HARVEY FROMMER ON SPORTS

The Book Review: "Yankee Colors” by Al Silverman and Other Notable Reads

                       

        The avalanche of quality sports books keeps on coming. They arrive in all sizes and shapes, from major publishers and pretenders to the throne, from first time authors and veterans of the trade. There is room for all in the frenzied, fabulous and fulfilling world of sports books.

        “Yankee Colors” with text by Al Silverman a nd photographs by Marvin E. Newman with a foreword by Yogi Berra who not only seems to be everywhere but is (Abrams, $35.00, 200 full-color and 35 black and white photographs) is a paean to times past, specifically as the sub-title proclaims the glory years of the Mantle era. If you are a fan of lush, lovely, likable photo books with pleasing prose or a Yankee fan of a certain age the book is a must. For others it is highly recommended reading and browsing in a remarkable trip down Yankee memory lane from 1949 to 1963 with the legendary figures in Bronx Bomber history. Newman was a  long time contributor to Sports Illustrated and Silverman was at the top of the game as a sportswriter in that time period. `   

        “Jerry Remy’s Red Sox Heroes” by the one and only Jerry Remy, former Sox star and current winning broadcaster, plus Corey Sandler (Globe Pequot, $24.95, 227 pages) is an up close and personal look at 44 players ranked as the best of all time in BoSox history. You may argue with some of the choices but you will probably lose. The RemDawg knows his stuff and you will too after reading this book.

        Continuing in an olde towne team frame of mind there is “The Boston Red Sox From Cy to the Kid” by Mark Rucker and Bernard M. Corbett (Arcadia Publishers, $19.99, 128 pages, paper). A bit pricey especially in these down economic times, the slim product is nevertheless Boston Red Sox illustrated history at a glance.

         “Baseball and the Baby Boomer” by Talmage Boston (Bright Sky Press, $24.95, 288 pages) is part history, part commentary, part memoir – all worthwhile. Talmage Boston, a trial lawyer and baseball historian, is at the top of his game in this terrific tome that has detailed essays and strong opinions on such as Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Jimmy Piersall, Roger Maris, Bart Giamatti, Nolan Ryan. A lot of the book in Boston’s words “defends the feats of Maris and Ryan from the ravages of the steroid era.” And that alone  (although there are many other reasons) is a strong argument for one to buy this thoughtful book. 

        For those trivia buffs among you comes a series of books just up your alley - -THE GREAT BOOK OF SPORTS LISTS  series. Cities included are Philadelphia, Denver, Washington, DC, Cleveland, Detroit, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Prices at $14.94, published by Running Press, all paperbacks, the books are geared to fans of specific teams and written by different authors. `

BOOKENDS: “Breaking the Slump” by Jimmy Roberts (HarperCollins, $24.99 249 pages) is all about lessons learned by great players who went on from their worst moments in golf. There are all kinds of highly interesting personal stories from some of the greats.

Harvey Frommer is his 33rd consecutive year of writing sports books. The author of 40 of them including the classics: "New York City Baseball,1947-1957" and "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball," his acclaimed REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM, an oral/narrative history (Abrams, Stewart, Tabori and Chang) was published in 2008 as well as a reprint version of his classic "Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball." The prolific Frommer is at work on REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK (2010).

Frommer sports books are available direct from the author - discounted and autographed.

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