Baseball: The Writers' Game [Hardcover]

Mike Shannon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1992

Interviews with the best baseball writers
Updated to include writers not found in the original edition
Opens a window into the art of writing about baseball

When it was originally published in 1992, Mike Shannon’s Baseball: The Writer’s Game was hailed as a unique exploration of what it takes to write about the national pastime. Brassey’s is proud to present this new edition, expanding upon Shannon’s original interviews with baseball’s top authors and historians, including Bill James, Roger Kahn, W. P. Kinsella, Robert Creamer, Peter Golenbock, and Lawrence Ritter. Shannon delves into their different backgrounds, writing techniques, personal insights, and the aspects of the game and its history that interest them. Whether with an analyst like Bill James or an ex-player like Jim Brosnan, Shannon lets each explain in his own words the challenge and the joy that come from writing about the game. Baseball fans, whether they want to write about the game themselves or not, will enjoy the unique observations and advice of baseball’s greatest writers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An example of how incestuous the literary world can get, this collection of 15 interviews with baseball writers covers their backgrounds, the inspiration for their books and their special interests within the game. Unfortunately, many of those chosen for interviews are noteworthy more for their vast output than for the merits of their prose. Two of the subjects have written books that are by consensus among the best of the last few decades--Roger Kahn ( The Boys of Summer ) and Lawrence Ritter ( The Glory of Their Times )--but Roger Angell, arguably the best baseball writer currently at work, is not included, nor is Jim Murray, whom many consider the best writer on any sport during the past 30 years. Shannon, the editor of Spitball magazine and author of Johnny Bench , seems like an establishment type, which probably explains why he excluded Jim Bouton, whose racy, backbiting memoir Ball Four is one of the most widely discussed baseball books ever. Hardly an earth-shaking volume.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As another volume in the growing genre of baseball oral histories, this book places its emphasis on writers. Shannon, editor of Spitball , a literary baseball magazine, interviews 15 of baseball's most celebrated scribes. Included are Roger Kahn, W.P. Kinsella, Bill James, and Donald Honig, the latter of whom puts his profession in perspective: "It sounds like one of those 'Only in America' stories . . . a guy traveling to different parts of the country to sit and talk baseball . . . with his boyhood heroes . . . and then being paid for it." Along with dropping many famous names, each writer discusses the research performed, writing techniques and themes, and personal insights gained. Each chapter features a summary of the subject's career and a bibliography. This book should attract baseball fans as well as aspiring writers.
- Jeffrey Gay, Bridgewater P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: Diamond Communications; First Edition edition (May 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912083565
• ISBN-13: 978-0912083568
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,787,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Shannon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine(www.spitballmag.com), established in 1981, and the author of 16 baseball books. A life-long Willie Mays and S.F. Giants fan, he was given the 2009 Tony Salin Memorial Award by the Baseball Reliquary. A graduate of Bishop Kenny High School (Jacksonville, FL), N.C. Wesleyan College, and Xavier University, Mike lives in Cincinnati, OH with his wife, the beautiful Kathleen Dermody Shannon, and their five grown children: Meg, Casey, Mickey, Babe, and Nolan Ryan. He also writes a monthly column on baseball collectibles for Reds Report and has covered the Hall of Fame Inductions in Cooperstown, NY every year since 1986 with his best buddy, baseball writer Mark Schraf. Mike has never met a baseball fan he didn't like!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Inside Look at Baseball Writers!, September 29, 2004

By 

Miata Driver "Too many books -- not enough time" (Johnstown, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball the Writer's Game (P) (Paperback)

I can't begin to state how much I enjoyed this book. I have a fairly extensive collection of baseball books, and this is the only one that I've seen on this subject.

The author basically conducted interviews with 17 notable baseball writers, then transformed them into flowing narratives.

I found the book to be an extremely interesting look at how the various writers went into the trade and how they selected (or fell into) the subjects/themes of their books.

I was pleasantly surprised at how candid the writers were on various subjects such as their own works, the works of other writers, their dealings with publishing companies and the ballplayers, etc. In most cases, the writers were specific (naming names); in those few cases where they didn't, how I would have loved for them to name names!

Because of its narrative style, this is a very easy read. In my opinion it's money well spent.