"Big-league baseball is subtle; cloaked in summer languor, moving with the slow, supple grace of a ballerina practicing backstage, yet taut and technical in its skills. To view a baseball game and appreciate it takes concentration." So begins Baseball's Best Ever. Encompassing a selection of some one hundred columns and featured stories written over 50-plus years, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist share stories on some of the greatest baseball players to ever grace the diamond. But rather than snippets and information known to anyone following the game, Berkow, shares insights on these men: men dealing with tragedy, struggle, highs and lows-showing that while they we at the top of the game, at the end of the day they are mere mortals. With stories from Satchel Paige throwing his "bow tie pitch" close to a batter's brow, the humorous side of Phil Rizzuto and Casey Stengel, a rookie Carl Yastrzemski battling through a slump, and Ted Williams talking about is favorite subject-no, not hitting: fishing. Arranged by decade, Berkow shares his interactions with those at the top of their game. We all know their stats and accolades, but not many fans truly know the person under the uniform. Offering an inside view as to who these men truly are, readers will be able to better understand their favorite ballplayers. While they have accomplished things we only do in our dreams, you will see that these men, under the surface, are no different than any of us. Though we may never hit like Joe DiMaggio or Babe Ruth, play the outfield like Willie Mays, or run the bases like Jackie Robinson, Berkow offers us a view of these stars that only an acclaimed journalist can. And with a half century of reporting under his belt, Baseball's Best Ever will let readers onto the field, in the dugout and locker room, and at home with their family and friends.

Once in a great while there appears a baseball player who transcends the game and earns universal admiration from his fellow players, from fans, and from the American people. Such a man was Hank Greenberg, whose dynamic life and legendary career are among baseball's most inspiring stories. The Story of My Life tells the story of this extraordinary man in his own words, describing his childhood as the son of Eastern European immigrants in New York; his spectacular baseball career as one of the greatest home-run hitters of all time and later as a manager and owner; his heroic service in World War II; and his courageous struggle with cancer. Tall, handsome, and uncommonly good-natured, Greenberg was a secular Jew who, during a time of widespread religious bigotry in America, stood up for his beliefs. Throughout a lifetime of anti-Semitic abuse he maintained his dignity, becoming in the process a hero for Jews throughout America and the first Jewish ballplayer elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Memorable Stories From a Half Century of Sports Journalism For the last half century, Pulitzer Prize-winning sportswriter Ira Berkow has been at the center of some of the most memorable moments in sports history. From the World Series, NBA Finals, and Super Bowl, to Heavyweight Title Fights, the Olympics, and The Masters, he has seen and covered them all. After fifty years covering sports, with more than twenty-five as a journalist for the New York Times, How Life Imitates Sports shares how these events--and their participants--have significantly shaped how we as a nation have come to understand and perceive our culture (and even our politics). They are a historical record of one significant sphere of our life and times: sports. From Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson, Michael Jordan to LeBron James, Jackie Robinson to Derek Jeter, Billie Jean King to Tonya Harding, O. J. Simpson to Tiger Woods and beyond, this collection is a historical record of our times over this past half century, in terms of society, race and gender, politics, legal issues, and the fabric of our sports passions and human condition, ranging from pathos to humor, from introspection to perception. Including additional commentary on when these events first occurred and how they have impacted us today, Berkow shares the knowledge of someone who sat ringside, in the press box, and on the sidelines for some of the most notable moments in our history. So whether you're a fan of baseball and basketball, or tennis and soccer, How Life Imitates Sports shows you our history from someone who witnessed it first-hand; a worthy collection for anyone who appreciates the highest quality sports journalism.

When Rod Carew retired in 1985, following twelve seasons with the Minnesota Twins and seven with the California Angels, he had amassed seven batting titles, more than three thousand hits, and eighteen All-Star selections and was considered one of the best pure hitters to ever play the game. While his baseball career is well documented--Rookie of the Year in 1967 and a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection in 1991--this compelling chronicle of Carew's life extends far beyond the baseball diamond. "Carew" is the candid autobiography of a baseball legend--from his years growing up in a segregated barrio in Panama to his move to Harlem at the age of fourteen, from the sandlots of the Bronx to the highest ranks of major league stardom. Working with noted "New York Times" sportswriter Ira Berkow, Carew writes memorably of his baseball career and his philosophy and approach to hitting--including his historic quest as a Minnesota Twin in 1977 for the first .400 season since 1941--but he also deals frankly with his early poverty, an unhappy relationship with an abusive father, and the racial discrimination that became more pronounced due to fame and an interracial marriage. First published in 1979, this new edition has a foreword by All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter and a new afterword by Carew covering the end of his baseball career and his post-baseball life--notably his induction into the Hall of Fame, his years as a hitting instructor, and the tragic loss of his daughter Michelle to leukemia. "Carew" is a forthright and fascinating account, revealing the public and private stories that illuminate one of baseball's greatest and most respected players.

"Baseball's Natural" is John Theodore's true account of the slick-fielding first baseman who played for the Cubs and the Phillies in the 1940s and became immortalized in baseball lore as the inspiration for Bernard Malamud's The Natural. Eddie Waitkus grew up in Boston and fought in the Pacific theater in World War II. Following the war, Waitkus became one of the most popular players of his era. In 1949, with his career on the rise, his life changed dramatically in a Chicago hotel when a nineteen-year-old shot him in the chest. Waitkus's dramatic recovery the next year inspired his teammates as the Phillies won the National League pennant. Although Waitkus survived the shooting, he could never outlive it.

Through interviews with Waitkus's family, fellow servicemen, former ballplayers, and childhood friends, and aided by fifteen photographs, Theodore chronicles Waitkus's remarkable comeback as well as the difficult years following his Major League career.

Best-selling "New York Times" writer Ira Berkow presents a unique look at America's premier sport--and its fans--through interviews with a remarkable cross section of widely known and extraordinarily accomplished individuals in a variety of fields, who explain what the lure of basketball is for them. Berkow talked with Chris Rock, Woody Allen, Tom Brokaw, Saul Bellow, Johnnie Cochran Jr., Walter Matthau, Nikki Giovanni, Donald Trump, Julia Child, Frank Stella, Erica Jong, Grover Washington Jr., Seiji Ozawa, and Sharon Stone, among others, to uncover fresh, funny, controversial, and often surprising opinions about the teams and players who make the game intriguing.

New York Times writer Ira Berkow presents a compelling account of the life and career of Hank Greenberg, the first Jewish ballplayer to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. (Ages 10 and up)