Colonial Project, National Game: A History of Baseball in Taiwan
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. First Edition. Cloth. New/New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall 9780520262799 In this engrossing cultural history of baseball in Taiwan, Andrew D. Morris traces the game's social, ethnic, political, and cultural significance since its introduction on the island more than one hundred years ago. Introduced by the Japanese colonial government at the turn of the century, baseball was expected to 'civilize' and modernize Taiwan's Han Chinese and Austronesian Aborigine populations. After World War II, the game was tolerated as a remnant of Japanese culture and then strategically employed by the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), even as it was also enthroned by Taiwanese politicians, cultural producers, and citizens as their national game. In considering baseball's cultural and historical implications, Morris deftly addresses a number of societal themes crucial to understanding modern Taiwan, the question of Chinese 'reunification', and East Asia as a whole. (Book ref. 027656) £20.00
Offered for sale by Fireside Bookshop Order / Enquire about this book
Top of the Order: 25 Writers Pick Their Favorite Baseball Player of All Time
USA: Da Capo Press, 2010. Paperback. New/No d/j as Published. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall 9780306818554 There have been many anthologies devoted to our national pastimes greatest players, but here, at last, is one dedicated to those, for reasons far more personal than stats-based, we call our favorites. In Top of the Order twenty-five of todays premier sports journalists, cultural critics, novelists, and humorists (as well as a couple of former major leaguers) deliver memorable, never-before-published odes to their favorite players, past or present. By turns uplifting, woeful, and hilarious, these essays define what it means to be beset by that strange, incurable condition known as baseball fandom. Featuring original essays by:Roger Kahn on Jackie Robinson, Buzz Bissinger on Albert Pujols, Jonathan Eig on Lou Gehrig, Neal Pollack on Greg Maddux, Laura Lippman on Brooks Robinson, Jeff Pearlman on Garry Templeton, Jim Bouton on Steve Dembowski, Pat Jordan on Tom Seaver, Michael Ian Black on Mookie Wilson, Matt Taibbi on Jim Rice, Steve Almond on Rickey Henderson, and many more. (Book ref. 027650) £7.50
Offered for sale by Fireside Bookshop Order / Enquire about this book
High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time
USA: Da Capo Press, 2010. Cloth. New/New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall 9780306818486 What is it about a quality fastball that brings us to the edge of our seats? How is it humanly possible to throw more than 100 mph? And the big question: Who is the fastest pitcher ever? Drawing on interviews with current and former players, managers, scouts, experts, and historians, Tim Wendel delivers the answers to some of the most intriguing questions about the fastball, providing insight into one of baseballs most exhilarating yet mystifying draws. In High Heat he takes us on a quest to separate verifiable fact from baseball lore, traveling from ballparks across the country to the Baseball Hall of Fame, piecing together the fascinating history of the fastball from its early development to the present form while exploring its remarkable impact on the game and the pitchers who have been blessed (or cursed) with its gift. From legends such as Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, Steve Dalkowski, and Satchel Paige to present-day standard bearers like Tim Lincecum, Billy Wagner, and Randy Johnson, Wendel examines the factors that make throwing heat an elusive ability that few have and even fewer can harness. Along the way he investigates the effectiveness of early speed-testing techniques (including Bob Fellers infamous motorcycle test), explains why todays radar gun readings still leave plenty of room for debate, and even visits an aerodynamic testing lab outside of Birmingham, Alabama, in order to understand the mechanics that make throwing heat possible in the first place. At its heart, High Heat is a reflection on our infatuation with the fastball-the expectation it carries, the raw ability it puts on display, and, most of all, the feats and trials of those who have attempted to master it. As Wendel puts it, The tale of high heat can lead in several different directions at once, and the real story has more to do with triumph and tragedy that with the simple act of throwing a baseball. (Book ref. 027647) £7.50
Offered for sale by Fireside Bookshop Order / Enquire about this book
Baseball Rules in Pictures
Perigee Books, 1985. 1st Edition. Paperback. Very Good/No Jacket. 0399511296 1985 Perigree Books large format paperback, first edition; very good condition, appears unread; UK dealer, immediate dispatch (Book ref. 11680) £5.24
Offered for sale by Simply Read Books Order / Enquire about this book
The Forties as Reported By the New York Times
New York: Arno, 1980. Hard Cover. Very Good. A fine hbk copy in d/w. 4to, 246pp with b/w plates. Arno, 1980. (Book ref. 28113) £6.00
Offered for sale by Ken Spelman Books, ABA. Order / Enquire about this book
The Dixon Cornbelt League & Other Baseball Stories.
New York: HarperCollins, 1995.. First American Edition. 8vo. 180pp. Clothbacked paper boards. Fine in dust-jacket. Ghost stories with a baseball theme. (Book ref. 1132) £20.00
Offered for sale by Ian McKelvie Bookseller Order / Enquire about this book
Fear In Fenway: A Duffy House Mystery.
New York: William Morrow, 1993.. First Edition. 8vo. 238pp. Clothbacked paper boards. Fine in dust-jacket. A baseball mystery. (Book ref. 3235) £15.00
Offered for sale by Ian McKelvie Bookseller Order / Enquire about this book
Typed Letter Signed to [G. K.] Menzies, Secretary, Royal Society of Arts.
26 June 1935; on letterhead of Chiao-Tung University, Shanghai, China. Authority on textiles (died 1964) and writer of several works on the subject. One page, quarto. Good, on discoloured paper with one small closed tear at foot. Docketed and bearing the R.S.A. stamp. The subject of the first part of the letter would appear to be the New York 'Pool Room King', owner of the Yankees baseball team and a 'big Tammany man'. Begins 'I have read with much interest the cuttings, etc., forwarded, especially the letter of Mr. Frank J. Farrell to the "Textile Mercury". When a man starts to try and floor one as being 'academic' I have no use for him. I therefore propose to treat the letter with the silence it deserves unless you wish me to do otherwise. I can so floor Farrell that I have been sorely tempted to do so. But my whole object is to be useful to our own Silk Industry: i have said what I deem it advisable to say and little good as a rule comes from pulling critics in pieces. I stand to every word I have written in my paper and the only thing I should like doing is some intimation to be got through to the press that I am not replying to Farrell's letter because [sic] I am ignorant of it but because I deem if [sic] wiser not to reply. [...] I hope that His Excellency got the idea that the Chinese (Wing-on) mill was the best in China and not the Japanese mill. [...] request Professor King to retain the Lantern Slides and Films for me at Leeds untill [sic] my return to England'. Signed 'Aldred F. Barker'. (Book ref. 4472) £36.00
Offered for sale by Richard Ford Order / Enquire about this book
The Great American Novel
New York. Holt, Rinehart & Winston. 1st American Edition., 1973 Blue cloth covers with gilt titles. In protective d/w. with slight wear to edges. 382pp. Very good condition. 9.5" x 6.5" (Book ref. 3912) £35.00
Offered for sale by RGS Books Order / Enquire about this book
OLD MAN IN A BASEBALL CAP
New York: HarperCollins. 1999. First edition. 146 pp. Photo frontispiece. Very Fine copy in Very Fine dust-jacket. ISBN 9780060194260 (Book ref. 22066) £10.00
Offered for sale by Steve Tilston Order / Enquire about this book
Me and Hank : A Boy and His Hero, Twenty-Five Years Later
New York: Free Press, 2000. 1st Edition. Paper Covered Boards. New/New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" 0684871300 / 1st edit. BUT..........a remainder line on bottom page block !! - Fine unclipped D/J - Guaranteed posting 24hrs from Wales (Book ref. 009116) £10.00
Offered for sale by Collina Books Order / Enquire about this book
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER : ARTISTS and WRITERS on BASEBALL
Published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1987. Very large paperback, folio, wraps, 166pp on art paper, illustrated in colour. First Edition. ISBN 087701468X. Condition: FINE. Packed weight 1000g. (Book ref. 18972) £11.95
Offered for sale by Reedmore Books Order / Enquire about this book
REGGIE JACKSON : YANKEE SUPERSTAR ... NEW and UNREAD, .
Published by SCHOLASTIC BOOKS, NEW YORK, 1978. Standard paperback. First Edition. ISBN 0590053965. Condition: FINE, NEW and UNREAD (Mint apart from tiny crease at top corner of back cover). Packed weight 200g. (Book ref. 15212) £5.00
Offered for sale by Reedmore Books Order / Enquire about this book
THE LAST WESTERN ... rare, .
Published by Argus Communications, Allen, Texas, First Edition in paperback, 1974. Standard paperback, 559pp. ISBN 0913592323. Rare and much sought-after title, even rare in the UK. Condition: G. Packed weight 600g. (Book ref. 11564) £37.50
Offered for sale by Reedmore Books Order / Enquire about this book
HEAVEN CAN WAIT ... American Film tie-in p/b, .
New York: Ballantine Books, 1978. ISBN 0345276655. Standard paperback, 170pp + photo section. Cover illustration of Warren Beatty as an angel. Condition: VG+. Weight 200g. SEND NO MONEY! Order this book now and pay when you've received it (any country!) (Book ref. 5928) £5.00
Offered for sale by Reedmore Books Order / Enquire about this book
THE PANAMA CANAL ... 1914 First Edition, .
Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1914. Hard cover, maroon cloth, 8vo, 386pp + photo plates + book ads. Generally VG with a couple of pages creased. Owner's name on front endpaper: Samuel W. Zeitlin July '18. We could not find a better example in the UK on internet at time of listing. Weight 700g. (Book ref. 4643) £48.50
Offered for sale by Reedmore Books Order / Enquire about this book
CHICANO CRUZ ... First Edition, FINE American paperback, Baseball novel, .
New York: Bantam Books, 1972. First Edition, 3rd Printing. Standard paperback. Condition: MINT, UNREAD, except for slight signs of handling/storage (bottom right-hand corner crease). At the time of listing we could not find another internet example in the UK. Weight 200g SEND NO MONEY: just order this book and pay when you've received it!. (Book ref. 4404) £9.99
Offered for sale by Reedmore Books Order / Enquire about this book
THE KID FROM TOMKINSVILLE ... near mint 1987 US p/b.
San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987 (first pub. 1940). ISBN 0152425675. Slightly larger format paperback, 278pp + book ads. Mint condition except for a faint 2" vertical crease 1" in from edge of front cover. Rare in the UK and rare in this condition anywhere. Weight 400g. (Book ref. 1708) £8.50
Offered for sale by Reedmore Books Order / Enquire about this book
Red Sox: A Retrospective of Boston Baseball, 1901 to Today (ISBN: 1402727968 / 1-4027-2796-8)
Sterling, NY 2005. Square folio. New. 262mm x 20mm x 288mm. A celebration of one of the most storied franchises in team sports?now bigger, better, fully updated, and priced to fly off the shelves! The Boston Red Sox and its innumerable fans are still flying high from the triumphs over the New York Yankees in the 2004 playoffs and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series?lifting the curse of the Bambino once and for all. The magnificent history leading up to this event unfolds in the pages of this loving testament to the players, fans, triumphs, and frustrations of the team from Fenway Park. Packed to the bleachers with color illustrations, essays by some of the most gifted writers in the nation, and countless statistics, it's the complete guide to this founding team of the American League that is sure to be a grand slam against a line-up of rival titles. 192 pages (Book ref. 110111) £35.00
Offered for sale by Best Buy Books Order / Enquire about this book
Baseball as America : Seeing Ourselves Through Our National Game
National Geographic Society, 2002. Illustrated by Numerous Colour & b/w Illustrations / Photographs. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 4to 0792264649 Dust jacket complete, unclipped. Black cloth with bright gilt titling on spine. No ownership inscription. 320 pages clean and tight. Perhaps Jaques Barzun put it best: "Who ever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball." For more than 150 years, this simple yet intricate game has been a mirror in which we can see ourselves-and our country-in all its contradictory, paradoxical glory. Classically pastoral in nature, the product of an older, more rural age, baseball nonetheless possesses the power to move whole cities to triumph or despair. Perfectly balanced between team effort and individual accomplishment, it defines e pluribus unum; not for nothing do we call it the National Game. A companion to the landmark traveling exhibition from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, Baseball As America delves into every aspect of a "pastime" that's anything but. Illustrated with hundreds of photographs and showcasing scores of relics of baseball's rich history from the unparalleled collections of the Hall of Fame, this lavish book explores a colorful sporting tradition that has become inextricably intertwined with our nation's values and aspirations. In these pages you'll find Walt Whitman, Bernard Malamud and Dave Barry, FDR and Fiorello LaGuardia, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Satchel Paige, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and many, many more-artists, analysts, and aficionados of every stripe. From Bill James on statistics to Robert Adair on the physics of the curve ball to novelist Michael Chabon on the father-son bond symbolized in a gift of baseball cards; from the epic anticlimax of "Casey at the Bat" to the evergreen optimism of Pean " ' Charlie Brown at the start of a new season, Baseball As America paints a colorful portrait of our history, our popular culture, our myths, and our very selves-a whole astonishing world summoned to life by two little but magical words: Play Ball! (Book ref. 126136) £7.75
Offered for sale by Charles Bossom Order / Enquire about this book