseball to draw them together.  I decided to include it here in case it does help someone decide whether or not to pick up this book.  Here is my review of "Baseball Dads."

Title/Author:

“Baseball Dads” by Matthew S. Hiley

Tags:

Baseball, fiction, murder, family

Publish date:

September 15, 2015

Length:

263 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

While the title may make a reader think this story is about baseball, it really isn't. It is a story of social classes, murder, drugs, sex...And some little league baseball thrown in as well.

The story centers around Dwayne Devoe, a middle class business owner in the suburbs of Fort Worth. He is drowning in debt, his business has a large numbers of unpaid accounts and his wife has been having numerous affairs. However, his son Alex is a good player for the local baseball team and there isn't anything that Dwayne won't do for him. When the coach won't pay Alex and the more skilled players in favor of less talented kids whose parents are socially connected, Dwayne decides to take action.

With the help of three other "baseball dads" the plan goes into effect. What follows leads to a trail of dead bodies, Jedi warriors, raunchy sex (but not graphically written in the book) and even some wins for Alex's team.

The story reads at a lightning fast pace as one never knows what the next move will be for Dwayne and the dads. There are many funny moments which will make the reader laugh. Many times I was saying phrases to myself such as "What the Heck?" (or stronger) as some the situations and actions are just so bizarre. One example is what Dwayne used to fertilize the baseball field. I won't give that away here...But it isn't something that is recommended to use on your lawn.

If you like dark stories with lots of mayhem and raunch, this is your story. Not recommended for readers under 18. This is a very entertaining book that will leave the reader laughing.

I wish to thank Greenleaf Book Group Press for providing a copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Dads-Matthew-S-Hiley-ebook/dp/B013RG6X5Y/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8