Baseball War

A powerful, timely, dazzling new collection of poems from Terrance Hayes, the National Book Award–winning author of Lighthead—to be published simultaneously with his latest work of literary criticism, Watch Your Language The three sections of Terrance Hayes’ seventh collection explore how...

In 1940, at just 15 years old, small-town baseball star Gene Moore was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers, who saw in him the potential to become one of the great catchers of all time. Before that could happen, though, WWII intervened. Gene's story, a surprising paean to the power and humanity of a game, is told here by his son, a first-time author who exhibits the confidence and pacing of a pro.

The Gas and Flame Men explores how these famous baseball men, along with an eclectic mix of polo players, collegiate baseball and football stars, professors, architects, and prominent social figures all came together in the Chemical Warfare Service. Jim Leeke examines their service and its long-term effects on their physical and mental health-and on Major League Baseball and the world of sports.

Baseball great Christy Mathewson was the first professional athlete to put his name to articles in newspapers and magazines. This collection completes a trio of volumes (Pitching in a Pinch, Batting in a Break, Managing in a Moment) that collect Matty's articles, interviews, observations and writings into book form. It is not only baseball history but American history filled with anecdotes and thoughts on the pastime and events leading up to our involvement in the Great War.

It was the year that Joe DiMaggio set his 56-game hitting streak, that Ted Williams batted .406, that the Dodgers and the Yankees battled each other in a classic World Series, and that America went to war. In this look at what he calls "the best baseball season ever", Robert Creamer skillfully intertwines all these epochal baseball happenings with an informal history of a pivotal period in American life.

Set in 1918, Dear Frank offers the listener a glimpse of life in the Boston area during the waning days of World War I. Young Andrew, writing to his older brother Frank, a serviceman fighting overseas, is intent on keeping his brother abreast of all that is going on around him, especially the Boston Red Sox, led by the young, hard-hitting, left-handed pitcher Babe Ruth.