Support Us
Five Books
 
Search
MENUMENU
  • Nonfiction
        • Art
          • Architecture
          • Art History
          • Design & Illustration
          • Fashion & Style
          • Modern and Contemporary Art
          • Photography
        • Business Books
          • How to Invest
          • Leadership
          • Marketing
        • Economics
          • Behavioural Economics
          • Development Economics
          • Economic History
          • Finance
          • Financial Crisis
          • Globalization Books
          • World Economies
        • Environmental Books
          • Climate Change Books
          • Environmental Ethics
        • Food & Cooking
          • The Best Cookbooks
          • Food & History of Food
          • Wine & Drinks
        • Health & Lifestyle
          • Death & Dying
          • Education
          • Family & Relationships
          • Happiness
          • Sex & Sexuality
        • History Books
          • American History
          • Ancient History (up to 500)
          • Modern History (1800-1945)
          • History of Science
          • Historical Figures
          • Military History
        • Language
          • English Grammar & Usage
          • Books for Learning Languages
          • Linguistics
        • Law
        • Literary Nonfiction
          • Best Biographies
          • Essays
          • Memoir
          • Artists' Biographies
          • Travel
          • True Crime
        • Music & Drama
          • Classical Music & Opera
          • Film & Cinema
          • Music
          • Theatre
        • Nature
          • The Prehistoric World
          • The Earth
          • Plants, Trees & Flowers
        • Philosophy Books
          • Ancient Philosophy
          • Ethics & Moral Philosophy
          • Great Philosophers
          • Social & Political Philosophy
        • Politics & Society
          • War
          • Feminism
          • Foreign Policy & International Relations
          • Human Rights
          • Terrorism
        • Psychology
          • Mental Health
          • Neuroscience
          • Psychoanalysis
          • Psychology Research
          • Self Help
        • Religion
          • Best Atheist Books
          • Buddhism
          • Christian
          • Islamic
          • Jewish
          • Religious History Books
        • Science
          • Astronomy
          • Biology
          • Chemistry
          • Geoscience
          • Maths & Statistics
          • Popular Science
          • Physics Books
        • Sports, Games & Hobbies
          • Football (Soccer)
          • Gardening
          • Hobbies
          • Sport & Sporting Culture
        • Technology
          • Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
          • Computing
          • Digital Age
          • History of Technology
          • Internet
  • Fiction & Literature
        • Classic English Literature
        • American Literature
        • World Literature
        • Literary Criticism
        • Literary Figures
        • Classical Studies
        • Contemporary Fiction
          • NEW Fiction
        • Poetry
        • Memoir
        • Comics & Graphic Novels
        • Fairy Tales & Mythology
        • Historical Fiction
        • Horror
        • Humour
        • Crime Novels
        • Science Fiction
        • Short Stories
        • Romance
        • Thrillers (Books)
        • Mystery
        • Fantasy
  • World
        • Africa
          • Egypt
          • Ghana
          • Nigeria
          • Rwanda
          • South Africa
          • Zimbabwe
        • Americas
          • Latin America
            • Argentina
            • Brazil
            • Caribbean
            • Chile
            • Cuba
            • Mexico
          • United States
          • Canada
        • Arctic & Antarctica
        • Asia
          • Afghanistan
          • Bangladesh
          • Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
          • China
          • India
          • Japan
          • Kazakhstan
          • Korea
          • Pakistan
          • Sri Lanka
          • Singapore
          • Vietnam
        • Australia
        • Europe
          • Belgium
          • Britain
          • France
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Netherlands
          • Norway
          • Spain
          • Ukraine
        • Middle East
          • Iran
          • Iraq
          • Israel
          • Syria
          • Turkey
          • Yemen
        • Russia & FSU
          • Azerbaijan
          • Georgia
          • Russia
  • Kids
        • Kids Recommend Books for Kids
        • High School Teachers Recommendations
        • Novels & Novelists
        • Ages Baby-2
        • Ages 3-5
        • Ages 6-8
        • Ages 9-12
        • Books for Teens and Young Adults
        • Best Kids Books of 2022
        • Best Books for Teens of 2022
        • Best Audiobooks for Kids
        • Prizewinning Kids' Books
        • Popular Series Books for Kids
        • History
        • Economics
        • Environment
        • Family
        • Science
        • Mental Health
  • Best Books 2022
        • Audiobooks
        • Best Books for Teens of 2022
        • Best Kids' Books of 2022
        • Best Fiction of 2022
          • Historical Fiction
          • Romance
          • Science Fiction
          • Fantasy
          • Mystery
        • Best Nonfiction of 2022
          • History
          • Politics
          • Memoir
  • New Books
        • New Science Books
        • New Climate Books
        • New Psychology Books
        • New Philosophy Books
        • New Math Books
        • New Economics Books
        • New History Books
        • New Physics Books
        • New Memoirs
        • New Biography
        • New Fiction
        • New World Literature
        • New Historical Fiction
  • Audiobooks
    • Actors Read Great Books
    • Best Audiobooks for Kids
    • Books Narrated by Their Authors
    • Best Audiobook Thrillers
    • Best History Audiobooks
  • Book Awards
    • Nobel Literature Prize
    • Booker Prize
    • Baillie Gifford Prize
    • Royal Society (science)
    • Wolfson Prize (history)
    • Walter Scott Prize
    • Arthur C Clarke Prize
    • Pushkin House Prize
    • Audie Awards
  • Experts

Sports, Games & Hobbies » Baseball

Most Recommended Books

The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S Ritter

“What Lawrence Ritter did is he went back and talked to a bunch of players about their era. Again, it’s wonderful because there is this humanity to it. He’s talking to these athletes long after their successes are over. The stories get to be somewhat exaggerated, and somewhat more fully realised in a lot of ways. I don’t know if I would rely on every single thing in the book if I was writing a doctoral thesis or a paper, but it’s just wonderful, fun reading about a time when baseball was really just becoming the American pastime. There are so many characters that they talk about, and so many stories. It makes for great baseball reading.”

Joe Posnanski, Sportspersons & Sportswriter

Read more

Browse book recommendations:

Sports, Games & Hobbies

  • American Football
  • Baseball
  • Cricket
  • Cycling Books
  • Football (Soccer)
  • Games
  • Gardening
  • Hobbies
  • Ice Hockey
  • Olympics
  • Sport & Sporting Culture
  • The Best Chess Books

We have expert book recommendations covering the history of baseball, the literature and culture around the sport.

The Glory of Their Times is our most recommended baseball book, "It’s just wonderful, fun reading about a time when baseball was really just becoming the American pastime. There are so many characters that they talk about, and so many stories. It makes for great baseball reading." Joe Posnanski in the best books on baseball.

Michael Lewis' book Moneyball which follows the visionary general manager Billy Beane transforming his baseball team by using evidence based policy, has been recommended many times on Five Books.

    The Best Baseball Novels, recommended by Michael Carlson

  • Read
    The Best Baseball Novels - The Universal Baseball Association by Robert Coover

    1

    The Universal Baseball Association
    by Robert Coover

  • Read
    The Best Baseball Novels - Bang The Drum Slowly by Mark Harris (1922-2007)

    2

    Bang The Drum Slowly
    by Mark Harris (1922-2007)

  • Read
    The Best Baseball Novels - The Veracruz Blues by Mark Winegardner

    3

    The Veracruz Blues
    by Mark Winegardner

  • Read
    The Best Baseball Novels - Hoopla by Harry Stein

    4

    Hoopla
    by Harry Stein

  • Read
    The Best Baseball Novels - The Natural by Bernard Malamud and Kevin Baker

    5

    The Natural
    by Bernard Malamud and Kevin Baker

  • The Best Baseball Novels - The Universal Baseball Association by Robert Coover
  • The Best Baseball Novels - Bang The Drum Slowly by Mark Harris (1922-2007)
  • The Best Baseball Novels - The Veracruz Blues by Mark Winegardner
  • The Best Baseball Novels - Hoopla by Harry Stein
  • The Best Baseball Novels - The Natural by Bernard Malamud and Kevin Baker

The Best Baseball Novels, recommended by Michael Carlson

Sports pundit Michael Carlson says baseball reflects an American ideal which is now an American fantasy. It works well as a metaphor for life, which may be why there have been so many good novels written about it

The Best Baseball Novels, recommended by Michael Carlson

    The best books on Baseball, recommended by Joe Posnanski

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn

    1

    The Boys of Summer
    by Roger Kahn

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract by Bill James

    2

    The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract
    by Bill James

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - Ball Four by Jim Bouton

    3

    Ball Four
    by Jim Bouton

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S Ritter

    4

    The Glory of Their Times
    by Lawrence S Ritter

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy

    5

    Sandy Koufax
    by Jane Leavy

  • The best books on Baseball - The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
  • The best books on Baseball - The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract by Bill James
  • The best books on Baseball - Ball Four by Jim Bouton
  • The best books on Baseball - The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S Ritter
  • The best books on Baseball - Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy

The best books on Baseball, recommended by Joe Posnanski

The Sports Illustrated columnist says the best sports books tell human stories – and tells us why nostalgia is intrinsic to baseball

The best books on Baseball, recommended by Joe Posnanski

    The best books on Baseball, recommended by John Thorn

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - Baseball by Robert Smith

    1

    Baseball
    by Robert Smith

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - Baseball: The Early Years by Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills

    2

    Baseball: The Early Years
    by Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - Baseball Before We Knew It by David Block

    3

    Baseball Before We Knew It
    by David Block

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S Ritter

    4

    The Glory of Their Times
    by Lawrence S Ritter

  • Read
    The best books on Baseball - Baseball’s Great Experiment by Jules Tygiel

    5

    Baseball’s Great Experiment
    by Jules Tygiel

  • The best books on Baseball - Baseball by Robert Smith
  • The best books on Baseball - Baseball: The Early Years by Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills
  • The best books on Baseball - Baseball Before We Knew It by David Block
  • The best books on Baseball - The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S Ritter
  • The best books on Baseball - Baseball’s Great Experiment by Jules Tygiel

The best books on Baseball, recommended by John Thorn

John Thorn, the official historian for Major League Baseball, explains how America’s national pastime has been culturally transformative, even radicalising. He recommends the best books on baseball.

The best books on Baseball, recommended by John Thorn

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

Newsletter Contact us Privacy Policy Terms of Service Mastodon Social

© Five Books 2023

Get our newsletter