Baseball Americana
Treasures from the Library of Congress
edited by Harry Katz, Frank Ceresi, Phil Michel, Wilson McBee and Susan Reyburn
(Smithsonian)
It’s only about nine weeks until pitchers and catchers report for spring training. But, in the meantime, fans can get their baseball fix with this wonderful, photo- and illustration-heavy history book on the national pastime. Starting with 1786 diary entries from a College of New Jersey student about “baste ball” and featuring rich tributes to the greats of the game like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, this is truly a treasure.
The Moment of Psycho
How Alfred Hitchcock Taught America to Love Murder
by David Thomson (Basic Books)
Veteran film critic and historian Thomson reasons that Hitchcock’s 1960 film was something of a turning point in cinema and in America. “Sex and violence were ready to break out, and censorship crumpled like an old lady’s parasol,” he writes. “The orgy had arrived.” Thomson then goes behind the scenes on sets and with Hitchcock’s battles with the studio.
Golf
An Unofficial and Unauthorized History of the World’s Most Preposterous Sport
by Henry Beard
(Simon & Schuster)
A founding editor of National Lampoon, Henry Beard must also have ESP. Among his humorous historical golf tidbits, beginning with the game’s origin, he pokes fun at Tiger Woods — and this was written before the links lug became the butt of jokes everywhere. Beard imagines the duffer going on “Oprah” after firing his caddy for revealing “. . . personal matters that Woods regarded as an invasion of his carefully guarded privacy.”
Endangered Words
A Collection of Rare Gems for Book Lovers
by Simon Hertnon (Skyhorse Publishing)
We all know about endangered species — there are even laws to protect them from extinction. But, in this age of OMG and LOL, what about words? New Zealander Hertnon is doing his part to help, and he seems to be having fun doing it. From agathism (the doctrine that all things tend towards ultimate good) to zemblanity (the opposite of serendipity), he offers definitions, etymology and quotes.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
(Volumes 1 & 2)
by Julia Child (Knopf)
Forget “Julie & Julia,” this new box set of the classic French cooking primer is all Julia and Julia. The two, originally published in 1961 and 1970, contain nearly 800 recipes, and the set is a perfect gift for the home chef who might have an old, tattered edition that’s difficult to read through the sauce stains.