Wednesday, May 11, 2011
IndieReader.com reviews book
Nice review from the staff of IndieReader.com, posted Feb. 9th. Interesting that the reviewer mentions the book might help children understand their parents' involvement in the game better. A young man I once coached came up to me after reading the book and said it reminded him just how intense those youth baseball games were -- not just for him, but for everybody.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Starred review in Publisher's Weekly
"Alternating between a season on the road with his 12-year-old son's travelling baseball team and the improvised pick-up games of his own Florida childhood, first-time author Jacobs distills the experience of youth baseball into a handful of slim chapters as supple and expansive as good short stories. A long-time journalist, Jacobs deploys a reporter's efficiency and eye for detail in the service of a wide range of ideas--baseball as home and healer, punishment and addiction, mistress and terrorist cell--but resists the temptation to follow any one metaphor down the rabbit hole. Instead, he sticks to the action, following the 2004 Decatur Hills Bulls through the PONY league tournament, parsing the nuances of joint pain, and negotiating outside obligations (his son's and his own); intriguing vignettes from the author's childhood give the proceedings heft and purpose: 'How did youth baseball evolve from sandlot games to weekend tournaments that require the logistics of a Special Forces operation?' A chronicle sure to resonate with any parent involved in youth sports, and illuminate its joys and frustrations for any parent who isn't, Jacobs's narrative takes hold in the mind much like the game itself." (Aug.)
Monday, August 9, 2010
Boys of Summer Reading
Creative Loafing blogger Marc Schultz wrote about the book and the Georgia Center for the Book event tomorrow (Tuesday, 7:15pm, Decatur Library). Marc was a nonstarting rightfielder in youth baseball who liked to talk about the game more than play it. Probably more writers, poets and junior officers in the diplomatic corps were nonstarting rightfielders than any other position. Oh yeah... Did I mention that I'm buying a round at the Corner Pub afterwards?
http://clatl.com/culturesurfin
http://clatl.com/culturesurfin
Thursday, August 5, 2010
from Bill's Book Blog
From Bill's blog at the Georgia Center for the Books.
Way back when, Atlanta Braves’ fans like me entertained ourselves mostly by listening to a pair of announcers named Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren talk over and around an often-pitiful major league baseball team. The team stumbled, but the announcers were classy. They knew baseball, they shared their insights, and they were just plain fun to hear, a lot more fun than the frequent mishaps on the field.
We’ve lost Skip, sadly, but we have now a reminiscence by Pete about the 33 years he spent behind the microphone, cleverly titled Of Mikes and Men, written with a terrific veteran Atlanta journalist, Jack Wilkinson. Pete and Jack will join us at the Georgia Center for the book on Tuesday evening, August 10, to talk about the book. You’ll love the stories, the behind-the-scenes peeks –including even more reasons to admire Dale Murphy — and the opportunity to hear Pete’s wonderful voice behind a mike once again.
Pete’s not alone that evening, either; we’re also bringing in Dave Cohen, another popular broadcaster (the voice of the Georgia State Panthers) and Hal Jacobs, a Decaturite whom many may recall from his fine writings for the AJC. Dave’s book has another clever title, Matzoh Balls and Baseballs, and yes, it’s about Jewish players in the big leagues.
Hal’s book, Ball Crazy, looks at baseball in a very personal way: it’s about the pressures and passion of baseball played by 12-year-olds and how their parent-coaches cope with it. It will touch some nerves with a lot of folks, I think.
In a way, it recalls for me the several years I spent coaching my then-8-year-old son’s soccer team, steamy hot afternoons watching kids digging holes in the dirt, dodging soccer balls kicked at them, waving at admiring parents and, most regrettably, parents who took everything personally especially the need to win, win, win. Hal knows all about that.
We invite you to come share the fun of this evening. If you’re a baseball fan — and given the Braves’ rise in the National League East pennant race this season, there seem to be a lot more of us — we know you’ll enjoy the chatter. We’ll have a few surprises for you, too, so bring your gloves, wear your jerseys and don’t be shy about stepping up to the batter’s box. You just might hit a home run.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
"Ball Crazy" part of a literary triple play
The Georgia Center for the Book is hosting an evening of baseball books ("A Baseball Triple Play") by 3 Atlanta writers, including myself. Here's the write-up...
If you love baseball, you’ll hit a home run with our program this evening! We welcome three authors of exciting new books about the sport including long-time Braves announcer Pete Van Wieren; the radio voice of Georgia State University, Dave Cohen; and wonderful Decatur author and dad-coach Hal Jacobs. Van Wieren’s book, written with veteran journalist Jack Wilkinson (who will also join us) is ”Of Mikes and Men,” a wonderful reminiscence of three decades of calling Braves’ games over the air. Cohen’s book is the delightfully informative ”Matzoh Balls and Baseballs: Conversations with 17 Former Jewish Major League Baseball Players;” and Jacobs has written ”Ball Crazy: Confessions of a Dad-Coach,” a thoughtful reflection on his and his 12-year-old son’s experiences on the diamond. Please don’t miss this memorable evening of baseball chat!
For more information, see http://www.georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=297
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