Dr. Harvey
Frommer on Sports |
Incredibly Wide Ranging Reading Choices for
All Kinds of Interests
Want a picture book on LeRoy Neiman's wondrous works, a primer on golf
instruction, reflections by 25 writers on coaches, an in depth bio on
"Bear" Bryant, a hopefully final look at the meaning of Michael Jordan,
a focused retrospective on Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain and their
"thing" and more?
From Harry N. Abrams comes "LeRoy Neiman Five Decades" (75.00, 288
pages), a full color masterpiece for your coffee table. Ali, Bonds,
Mantle, Palmer and so many other famed sports figures are here along
with non-sports painting, sketches - the result is a fabulous feast for
the eyes.
"The Last Coach" by Allen Barra (W.W. Norton, $26.95, 545 pages) is as
in depth a look one can get at Paul "Bear" Bryant. Barra brilliantly
recreates the life and times of the man who was born in 1913, who got
his nickname by wrestling a bear for a dollar. He never got the buck
but went on to make big bucks and become a sports legend.
Andrew Blauner's "Coach" (Warner, $25,95, 285 pages) is a book I should
have thought of doing or at least should have been included in. The
premise is simple: get 25 writers and have them talk about coaches who
influences them. So we have Ira Berkow, Frank DeFord, John Irving,
George Plimpton, George Vecsey, and the editor's father Bob Wolff do
their thing - they do it very well, making for an enjoyable,
entertaining read.
In a golfing vein there is "Great Golf" ( Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 359
pages) an instructional compendium edited by Danny Peary and Allen F.
Richardson that contains 150 years of what they call "essential
instruction from the best players, teachers and writers of all time."
In a basketball vein there is now in paperback "When Nothing Else
Matters" by Michael Leahy (Simon and Schuster, $14.00, 432 pages) a
no-holds-barred look at the greatest basketball player Michael Jordan,
declining. This is a book about a man and a book about celebrity
culture.
From Harry N. Abrams there is "Hoops" ($35.00, 150 pages) - a beautiful
book featuring four decades of basketball as seen through the lens of
Walter Ioos, Jr with words by Mark Jacobson. If you love the sport,
this is the book for you with page after page of full color caught in
time images of magical moments in basketball over more than 40 years.
"The Rivalry" by John Taylor (Random House, (flashes back to what the
author calls the golden age of basketball and showcases the sometimes
rabid and always intense competition between Bill Russell and Wilt
Chamberlain. For those interested in what set the foundation for the
hoop game - this is the book for you.
No book that claims the definitive label about Ebbets Field should have
left out "New York City Baseball: 1947-1957" by yours truly from the
index and the bibliography. But that is what was done for whatever the
reason. Nevertheless, for the old time fans of the Dodgers of Brooklyn,
"The Greatest Ballpark Ever" (Rutgers University Press, $26.95, by Bob
McGee has much appeal and much to recommend it.
# # #
You can reach
Harvey Frommer at:
Email: harvey.frommer@Dartmouth.EDU
About the Author:
Harvey Frommer is in his 38th year of writing books.
A noted oral historian and sports journalist, the author of 42 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. The prolific Frommer is at work on When It Was
Just a Game, An Oral History on Super Bowel One.
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
is housed on Internet search engines for extended periods of time.
on Twitter: http://twitter.com/south2nd
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on the Web: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~frommer
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 - 2014 by Harvey Frommer.
All rights reserved worldwide.
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