Any book with the name Peter Golenbock on it has a special quality to it and "Glory In The Fall" is no exception (Union Square/Sterling, $22.95, 406 pages). The prolific Golenbock edited this collection of riveting reads by Roger Kahn, Eliot Asinof, Peter Gammons, Jim Murray and others on the greatest moments in World Series history. Timely, worth the price, historical and deserving of place on your sports bookshelf, "Glory In The Fall" homers.
Another worthy tome is "When the Game Changed" by George Castle (Lyons Press, $24.95, 327 pages). It is what the author calls "an oral history of baseball's true golden age." I would argue with him over that label but not over the contents of his book. Castle gives full disclosure acknowledging that some of his "testimony" goes back as far as 1994. "When the Game Changed" has a decided Chicago flavor Ferguson Jenkins, Bruce Sutter, Lou Piniella, to name a few. Highly recommended reading a time machine of a book.
"Jackie's Gift" by Sharon Robinson illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Viking, $16.99,coffee table sized and geared to Ages 3-5) is a grand slammer functioning as it does as a true story of Christmas, Hanukkah and Jackie Robinson. The author, the daughter of the man who broke baseball's color line, tells the story of her father getting ready for his first Christmas in Brooklyn in a house on Tilden Avenue that I knew well.
A couple of doors away from the Robinsons were the Satlows who befriended the new family on the block against the prejudice of other neighbors. To repay the kindness of that family, Jackie Robinson bought them a Christmas tree only to learn the Satlows didn't celebrate Christmas because they were Jewish. The Robinsons and the Satlows continue to maintain a lifelong relationship.That is the slim plot line of a book that is just perfect for the holiday season, one carefully crafted in its writing and expertly illustrated. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
WORTH CHECKING OUT:
"Irish Thunder" by Bob Halloran (Lyons Press, $24.95, 296 pages) is as its sub-title proclaims about boxer Mickey Ward's hard life and times.
"Staubach" by Carlton Stowers (Triumph, $24.95, 256 pages) is an depth look at the life and times of the Hall of Fame quarterback.
"A Passion to Win" by Lou Nanne with Jim Bruton (Triumph, $24.95, 296 pages) is the in depth autobiography of the celebrated hockey icon in his various and highly successful roles on and off the rink.
And also from Triumph "You Can't Catch Sunshine" by Don Maynard and Matthew Shepatin is all about the noted wide receiver and Hall of Famer.
Harvey Frommer is in his 34th consecutive year of writing sports books. A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 41 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.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
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