The essential baseball book library
Discover the essential baseball book library, from Michael Lewis's *Moneyball* to David Halberstam's *Summer of '49*—a curated list of must-read classics for every fan.
Book
If I Never Get Back
by Darryl Brock
Time travel meets baseball in this ¿grand adventure¿ about a modern-day reporter who witnesses the birth of America¿s favorite pastime (The Washington Times) Contemporary reporter Sam Fowler is stuck in a dull job and a failing marriage when he is suddenly transported back to the summer of 1869. After a wrenching period of adjustment, he feels rejuvenated by his involvement with the nation¿s first pro baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. But American sports isn't the only thing to undergo a major transformation¿Sam himself starts to change as he faces life-threatening 19th-century challenges on and off the baseball diamond. With the support of his fellow ballplayers and the lovely Caitlin O'Neill, will he regain the sense of family he desperately needs? Darryl Brock masterfully evokes post-Civil War America¿its smoky cities and transcontinental railroad, its dance halls and parlour houses, its financial booms and busts. Equally appealing to sports fans and anyone who appreciates a well-told story, If I Never Get Back is a literary home run that "grabs you from line one on page one and never lets go" (San Francisco Chronicle).
Book
Moneyball
by Michael Lewis
The Oakland Athletics have a secret: a winning baseball team is made, not bought. A story about money, science, entertainment, egos, "Moneyball" traces the remarkable success of the Oakland Athletics, a major league team with a minor league budget.
Book
Summer of '49
by David Halberstam
David Halberstam's New York Times bestselling classic chronicle of baseball's most magnificent season, as seen through the battle royale between Joe DiMaggio's Yankees and Ted Williams's Red Sox for the heart of a nation. With incredible skill, passion, and insight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam returns us to the miraculous summer of '49 ... and to a glorious time when the dreams of a now almost forgotten America rested on the crack of a bat.
