Tom Hoffarth’s annual review of 30 baseball books (including mine)

Here is Tom Hoffarth’s annual recap of what’s new on the baseball bookshelf. Each April, the Los Angeles Daily News reviews 30 new books on the game, one per day.

It is a huge project. Last year when I asked why he does it, he said, “mostly the result of loving baseball literature, find it to be a pleasure rather than work, and realizing there were so many baseball-related books that seem to come out every spring that it wasn’t possible to give them all their proper due.”

Many thanks to Tom for including a review of my book, Babe Ruth’s Called Shot, and for placing it in the “long shelf life” category.

The list includes many other books worthy of your attention, including:

“Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball” by John Feinstein.

“Nolan Ryan: The Making of a Pitcher” by Rob Goldman.

“Up, Up & Away: The Kid, The Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, Le Grand Orange, Youppi! The Crazy Business of Baseball, & the Ill-Fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos” by  Jonah Keri.

“Bring In the Right-Hander!: My Twenty-Two Years in the Major Leagues” by Jerry Reuss

“1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever” by Bill Madden