Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Two of the Three Rs
Reading and 'Riting:
I've been doing a little of both lately. First off, another one of my reviews was posted at Baseball Primer today. That's how I like to contribute. I'm not as good at 'rithmetic as some of their other authors. One of these days, I'd like to write something that's booklength. So I try to read the writings of others and hopefully glean what works and what doesn't.
One of the topics that I've been reading about lately is the 1975 World Series. 1975 was my introduction to baseball and there were two books that came out about that series and season this year. "The Long Ball" by Tom Adelman and "The Boys of October" by Doug Hornig were both released this spring and were reviewed in the New York Times (registration required.) The NYT even excerpted the first chapter of "The Long Ball." So far, I prefer "The Boys of October." "The Long Ball" just seems too lyrical at the expense of accuracy and a good narrative. Hornig's book was interesting in that it was partly based on watching tapes of the World Series. He gives an almost play-by-play description of all seven games. Also, like "The Boys of Summer," "The Boys of October" catches up with some of the 1975 Bosox many years after their salad days in the big leagues.
Hopefully, I plan to write an article about the two books in the near future. I've read a couple of other baseball books recently and I'll tell you about them when I get a chance. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
I've been doing a little of both lately. First off, another one of my reviews was posted at Baseball Primer today. That's how I like to contribute. I'm not as good at 'rithmetic as some of their other authors. One of these days, I'd like to write something that's booklength. So I try to read the writings of others and hopefully glean what works and what doesn't.
One of the topics that I've been reading about lately is the 1975 World Series. 1975 was my introduction to baseball and there were two books that came out about that series and season this year. "The Long Ball" by Tom Adelman and "The Boys of October" by Doug Hornig were both released this spring and were reviewed in the New York Times (registration required.) The NYT even excerpted the first chapter of "The Long Ball." So far, I prefer "The Boys of October." "The Long Ball" just seems too lyrical at the expense of accuracy and a good narrative. Hornig's book was interesting in that it was partly based on watching tapes of the World Series. He gives an almost play-by-play description of all seven games. Also, like "The Boys of Summer," "The Boys of October" catches up with some of the 1975 Bosox many years after their salad days in the big leagues.
Hopefully, I plan to write an article about the two books in the near future. I've read a couple of other baseball books recently and I'll tell you about them when I get a chance. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
