2 comments about Nice Guys Finish First - The Autobiography of Monte Irvin.

1. This book tell a great recollect of Monte Irvin's hard and good times with baseball and life. It reached my heart and told me what it would have been like to live in America as an African American.



2. Monte Irvin provides us with his experiences of playing in the Negro Leagues prior to joining the New York Giants. The part I enjoyed best was his relating his experience of playing with the Giants since I was a kid at that time. He seems to feel that Rickey's choice of Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier was the wrong choice that worked out well. Irvin feels he could have been the chosen player and handled it better due to his more noncombative nature. He also provides us with his opinions on present day baseball related matters. He liked Bowie Kuhn as a commissioner, but feels he erred in not being present at Aaron's record breaking home run. Irvin, as Kuhn's aid, substituted for him. He doesn't feel Pete Rose should be elected to the Hall of Fame due to his gambling. Irvin blows his own horn a few times in the book, but I found it to be enjoyable, but certainly not a classic.

No comments about Reaching for the Stars: A Celebration of Italian Americans in Major League Baseball.

5 comments about Born to Play.

1. This is the greatest baseball book I have ever read! Eric Davis was one of the hardest playing players of all-time and would definately be Hall of Fame bound had he not played so hard. But Eric couldn't hold back a bit and instead left a legacy of how to play the game right. His story of how he overcame cancer through his faith in God is very inspirational reading even for the non-baseball fan. Davis is my all-time favorite player and this book did not disappoint! I highly recommend this book to any sports fan or fans of winning against the odds!



2. Back in the late 80's I went to a Reds game with a group of friends, one of whom told me that he wanted to sit next to me during the game so he could hear me rip Eric Davis to shreds. I told him that if he wanted to hear me rip on someone, sit by me when Rickey Henderson came to town because I was then, and had always been a big fan of Eric Davis. Davis spent his whole career in Cincinnati as an object of scorn because of what some felt was an overdeveloped willingness to spend time on the disabled list. This always puzzled me because I felt that it should have been obvious to anyone who watched the game that Davis played with an almost complete lack of concern for his body. There wasn't anything resembling padding on Eric, so when he hit something at full speed, he often paid the price. As far as I could tell, he sacrificed a hall of fame career by playing the game as hard as anyone before or since him. This book isn't a must read unless you watched him play on one of the myriad of teams that he played with during his career and wondered what made him tick. He comes off as being impressed with himself, but I'd have been impressed with myself if I could do the things he did over the course of his career.



3. I did not know what to expect from this book. The reviews were mixed and I did not know enough about Eric Davis to have an opinion of him.
   I found this book to be refreshingly honest. Davis was a star for a lot of years in baseball. His book is not the standard star bio. Davis tells the good and the bad of his career. He certainly does have an ego (probably a necessity to be a real star), but he comes across as genuine. It is not a problem to say how good you were, when you were that good. He isn't bragging, just stating the truth. He also relates times when his career wasn't going so well.
   His battle with cancer and the comeback are really inspiring. His desire to give back a bit is also inspiring. His relationship with his brother provides another good glimpse into the real Eric Davis.
   Davis put up solid numbers over the course of his career. He is just a notch or two below Hall of Fame calibre. I would say the same about this book.



4. This autobiography is the best book I have ever read. I have followed ED for the last fifteen years and I still cannot find a better role model to look up to (disregarding my parents). His strength and ability to overcome numerous injuries and colon cancer are still amazing to me. I'm only 22 years old and I highly doubt I will ever find a greater person to admire. His book talks about his love for family, God, and baseball. Please do not have any doubts concerning the content of this book. You will find no greater athlete to read about and be amazed by.



5. When I was 10 years old I went to a Mets/Reds Game at Shea Stadium. After the game was over I was standing outside the player's exit area and a new rookie named Eric Davis came out of the door. I could only tell he was a player and I had no clue what his name was. It was "bat day" that day and I asked this man to sign my bat. He signed it 'Eric Davis' and stopped to ask me some questions about myself which I wasn't thinking he would...I figured a bigshot ball player would sign their autograph quickly and move on. Being only 10 years old, I had never encountered any type of person in the public eye such as a celebrity or major league ball player. I then followed Eric everyday in the papers. When I met him, he was just up from the Minors and hadn't gotten any notice yet. I took such pleasure following him and seeing him excel in the game. My parents would mail me box scores of the Reds' games when I was in sleepaway camp over the summer. I still remember getting excited when following Eric in the summer of 87 when he was on fire.

   This book gives the reader an idea of what a warm person Eric is. His courageous struggle through cancer and his triumphant return to the game are simply amazing. I hope that Eric reads this one day, and realizes that a fan from the age of 10 (27 now) still follows and admires him. From reading the book, I agree with one of the other reviewers that said that after reading the book, they weren't just a fan of Eric Davis, the baseball player, but they were a fan of the person.

5 comments about Judge Fuchs and the Boston Braves, 1923-1935.

1. I was disappointed in this book. A lot of good information was written by Judge Fuchs. However after 1935 he was no longer the owner. This book doesn't explain why and how he lost the team. In one sentence it said he lost Babe Ruth and the Braves. How? Why? Does the author not want us to know the truth or the facts?
   Another Baseball fluff book that does not give you the hard facts. Spend your money on a better ending not this one



2. If you have a passion for baseball history, or even a passing-interest in the subject, this is a must-read book. In 1999, most baseball teams are owned by media companies, or the mega-wealthy. This book recalls a time when an individual of modest wealth could own and operate a team. More importantly, it recounts the behind-the scenes discussions that resulted in important baseball decisions. The faithful description of what actually transpired when Judge Fuchs acquired the Braves, and when the Babe made the decision to return to Boston, transports the reader back in time. Most of all, this book describes a time when owners cared more about baseball than their own amitions. Be sure to pick up this book! Herb Crehan



3. "Judge Emil Fuchs purchased the underachieving Boston Braves late in 1922, primarily to bring his ailing friend, Christy Mattewson, back into baseball as the club president. Although Fuchs was a fan at heart, he did manage the Braves for one season and gave Boston a competitive team climaxed by the Brave's dramatic pennant race with the New York Giants in 1933. The Great Depression weakened Fuchs' financial position and he was forced to sell the Braves in 1935. Fuchs' son, Robert S. Fuchs, with the aid of his father's unpublished memoirs and his own Braves scrapbooks, writes an engaging portrait of his father, and the Boston Braves. Judge Fuchs was a former semipro catcher and respected New York attorney. Although the Braves never won a pennant during his 13 years as owner, Fuchs contributed greatly to the game, bringing Sunday baseball (which caused quite a flap in Boston), Ladies Day, radio broadcasts and the "Knot Hole Game" to the Braves Field. Among his first decisions was to increase players' salaries. The team payroll increased in his first year as owner from $80,000 to $200,000. Fuchs announced, "The older players are to receive a raise of $1,000 to $2,000, the first year men from the minor leagues a boost of 25 to 50 percent." He began a profit- sharing plan in which the players shared in profits "without any responsibility in losses. Author Robert Fuchs, now an attorney, also had his "day" in baseball. When he was made the president of the Braves' farm team in Harrisburgh in 1934, after serving two years as club business manager, he was asked what changed with the new position. He replied, "I get to drive the team bus." " Judge Fuchs and the Boston Braves, 1923-1935. Robert S. Fuchs and Wayne Soini, MacFarland & Co., 1998, original trade paperback, 157 pages, black-and-white photos, appendices, index, $23.50.



4. I THOUGHT THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME !!! YOU SHOULD READ IT !!!



5. This is an excellent book. It is extremely well-written and very informative. Fascinating and enjoyable to read the contributions of Judge Fuchs to baseball and to read about the players I grew up with and loved! This book is a must read for baseball fans young and old!

2 comments about Diamonds in the Coalfields: 21 Remarkable Baseball Players, Managers, and Umpires from Northeast Pennsylvania.

1. with a great background already towards pennsylvania history. bill kashatus brings to life a compelling tale about the area's coal history & it's fabric culturally. easy to read with lots of pictures & statistics giving great cultural & baseball information.



2. "Diamonds in the Coalfields" is a documentary of life in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's. William Kashatus has done an excellent job of organizing the history of the mining communities, from a perspective of how baseball affected everyone's lives in those happy, glorious years. You can get an estimate of his effort by looking at his detailed reference notes and bibliography at the back of the book. He has devoted a huge amount of time in research and interviews in the writing of this book.
   The accuracy of his descriptions is uncanny, for a person who did not "live it", except vicariously, through the eyes of others. My father pitched for the Glen Lyon Condors, in the 1920's. I lived through the era of Zig Najaka, Stan Pawloski, and Bob Duliba, at Newport Twp. High School. This is a personalized view of early baseball history, a meaningful picture for all baseball fans. My complments to William Kashatus for giving us such an accurate picture of those happy times in our lives. He has done a great job of documentation with an entertaining accent to this portrayal of life in the coal towns. I am purchasing additional books for my uncle, brother-in-law, and three sons, who also share an interest in the nostalgia for sports in the Wyoming Valley. (Pennsylvnia)

No comments about The Quiet Hero: A Baseball Story.

1 comments about Josh Gibson: THE POWER AND THE DARKNESS.

1. The 2004 paperback edition leads off with author Mark Ribowsky taking Barry Bonds to task for comments the controversial slugger made concerning the slugging prowess of Josh Gibson.
   
   He chides the future hall of famer for falling prey to the myth surrounding the total number of official homers Gibson smacked in regular-season Negro League games. Barry bashing at its finest!
   
   Ribowsky then pens a very uneven biography that often relies on too much game commentary and material from his outstanding biography of Satchel Paige. While the pair certainly were superstars in baseball, Ribowsky losses focus too often on the title of his book.
   
   There are sections where Ribowsky yanks the reader from Gibson, goes into long commentary about Paige and then attempts to draw the chapter back to Gibson. It simply doesn't work.
   
   As a dual biography, the book deserves at least one more star. Ribowsky simply needed to be more honest with himself and the reader about the direction he took with his research and writing.

No comments about Rogers Hornsby: A Biography (Baseball's All-Time Greatest Hitters).

1 comments about ¡ Sosa ! El héroe del jonrón.

1. Sosa's determination, hard work and gratitude make for a great journey and a great read. Buy this for any young boys especially. They'll be out practicing (whatever sport or activity they happen to do) as soon as they put the book down.

2 comments about Jackie Robinson: Race, Sports, and the American Dream.

1. Professor Joram Warmund is my Professor is my professor in History here @ LIU (NYC). This book shows and explains how important Jackie Robinson was and how his impact left a legacy on America. It also shows that Brooklyn was the epicenter of new change for the race issue in America. I never realized how important Jackie Robinson was until Prof. Warmund taught this book.



2. This is a great book if you want to know more about Jackie. It has rare pictures inside of Jackie posing with fans. I originally bought this book for my Sports History class.