The Book Review "100 Baseball Icons" & "Not Without Hope"

As Opening Day approaches it seems an avalanche of baseball tomes in all sizes, all shapes, all prices and all quality levels are there for the reading and for placing on your library shelf.
Herewith, some more . . .

"100 Baseball Icons" by Terry Heffernan, Kit Hinrichs and Delphine Hirasuna (Ten Speed, $19.95, 112 pages) is a high priced project with very little to read and a lot to look at ­ as the trio responsible for the book were given unlimited access to the Hall of Fame's archives. Given the accees, they could have come up with many more unique items than they present in their book with the misleading title: "100 Baseball Icons."

"Not Without Hope" by Nick Schuyler and Jere Longman, $25.99, 246 pages) is the behind the scenes story of the death of three friends, NFL football players, and the personal trainer Nick Schuyler, left to tell the sad tale. The U.S. Coast Guard saved Schuyler's life but the others lost theirs in this tragedy when their 21-foot boat flipped 35 miles off the coast of Florida, February 28, 2009. A MUST READ

NOTABLE FOR CHILDREN: "Lucky: Maris, Mantle and My Best Summer Ever" (Simon & Schuster, $15.99, 192 pages) is geared to readers 8 years and up. This wondrous work is all about Louis and his summer of 1961 and a front row seat to the epic Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris battle for the home run crown.

"Sluggers" by award winning illustrator Loren Long and award winning author Phil Bildner (Simon & Schuster, geared to ages 8-12) is a series that mixes adventure and sports and is perfect for someone in your Little League set.

Books include: "Water, Water Everywhere," "Great Ball of Fire," "Blastin' The Blues," "Magic in the Outfield," "Horsin' Around." All are carefully crafted, enjoyable reads, cleverly illustrated and a treat for younger readers of all persuasions.

UPCOMING: "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu" - - John Updike on Ted Williams" from the Library of America - a special edition on the 50th anniversary of the leave taking of "the Kid."

---

Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 40 sports books including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." Frommer's newest work CELEBRATING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION is next.
HARVEY FROMMER ON SPORTS (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.