5 comments about 1939: Baseball's Tipping Point.

1. This informative and engaging book covers the state of baseball in a key year. In 1939 Lou Gherig retired due to a tragic illness, Bob Feller emerged to win 24 games, Ted Williams arrived in Boston, and the Hall of Fame and Little League World Series began. That was the year the last holdouts (Dodgers, Giants, Yankees) began radio broadcasts, night baseball increased, and television was even used experimentally. Readers learn about broadcaster Red Barber of Brooklyn, the thriving Negro Leagues, and increasing editorials for ending baseball's color barrier. There is also a look at umpire Bill Klem, and Cincinnati's "Deacon" Bill McKechnie, who'se intellect and patience were (and remain) a rarity among managers. Author Talmage Boston provides us with an 12 documented and easy-reading chapters. The result is an informative, enjoyable read for old-timers, and anybody else interested in the game.



2. Hats off to Talmage! Being an avid baseball fan, I have read many baseball books. I discovered many new significant factual nuggets and saw a great number of photographs that I'd not seen before. Obviously written by someone with a great passion for the game of baseball. Can not wait for his next book.



3. I've been a baseball fan for over 50 years and I have a library full of baseball books. I've even done some free-lance baseball writng of my own. So I don't give out praise lightly. This is a wonderful book and I would have to rank it on my list of Top 10 All-Time Favorites. It is more than just a baseball book...it covers a slice of Americana that all students of American history should find of interest.
   
   The author has done a compelling job developing his premise that 1939 was a extremely important year in the history of baseball and in the history of the United States. The book is actually a collection of twelve essays covering pivotal events and dominant personalities from the baseball world of 1939. Other reviewers have covered these topics, which include notables such as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Lou Gerhig, Leo Durocher, and the great broadcaster Red Barber. I found each essay to be well written and highly informative. Mr Boston has certainly done his research on the selected subjects and he writes in an engaging, highly enjoyable style that kept me turning the pages.
   
   Even though most of the material was familiar territory to an old basball fan like me, I found that I learned something from each essay. Leo Durocher is my favorite character in baseball, and I've studied him intently. And yet I found the chapter devoted to him to be delightful and contained a lot of information that I was not familiar with. Likewise, the chapter on the Reds' great manager Bill McKechnie - one of the lesser known personalities that the author covers - was actually my favorite; and Mr.Boston has convinced me that Bill McKechnie is one of the most underrated managers in the history of the game. Other essays, such as the ones on the Negro Leagues, the founding of Cooperstown, and the advent of televison in baseball were also well done.
   
   If you are a baseball fan as I am - or just a fan of American history - do yourself a favor and read "1939: Baseball's Tipping Point." Trust me...you won't regret it.



4. Assemble baseball historians over their favorite adult beverages with the topic "most important," "most pivotal," "most famous" baseball season and the conversation heatedly rolls.
   Strong cases can be made for several seasons from baseball's past. In my pomposity I always insisted 1947 the most pivotal because of Branch Rickey's breaking of the game's color code with Jackie Robinson. There's no argument, 1947 was a strong and very important year for the game and for society.
   My friend and Dallas-lawyer-baseball historian-writer Talmage Boston has changed my mind with his work "1939 Baseball's Tippping Point." So much import was packed that year into a six month baseball season.
   Over two years before U.S. involvement in World War II, young up and coming stars outfielder Ted Williams and pitcher Bob Feller had begun showing the stuff that would lead to the Hall of Fame. That year, neither had become jaundiced due to what both thought was an excessive amount of career time lost due to the war effort. Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio began defining his career as elite that year.
   In 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Larry McPhail began dragging a lowly franchise out of the doldrums. By hiring fiery Leo Durocher to manage the club, McPhail served notice to his players and other clubs that wins were expected in Brooklyn. By wisely breaking a very silly, sophomoric ban on radio broadcasts, McPhail with the hiring of southerner Red Barber to call Dodgers games, took soap operas away from New York women and gave them the game. In doing so, the Dodgers created a completely new, educated genre of fan--females. That year, Barber also broadcast baseball's first televised game.
   If 1947 marked the official end to appartheid in baseball, 1939 represented the time when newspaper editors both black and white began screaming for social change. Bigotry stories abounded. One of the most famous was a Daughters of American Revolution attempted ban on black singer Marion Anderson's appearance on the steps of the Lincoln Monument. Press coverage beat the ban.
   While the Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1939 to its first class including Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson, in Cooperstown,New York, historians began refuting claims that native Cooperstown son Abner Doubleday invented the game.
   Little League Baseball began operations in 1939, giving youngsters ages 8-12 their first shot at an organized style of play.
   But perhaps the most famous historical item coming out of '39 was Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig's demise. Gehrig that year had been diagnosed with Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis, a form of polio, now known as Lou Gehrig's disease. As Gehrig stepped out of the playing field limelight, he gave his famous, "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth," speech to a sold out Yankee Stadium.
   To me, "1939 Baseball's Tipping Point," went one step further. It is a missive that should be read and re-read by baseball fans as one more poignant reminder how this grand game became that way.



5. This is an excellent baseball book -- about the unique baseball happenings in 1939. Each chapter is devoted to a special story ... Ted Williams rookie season with the Bosox, the Yankee team after Gehrig retired and other interesting stories. There is a lot of great background regarding each story -- and is very well written.
   
   This would be a great gift for Christmas or birthday
   
   Greg Langdon

5 comments about Fly Fishing Through The Midlife Crisis.

1. Book arrived in excellent shape, promptly, and well packed.
   
   Will use this source again.



2. A coworker of mine let me borrow this book to read...because he knew I liked fly fishing books. I think I could have very easily put this book down and not finished reading it. I really do not care to spend my free time reading about politics but it's 4 degrees outside and my flyline keeps freezing to the ground so I decided to continue on. What I found was an author who learns how to come to terms with his mortality through the death of a close friend. I think if he had listened to his preacher as a child instead of shunning him he might not have wasted so much of his life fearing death. If you're looking for a book to help solve your mid-life crisis I wouldnt read this book. Try reading the Bible. I'm giving this book 1 star because it's a flyfishing book and another star for the recipes which I may try some day.



3. Howell Raines' "Fly Fishing Through the Mid Life Crisis" is a pretty good read full of the wisdom of fly fishing, friendship and coming to terms with one's mortality. He also gives a brief history of fly fishing in New England with some of the greats of the sport like Bob Closuer and Lefty Kreh. It was an enjoyable read but could have been just as good without his political commentary. I could have done without his endless praise of past Democratic Presidents and disdain for the Republic ones. It has a definite liberal bias that took away form the main point of the text, the joy of the pursuit of fly fishing and how it made his life better. I would rate it a six on a scale of ten.



4. This book puts it all together, lifes high and low spots, our successes and failures, and the drive to overcome the challenges presented by these situations. It makes one realize that there is a degree of "The Redneck Way" in all of us.



5. Really good fishing stories which are ,unfortunately, injected with liberal politics. Why did he have to do that? Apparently he doesn't know that people fish to get away from things like politics.
   
   Would have been close to a 5 rating without the political stuff.

1 comments about Tent Boxing: An Australian Journey.

1. I must admit I loved reading this book. I could not put it down . I myself traveled for years on many shows in the United States. I knew many guys who were just like the characters in the book. This book nailed down what it is like to be a showman. It dealt strickly with the working men and how they came to the buisness and how they lived. If you ever wanted to know what it is like to travel with a show then this is a good primer. Wayne McLennan does fine job explaining what is like to live in an era that has almost forgotten the the old showmen paticularly the Boxing Tent fighters. It is sad this way of life is dieing out. Good for Wayne for preserving a small bit of it . These shows have long been forgotten in the States. They used to be known here as AT shows or athlectic shows. They usualy accompanied Carnival and even Circus Sideshows. They actually were quite profitable in their time. Fun and interesting read for any one who wants to really know what that sort of life was all about. Books on this subject are so hard to come by.Army

1 comments about Game of My Life: New York Rangers.

1. John Halligan did an amazing job on the Rangers' 75th anniversary book and in this new title, he has an opportunity to tell more in-depth stories about some of the most popular Rangers players in history. His inside knowledge of the team and clear, crisp writing style makes him THE authority on the Rangers. I highly recommend this book.

1 comments about Kathy Whitworth's Little Book of Golf Wisdom: A Lifetime of Lessons from Golf's Winningest Pro.

1. This is a really good golf book which has a number of useful tips (many from Harvey Penick who was her long time coach). However, even more valuable are her thoughts on managing your yourself, your game and the course. None of this nonsense of pretending you are simply having "fun", when competing. I have read a number of golf books on the psychology of golf and none were nearly as helpful as her common sense thoughts on managing your game. In my first round with two of my friends after reading her book I won all 18 skins!

5 comments about Positively Page: The Diamond Dallas Page Journey.

1. This is not really a book about professional wrestling.
   
   This is a book that is partially set in the world of professional wrestling. The subject of the book is really positive thinking.
   
   It's out of print, and it may be hard to get, but if you are into human potential and the power of change - combining discipline with positive thinking - then this is a VERY good book.
   
   If you know (or if you are) a wrestling fan who needs to hear this message, then this may be the PERFECT book.
   
   Some people think that Dallas Page is a relentless self-promoter, but they're the ones who haven't been listening. He believes that anyone can do anything that they really want to - if they're willing to work hard enough for it. He uses his own life as the example.
   
   It's worth a read.



2. It is a well known fact that DDP is a no talent in the wrestling business who got to the top by kissing Eric Bischoff's ass. They were next door neighbors for godsakes. DDP's book is full of crap. He never drew flies. His workrate sucked. He was over, but not to were he drew money. The book itself is bad. 400 someodd pages of his life. 200 of it on wrestling. He writes about how he was a bar manager for 200 pages. This was incredible dull. He puts himself over so much that it is tiring and he positively sucked. He was a product of the WCW Bischoff era and we now know why WCW went under. DDP you will never be in the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. And that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing.



3. I guess everyone and their mother decided it was time to write their gripping life story. This poorly written book is yet another discredit to the wrestling business. This is a business where so many people have given pride back to the business and then Page Falkenberg produces a book written on a third grade level full of wrongful facts.

   The question is obvious, why does Diamond Dallas Page even have a book? I can't answer that one. If he has a book then why doesn't Marty Jannetty, Pat Tanaka, Buff Bagwell or even Scotty Riggs? Why don't they? Because with all due respect nobody would want to read a full book about these wrestlers. Certainly one shoot interview on video or 4 page one on the Internet would be enough for a fan. Just like Bill Goldberg, Page is another guy who was convinced by Eric Bischoff that they were a star and even though he is by the way one of the worst champions of all time according to the ratings, Page bought it.

   This book was the fire back from WCW to the WWF at the time for having Mick Foley's book. Well if that is the case, that is a bigger joke of a fireback then the debut of the Maestro. If you are looking to buy a good wrestling autobiography, pass on this one at the bookstore. It is a terrible book!




4. All the History comes flooding back with each word. The times and places so easily parallel life and it's many hits one takes, leading to a the ultimate take-down. We all wish the best and try our best, some deal with the injuries better than others...some will always keep the bag of ice handy so the swelling doesn't show. We can all take a lesson and hope that our trials will bring us back to the same familiar places so near and dear someday. Here's to happy summers on the shore with those we'll always treasure. One Jersey girls' dream.



5. good book and all, ddp's a cool guy and everything, but none of the books compete to foley's 2. but hell, ddp still made a good read. get foley's 2 first (like you haven't) then get bobby the brain's second.

1 comments about Annapurna South Face: The Classic Account of Survival (Adrenaline).

1. The first ascent of the South Face of Annapurna is told in Bonington's characteristically engaging style. No detail of organization, logistics or communication is left out, with the result that we end up knowing quite a lot about what the climbers had for breakfast and what was said during their radio conversations; but I see this as a good thing. The book is slightly lacking in exciting scenes of actual climbing, as many expedition books unfortunately tend to be, but has plenty of gripping material nevertheless.

5 comments about Black Maestro: The Epic Life of an American Legend.

1. The story of Jimmy Winkfield is an amazing one, and honestly told. I say the latter because, although the author obviously wants to inform us about this great unknown athlete, he's honest enough to tell us the man's faults, too. Overall, he wasn't a very honorable man yet you can't help but root for him.
   
   His story will leave you shaking your head in amazement. I think it's safe to say no American athlete ever led a stranger life, and that includes Babe Ruth. Winkfield was one of the best jockeys in American history, but he had his color going against him at that time. He went to Europe and.....well, the stories are incredible!
   
   As of my review, this hardcover book is on sale here for five bucks. You have to be kidding! What a bargain. This is great reading if you any interest in people, not just horse racing.



2. the sport of horseracing owes much to the African Americans who have nutured its athletes. Rarely, however, are those unsung heros shared with the public.
   
   This well written and very well researched book shares the life of one of the sport's more colorful participants and gifted partners to equine athletes - Jimmy Winkfield.
   
   The pages kept turning, the story was fascinating, and the author did a lovely job in both pace and content.
   
   If you have any interest in the "sport of kings" and those who make it come to life, this book is an important read. For those who just want to read the story of a gifted athlete whose genetic makeup destroyed his promise on American soil, this will inspire you as to Jimmy's fortitude and once again bewilder you at the mindset that eventually took his craft out of his home country.
   
   put it on your read list.



3. This book is so well written that it got me hooked on it right away and I am not a racing fan. The author, Joe Drape really captured the essence of Jimmy Winkfield and brought his story to life in this book. After reading this book I was left with the firm understanding that man can accomplish so much in a lifetime; it is up to us to make something of our lives regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. It is a truly amazing account of one man's life. Jimmy Winkfield is a legend and I would not have heard about him if it were not for this book.



4. The media sometimes works in very strange ways. Several years ago, middle-distance running star Steve Prefontaine had two movies on his life released literally simultaneously.
   
   And with forgotten jockey legend Jimmy Winkfield, two of the best turf scribes going - Ed Hotaling and Joe Drape - end up publishing biographies within several months of each other, with Drape's being the second to reach the bookstores.
   
   Winkfield's story is one for the ages, as this black jockey battled racism on and off the track in the United States & financial ruin caused by two world wars while forging a racing and training career in Europe. Winkfield was aboard the winning mounts in the 1901 and 1902 Kentucky Derbies - the last black jockey to win the renowned race - and rode in the 1903 event, before Jim Crow destroyed the remaining careers of black riders.
   
   Born into a family of sharecroppers, Winkfield initially pursued his racing dream at Latonia Ractetrack, grooming horses and as an exercise rider before getting the opportunity as a jockey.
   
   Early in his riding career he got caught in the middle of the turf wars by mobsters at the Chicago racetracks, where it wasn't good for business - or health - for a jockey to ride races honestly.
   
   After racism slammed the sport's doors, Winkfield forged an outstanding career in pre-revolutionary Russia. But World War I and the Communist Revolution found Winkfield leading an expedition of individuals and Thoroughbreds out of the war-torn nation. The escape alone is worthy of a book or movie.
   
   Settling in Paris, Winkfield again picked up the pieces at the track as a trainer and jockey. But the opening salvos of World War II forced Winkfield to flee France before the Nazi occupation and return to America.
   
   A telling and tragic scene is his invitation by Churchill Downs officials to be honored in a ceremony before the 1961 Kentucky Derby and the ugly racism he faced in trying to walk through the front doors to the banquet.
   
   Buried in France with a plain gravestone that - in Russian - says, "Moscow," sums up the feelings Winkfield felt about where he was most comfortable and accepted as an athlete and - importantly - as a human being.
   
   Winkfield is arguably the greatest jockey ever to ride in this country. And maybe having two biographies published in rapid-fire fashion will finally help him gain the recognition he truly deserved after all these years.



5. I read Black Maestro this summer. It was a great read so I'm buying several more copies to give as Christmas presents. The book works on several levels. It is first and foremost a book that details the triumphs of a black man at the turn of the century and his subsequent quest to do what he loves to do - race horses. The book also describes the trials that the black athelete faced in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. It would take 50 years before atheletes such as Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron were able to break the "color barrier". Finally, Black Maestro is a great adventure across two continents and through two world wars - I imagine Hollywood is already chomping at the bit to get this story on the silver screen.

1 comments about Fabio Capello: The Man, the Dream, the Inside Story.

1. You can tell this author has a passion about the sport, but for me this has translated and merged with the complex character of the subject of his book. The background and family history of this man, what makes him tick, what has made him successful and sought after by others before being appointed as the saviour of English football is brought to the reader in a way that doesn't simply report on yet another football personality.
   This is probably labelled for a male readership, but I found it absorbing and not so technically written that it could not be picked up by female football fans too. A jolly good Christmas gift I'd say - well done Mark Ryan!

No comments about Michael Owen: The Biography.