Examines "the modern history of America's favorite pastime. Kids will discover how the game has changed over the years, reading about topics such as the Dead Ball Era, World War II, segregation and integration, bonus babies, the Reserve Clause and Free Agency, and the designated hitter. Along the way, they'll [read] firsthand quotes and stories from more than 175 former major leaguers who were eyewitnesses to and participants in baseball's most incredible...

"Is there life after baseball? Starting from this simple question, The Wax Pack ends up with something much bigger and unexpected�a meditation on the loss of innocence and the gift of impermanence, for both Brad Balukjian and the former ballplayers he tracked down. To get a truly random sample of players, Balukjian followed this wildly absurd but fun-as-hell premise: he took a single pack of baseball cards from 1986 (the first year he collected...

Chronicles the triumphant 1946 baseball season and how the sport revitalized America after the second World War, centering on such hall-of-famers as Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, and Stan Musial.

"The lost memoir from baseball icon Lou Gehrig-a major historical discovery, published for the first time as a book, with "color commentary" from historian Alan Gaff. In 1927, the legendary Lou Gehrig sat down to write the remarkable story of his life and career. He was at his peak, fresh off a record-breaking season with the fabled '27 World Series champion Yankees. It was an era unlike any other. Gehrig's personal remembrances were published that...

It's rare for a team to encapsulate an era as indelibly as the Los Angeles Dodgers did the 1960s. White, black, Jewish, Christian, wealthy, working class, conservative, liberal--the Dodgers embodied the disparate cultural forces at play in an America riven by race and war. In this book, journalist Michael Leahy tells the story of this mesmerizing time and extraordinary team through seven players--Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg,...

"In Baseball Heaven, bestselling baseball author Peter Golenbock returns with the sequel to his highly praised Whispers of the Gods, bringing to life more baseball legends through timeless interviews"--

"1981 was a watershed moment in American sports, when players turned an oligarchy of owners into a game where they had a real voice. Midway through the season, a game-changing strike ripped baseball apart, the first time a season had ever been stopped in the middle because of a strike. Marvin Miller and the Players' Association squared off against Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and the owners in a fight to protect players' rights to free agency...

The Bronx Is Burning meets Chuck Klosterman in Big Hair, a wild pop-culture history of baseball's most colorful and controversial decade. The Major Leagues witnessed more dramatic stories and changes in the '70s than in any other era. The American popular culture and counterculture collided head-on with the national pastime, rocking the once-conservative sport to its very foundations. Outspoken players embraced free agency, openly advocated drug...

In Bottom of the Ninth, Michael Shapiro brings to life a watershed moment in baseball history, when the sport was under siege in the late 1950s "A fascinating look at an almost forgotten era . . . One of the best baseball books of recent seasons." -Cleveland Plain Dealer Shapiro reveals how the legendary executive Branch Rickey saw the game's salvation in two radical ideas: the creation of a third major league-the Continental League-and the pooling...