Doris Kearns Goodwin. This historian/writer loves history and she loves baseball. If there is such a thing as a sweet read, this is it.
Goodwin departs from her award-winning series of historical writings to take us back to a different time in baseball. The players were neighbors in the community. They held offseason jobs where fans interacted with them daily.
Players stayed put. They spent careers with one club and one city (or borough in this case). When a player was traded, it was a big deal-the loss of a family member.
Goodwin pours her heart out remembering her childhood days as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. This is the stuff of a life well started.
Capturing the moment is what the most talented of historical writers are best at and Goodwin captures the times. You can feel the pulse of Brooklyn, hear the radio voices of baseball and capture her sheer enjoyment of the era.
Goodwin is still a baseball fan - of the Red Sox. She follows the game and that warm smile she carries with her is particularly bright when the discussion turns to bats and balls.
True to her calling, while this is a personal memory book, the history of the times spills out from every page.
"Play is the highest form of research."
― Albert Einstein
Warner, let's go to the video tape.
The Enoch Pratt Free Library is a cool location for a summer day of reading and exploring what's new. From Tracy Dimond, Pratt Library's Programming Department, comes this recommendation:
"I recently finished Celeste Ng's beautifully written Everything I Never Told You. Set in the context of the 1970s, Ng explores the Lee family's reaction to their middle daughter's death. The book is more than a thriller - it's also a social commentary that asks a reader to think about the powerful subtleties of what is said and unsaid in interaction."
Thanks Tracy for another book for the beach bag.
For those who might like an essay to inspect, here's one. "Margaret Atwood has written brilliant and troubling novels with an environmental focus, including the MaddAddam trilogy. ... On Medium, she presents an essay that shows her homework: a dark look at the years ahead if we don't take action to blunt the effects of climate change. I'd rather be reading her novels, frankly, but this sweeping, Malthusian essay is worth the considerable time it takes to read. " Medium.com
Happy summer vacations to all still getting one in.
Gary Thorne is the play-by-play voice of the Orioles on MASN, and the 2015 season is his ninth with the club and 30th covering Major League Baseball. His blog will appear regularly throughout the season. The Orioles and Sarasota County have partnered on the Big League Reader Program, which rewarded kids who read three books in February with tickets to a Grapefruit League game at Ed Smith Stadium in March.
Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne. © Copyright 2015 Gary F. Thorne. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Gary F. Thorne and MASNsports.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.