The Knucklebook Hardcover – February 28, 2006

The subtitle gets it right: the knuckleball is a very strange pitch. It is released with very little velocity and drifts toward home plate with very little rotation. It seems subject to all manner of influences from barometric pressure to wind velocity and maybe even the gravitational pull of the moon. Clark, a professional photographer with no demonstrable connection to baseball beyond being a fan, interviewed a number of the knuckleball's greatest practitioners, including Hoyt Wilhelm, Wilbur Wood, Phil Niekro, and Tim Wakefield, the only major leaguer currently using the knuckler as his primary pitch. In this thin little book, Clark explains why a knuckler knuckles as well as how to throw it, hit it, coach it, and ump it. It's nicely written, well organized, well illustrated (with drawings and diagrams), and imbued with an engaging sense of whimsy. It's also scheduled for publication in the spring, when all the over-the-hill hurlers turned civilians can try out Clark's techniques in that one last chance to make the Big Show. Charming fun for baseball fans. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

A comprehensive look inside the world of the fluttering and frustrating―for hitters anyway―pitch. (Todd Piken Metro Daily News)

It's nicely written, well organized, well illustrated and imbued with an engaging sense of whimsy. (Booklist)

A guide to every aspect of baseball's most elusive pitch....explaining how and why the pitch is used. (Forecast)

Like the knucklebook itself, The Knucklebook frustrates and delights.... Mr. Clark is terrific....Colorful and interesting stuff. (Jonathan Eig, author of Get Capone/ ALI The Wall Street Journal)

A little gem.... After reading it, I am confident I can not only teach the knuckler but also throw a decent one myself. (John Curtis The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The world's greatest collector of knuckleball lore. (Ron Berthel Scranton Sunday Times)

There's no pitch as magical as the knuckleball. Dave Clark is showing off the magician's tricks but instead of breaking the illusion, he opens new doors. The knuckleball is given new life here, dancing through our minds as it dances through the air. Clark masterfully breaks down the pitch, the mindset, and could save the pitch from extinction with this important work. (Will Carroll)

If there is anyone alive who knows more about this ever-baffling, fluttering pitch than Dave Clark, he is either retired from, headed to, or currently in the Major Leagues on the strength of his knuckles. And even then, my money's on Dave. (Ben McGrath The New Yorker)

Nicely written, well organized, well illustrated...and imbued with an engaging sense of whimsy. (Wes Lukowsky Booklist)

They say that '40 is the new 30.' If that's true, then I figure I've still got a shot at becoming the next Hoyt Wilhelm. Step 1? Memorizing every single page of Dave Clark's The Knucklebook. (Rob Neyer ESPN the Magazine)

Dave Clark delivers a resounding strike with his in-depth coverage of baseball's most baffling pitch. (John Kuenster Baseball Digest)

Quirky to say the least. (Melissa McKeon The Community Journal)