Stacie's Field of Dreams--A Baseball Display and Two Baseball Events

Stacie put together this lovely baseball diorama for the Boswell Book Company front window. Though I was all-around impressed with the construction (I think she picked up some professional tips), I think her genius moment was creating the white tissue paper balls for clouds and a bright orange one for the sun. Speaking of sun, I apologize for my photos being so glare-y.

And it turns out, if you build it, they will come. Shortly after its creation, I booked two great baseball events for this season. On Friday, June 18th at 7 PM, we're hosting ESPN sportswriter Howard Bryant, author of the acclaimed new biography, The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron.

Here's Allen Barra writing in the Denver Post: "Just when it seemed like all the great baseball subjects had been done, Howard Bryant checks in with The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, which, amazingly, Aaron had to wait 34 years to get. Bryant, author of Shutout, the definitive study of race in baseball, and Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball, is a great writer for a great subject."

Read the rest of the review here.

Needless to say, Aaron is one of the heroes of Milwaukee baseball, a Braves star when the team relocated to Atlanta. Bryant's talk is highlighted on the Journal Sentinel's list of top entertainment picks for June. And here's Bob Wolfley's column on The Last Hero, if you haven't yet read it.

On Monday, July 12th at 7 PM, we are hosting Jason Turbow, one of the two authors of The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime. Turbow's book has been also getting great press.

Here's a teaser from the recent review in The New York Times:

"Jason Turbow and Michael Duca, obvious baseball obsessives from the San Francisco Bay Area, have collected dozens of stories from baseball history about situations that are not governed by the rule book but that pertain to the fuzzy notions of rightness and respect and that describe the contours of the so-called baseball codes. When is it legitimate for a pitcher to knock down a hitter? When is it unsportsmanlike for a base runner to steal a base? Spitballs may not be legal, but are they ethical? Why might a player lie to his manager? Is it ever O.K. not to join your teammates when a brawl starts on the field? And how about stealing your opponent’s signs? Is it proper? Always? Are some methods of thievery more tolerable than others?"

Need more? Here's the rest of the review.

Both books make a great Father's Day gift.