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Reviews

Reviews

by Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone - Biography, Nonfiction, Sports

Born to a small-town California ranching family, Vernon “Lefty” Gomez rode his powerful arm and jocular personality right across America to the dugout of the New York Yankees. Lefty baffled hitters with his blazing fastball, establishing himself as the team’s ace. Now his daughter and co-author Lawrence Goldstone vividly re-create the life and adventures of the irreverent southpaw.

by Daniel Ewald - Nonfiction, Sports

Sparky Anderson met author Dan Ewald in 1979, and thus was born a lifelong friendship not likely ever to be seen again in baseball. Along the way, Dan never took for granted the front row seat he had to watch one of history's most memorable managers’ absolute mastery of baseball's nuances and intricacies.

by John Grisham - Fiction

In the summer of 1973, Joe Castle quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever.

by A.J. Jacobs - Nonfiction
Hospitalized with a freak case of tropical pneumonia and ashamed of a middle-aged body best described as “a python that swallowed a goat,” A.J. Jacobs felt compelled to change his ways and get healthy. And he didn’t want only to lose weight, or finish a triathlon, or lower his cholesterol. His ambitions were far greater: maximal health from head to toe.
by Jane Leavy - Biography, Nonfiction

 

Meticulously reported and elegantly written, THE LAST BOY is a baseball tapestry that weaves together episodes from Jane Leavy’s weekend with The Mick after he was banned from baseball, with reminiscences about the boy from Commerce, Oklahoma.

Ralph Branca with David Ritz - History, Sports

Ralph Branca is best known for throwing the pitch that resulted in Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ’Round the World.” A MOMENT IN TIME details the remarkable story of a man who could have been destroyed by a supreme professional embarrassment --- but wasn’t.

by Dick Van Dyke - Nonfiction

This is a lively, heartwarming memoir of a performer who still thinks of himself as a "simple song-and-dance man," but who is, in every sense of the word, a classic entertainer.