Books for Christmas Recommendations

[Wannabeoldschool]

Looking for book recommendations about baseball cards, collecting sport cards, and old time baseball. I'm really starting to enjoy pre-WWII baseball and the players stories, so I read "The Glory of Their Time". Obviously there are many books on these subjects, but hearing from everyone would help narrow the selection.

Additionally, I imagine there are some great websites that cover these topics as well, so if you have any recommendations it would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your assistance!

[JollyElm]

You gotta start with "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading, and Bubble Gum Book" by Brendan Boyd and Fred Harris. No question.

[Bestdj777]

There are a number of great books out there depending on your interest. There is a really great book regarding Mantle's various home runs during his career called "Explosion." It was recommended to me and was well worth the cost. Another great book by a member of the board is called "Never Cheaper By the Dozen." It's only available on CD and through Brian Powell (the author) directly, but is a really cool review of some of the great oddball issues from the 1950s and 1960s, highlighting the stories of people chasing these cards back in the day. In the interest of full disclosure, Brian is a good friend of mine, but I don't have a financial interest in his book.

[KCRfan1]

The Card, by Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson.

Only a few dozen T206 Wagners are known to still exist, having been released in limited numbers just after the turn of the twentieth century. Most, with their creases and stains, look like they've been around for nearly one hundred years. But one—The Card—appears to have defied the travails of time. Its sharp corners and still-crisp portrait make it the single-most famous—and most desired—baseball card on the planet, valued today at more than two million dollars. It has transformed a simple hobby into a billion-dollar industry that is at times as lawless as the Wild West. Everything about The Card, which has made men wealthy as well as poisoned lifelong relationships, is fraught with controversy—from its uncertain origins to the nagging possibility that it might not be exactly as it seems.

In this intriguing, eye-opening, and groundbreaking look at a uniquely American obsession, award-winning investigative reporters Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson follow The Card's trail from a Florida flea market to the hands of the world's most prominent collectors. The Card sheds a fascinating new light on a world of counterfeiters, con men, and the people who profit from what used to be a pastime for kids.

[Bigdaddy]

The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn. If you liked TGOTT, then you will love this book.

[TUM301]

Crazy 08, you basically relive the season with players and a lot of wild stuff goes on. Also, if you`re like me, you will start to recognize more and more of the names of players involved purely through your new found interest in pre war material. Great Book !

[ALR-bishop]

http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=209273

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by TUM301

Crazy 08, you basically relive the season with players and a lot of wild stuff goes on. Also, if you`re like me, you will start to recognize more and more of the names of players involved purely through your new found interest in pre war material. Great Book !

Have to give this book a hearty endorsement as well....

Z

[Gr8Beldini]

You want to learn about Baseball through the decades, there is no better book than Bill James New Historical Abstract. Great read (and re-read). More of a compellation of essays, but a large compilation. GREAT book. I found the Boys of Summer to be boring, but Roger Kahn's other great Baseball book, "the Era" was great, though it is specific to Baseball in New York, late 40's into the early 50's.

[clydepepper]

I take every opportunity to heap praise on our own Henry W. Thomas for the wonderful biography he has brought us about his grandfather Walter Johnson Baseball's Big Train

What a wonderful read!!


Thanks again Hank!