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Dr. Harvey
Frommer on Sports |
Spring Roundup (Part 6)
"Knuckler" by Tim Wakefield (HMH, $25.00, 274 pages) is a
winner. The Red Sox vet (now age 44) flutterballer lets it all go in this up
close and personal story of his life and times and of course his up and down
moments with his favorite pitch. A wonderful idea for a book that mixes and
matches Wakefield's life with the legend and lore of the knuckler. BUY IT
Another pitcher, another story - -"Nobody's Perfect" (Atlantic Monthly
Press, $24.00, 246 pages). Most baseball fans recall the imperfect perfect
game pitched on June 2, 2010 by Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers, the
gem that was almost the 21st perfect game flubbed by home plate umpire Jim
Joyce. Now like Torrez and Dent, or like Thomson and Branca - the pitcher
and umpire linked together tell all about their roads to that momentous
moment in baseball history. The book stretches to fill pages...but it has
its moments.
"Evel" by Leigh Montville (Doubleday, $27.50, 378 pages) is a full blown bio
with an attitude by one of the best sports authors around these days. The
magnificent Montville touches all the bases in this evocative and
provocative tome focused on the life and times of the high-flying Evel
Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil and legend. HOME RUN
Another bio of Ernie Banks. And why not? Under the deft hand of Phil Rogers
"Ernie Banks Mr. Cub and the Summer of '69" (Triumph, $24.95, 288 pages)
goes over a lot of the same old territory but in such a winning way that
engagement with this book makes for pleasant warm weather reading. The
inspirational hard times to good times story and Banks' musing about people
along the way is engaging.
Now in paperback "The Last Hero" by Howard Bryant (Anchor Books, $16.95, 600
pages, paper) is a winner based as it is on massive research and many
interviews to bring forth "A Life of Hank Aaron."
"The Dickson Baseball Dictionary Third Edition" (Norton, $25.00,paper) Is a
mother lode of info on the language of the national pastime that includes
more than 10,000 terms and 18,000 individual entries and 250 or so photos.
Mother lode and load. Even two of my books are included in the bibliography
- -"Sports Roots" and "Sports Lingo." If you into baseball and especially
into words this terrific tome is for you.
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The Yankees
baseball team uniforms were quite different than how they are today.
You can reach
Harvey Frommer at:
Email: harvey.frommer@Dartmouth.EDU
About the Author:
Harvey Frommer is in his 37th year of writing 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 was published in 2008 and his REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK: AN ORAL
AND NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HOME OF RED SOX NATION was published to
acclaim in 2011.
His work has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times,
Washington Post, New York Daily News, Newsday, USA Today, Men's Heath,
The Sporting News, among other publications.
FROMMER SPORTSNET (syndicated) reaches a readership in the millions and
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Dr. Frommer is the Official Book Reviewer of Travel-Watch.
*Autographed copies of Frommer books are available .
Other Frommer sports related articles can be
found at:
Harvey
Frommer along with his wife, Myrna Katz Frommer are the authors of
five critically acclaimed oral/cultural histories, professors at Dartmouth
College, and travel writers who specialize in cultural history, food, wine, and Jewish history and heritage
in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.
This Article is Copyright
© 1995 - 2011 by Harvey Frommer.
All rights reserved worldwide.
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