David Nemec

Being a coffee table directory of the Hall of Fame members. Each player receives a page, and I like the chronological organization, which allows the casual fan or historian to learn about the periods more readily than the usual alphabetical organization. Nemec knows his stuff, too, which is not always the case with this sort of book. The only problem is, as with all Hall of Fame books, that it is inevitably going to quickly be made, if not obsolete, incomplete. That isn't the fault of the show more book, though. show less

I read this book several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed Nemec's explanation of each rule, the reasons and implications, and countless quirky stories in which rules were pushed to their limits in major league games.

Being a hybrid which is basically a reference book but which also has textual modules and seasonal narratives which are meant more to be read than consulted. The book is a long-needed gathering of information which is mostly available elsewhere but not always in a convenient form. My only quibbles are that the book should be less bulky than Total baseball if it was going to be easier to use, and it isn't; another notable problem is that the basic organization is by season and the user has to show more do considerable flipping around to find out about any one player's career. show less

I thought baseball and I went way back. But this book goes WAY back. Photos, stories, stats, records. A goldmine.