"Pardon me, but do you have any '501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read...' "

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Back in the saddle again

I love new technology. There's nothing like getting a brand new computer and I had the occasion to get two -- one for home, and one for work -- last month.

The downside of that is that since the previous models were acquired about five years ago, I had to replace the audio software used to create the interviews I enjoy so much. But then when I got those programs I discovered my digital tape record was obsolete as well. Finally took care of that inconvenience and am ready to resume author and artists interviews both for this blog and the one dedicated to my 501 Baseball Book site, for which I have plans to chat with the likes of Tom Dyja (Play for a Kingdom), Joshua Prager (The Echoing Green), Michael Bishop (Brittle Innings), and as many more whose work I included in my book as I can arrange.

Just sayin'

(Just substitute 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die for "a new book." Thank you.)

An oldie but a goodie: John Tunis

One author that frequently comes up in comments about who I neglected in 501 is John Tunis, who published  a series of books for younger reader about fictitious players for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The list includes:

• The Kid from Tomkinsville, 1940
• Keystone Kids, 1943
• World Series, 1944
• Rookie of the Year, 1944
• The Kid Comes Back, 1946
• Highpockets, 1948
• Young Razzle, 1949
• Schoolboy Johnson, 1958

He also wrote novels about other sports, as well as non-fiction. I recently read Keystone Kids because of the anti-Semitic content. It is impossible to go through it without thinking of the recent feature bio-pic 42. It has been said you can't compare the experiences of African-American and Jewish players because the latter group could always try to hide their religion, which the former obviously can't hide the color of their skin. Nevertheless, Keystone Kids is a shocking commentary on anti-Jewish sentiment, especially given its publication during the midst of World War Two and the Holocaust.

Of course, given its audience, Keystone is full of the Pollyanna-ish sentiment of cooperation and acceptance in this great land of ours. And, of course, there's a happy ending, although I must say I'm glad the Jewish player did not hit the pennant-clinching home run. It was sufficient that he stood up to the bullies on his own team (in addition to the opposition) and finally did win that acceptance.

The subtitle for the 1987 Odyssey Classic version I read asks, "Will prejudice cost the team the season?" From the introduction by Bruce Brooks, another author of books for young people,

What a simple trap it is, too: Hey guys, says the author, here's out new rookie catcher. Name of Klein, Jewish boy, hits for power, good arm. Can really help the club. Okay, fellahs--play ball.

But the ballplaying changes around the presence of Jocko Klein. Sure, he hits for power, chucks a good ball -- but he's Jewish. That changes everything, right?

Which leads me to ask an obvious question: Why did the character asking the introductions feel compelled to include that Klein is a "Jewish boy." After all, neither of the real-life Kleins -- Chuck, the Hall of Fame outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, or Lou, who played five years in the Majors before managing for parts of three more -- were Jewish, so you couldn't just go by the surname. (Then, too, the players start calling the rookie him "Buglenose," another stereotype regarding the Jewish appearance.)

To read such a book now (Keystone was recently re-issued as an e-book by Open Road Media) , is a bit jarring. It's like watching the classic film Gentlemen's Agreement, in which an enterprising magazine writer has the brilliant idea of tearing the cover off anti-Semitism by pretending to be Jewish. For the most part (thank goodness), it's hard for contemporary young people to fathom that this was the situation and that such conditions were practically considered the norm. Then again you have a Paula Deen situation, which is quite sad, regardless of those who would "excuse" her because she is a member of a generation and culture for whom such disparaging was considered the norm.

As I maintain on my Bookshelf blog, I do not include juvenile literature for the most part. There is too much duplication of subject matter and too much lesson-teaching for my adult interests, although it is practically a requirement of that genre. That said, my curiosity is piqued, and I will continue to explore the Tunis' baseball oeuvre.

The 'tyranny' of Amazon's rankings (and a call for reviews) (UPDATE)

I don't do this too often, look at how the book is doing via Amazon's convoluted ranking system. Early on I might check it once every couple of days and was thrilled by how well it was doing, ranking as high as  9,005 among all books. And I know the window is relatively brief, that most sales come in the first few months.

So I'm not giving up hope when I saw this morning that it had fallen to just under 400,000. I know the rankings fluctuate wildly from one hour to the next and that there's a disclaimer from the Amazon author service that the metrics used do not accurately reflect the number of books sold. The publisher tells me 501 is doing very well for them and a second printing had been ordered.



While visiting the page, I discovered a new review, making for a total of six. Always gratifying to read such kind words. Also thankful for the emails and phone calls I've received politely pointing out my mistakes, both by commission and omission.

So I invite those who've read 501 to submit reviews to Amazon. Doesn't have to be long or even 100% positive. As the expression goes, I don't care what you write about me as long as you spell my name write. (Funny story from last night's program at the Montclair Public Library with Filip Bondy. The NY Daily News sports columnist spoke of being involved in a lengthy strike at the paper during which time he sought out freelance work.He landed a gig with Sports Illustrated but was frustrated by the mania over fact-checking, something the veteran reporter did not have to contend with at the newspaper. So after various edits, follow-up phone calls, etc. the magazine misspelled his name in the by-line.)

Thanks for your support.

UPDATE (June 21): Sure enough I checked this morning and the ranking is now

#81,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

• #4 in Books > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Publishing & Books > Bibliographies & Indexes > Literature
• #62 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Reference
• #96 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Books & Reading > General

Crazy, man.

'501' at Montclair Public Library

Spent a fun evening with veteran sports columnist and author Filip Bondy and some knowledgeable and inquisitive folks at an authors' event hosted by the Montclair Public Library last night.

You can see more photos here.

Kaplan appearance at Montclair Public Library, June 19

This time for sure (click to play audio file).
I will be appearing with NY Daily News sports columnist Filip Bondy to discuss our new books at the main Branch of the Montclair Public Library tomorrow (June 19) at 7 p.m.


For more information, call 973-744-0500, ext. 2235.

Be there, or be square.