Pujols hits home run #700 and James and I were there

 James and I went to see the Dodgers v. Cardinals play at Dodger Stadium yesterday, 09/23/2022, Friday night.  We got quasi-nose bleed seats up in the reserve deck down the first base line.  We got to see big Albert Pujols hit home run numbers 699 and 700.  We also saw Hanser Alberto, the second baseman, pitch to one batter in the 8th inning and gave up a home run.  The Dodgers were blown out 11-0.  Had it been a little league, it would have been called early.  No matter.  The Dodgers are still a great team this year and we hope for big things in the post season.  But we like the Cardinals too.

Up Country by Nelson DeMille (2002)

 Spy thriller/ murder mystery set in then current day 'Nam but for a murder that happened by an American during the war. It's an interesting way to learn the history, geography and politics of the place, and the main character can get in some zingers. 

By the way, I'm giving myself double credit for this book because it's 700+ pages.

Educated, a Memoir by Tara Westover (2018)

The author, Tara Westover, grew up in a home in rural Idaho raised by Mormon survivalist parents.  As a kid, she did not have consistent medical treatment, education or even a birth certificate.  The book is about her journey from that upbringing to someone who got an advanced education at fancy schools. It is someone transitioning from one person to another, or not, and is a great read.

Farming Dissenters by Carole Watterson Troxler (2011)

This is a somewhat dry but informative account of the Regulator Movement in North Carolina in the 1760's and 1770's. The Regulators were a group of backwoods farmers who objected to excessive fees to obtain deeds to their land.  It gets into the courthouse rings etc.

Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero (2007) Jeff Pearlman

 Biography of Barry Bonds. Interesting character.  Lots of talent, and yet he cheated.  I like the parts that describe his workouts.  Read it!

Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom (2013) by Ken Ilgunas

 Memoir of guy who put himself through grad school at Duke University without debt by living in his van.  Very interesting guy. He worked as a ranger in Alaska, worked at Home Depot and others. It's philosophical and also kind of a hands on account of how he did it. This should definitely by read by anyone who wants to get through school and life with as little debt and as much independence as possible.

No Limits (2008) MIchael Phelps with Alan Abrahamson

 This is an assisted autobiography by the great swimmer, Michael Phelps.  He has some great tips in there about how to compete and train and some interesting info about swim meets etc but I got lost in some of the inside swimming minutiae.

Pete Rose, an American Dilemma (2014) by Kostya Kennedy

 This is an autobiography of the great Pete Rose, the very untalented man who with grit and hustle became one of the best players the game has ever known. He's a complicated figure.  There's lots of good and bad and this book gets to the core of him.  Read it.

Six Good Innings: How One Small Town Became a Little League Giant 2008 by Mark Kreidler

How does one area produce great baseball recreation teams year after years? This is the story of the winning little league teams in Toms River, NJ in the 1990's and 2000's.  It's interesting but doesn't go into enough depth to be of much use.

Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves by James Nestor (2014)

Interesting subject.  The dude is on an adventure. And lively writing. Go for it!  You'll learn something.

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette 2015 by Hampton Sides

 Story of a polar expedition in 1879 that went bust.  It's a great adventure story and says something about the times.  Read it!

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics Daniel James Brown (2013)

This is about the US Olympic Rowing team that won the 8 oar rowing event against all odds.  It's a great book, read it.  This is about many things including the greatest generation's experience of the depression, team sports, growing up, and the rise of Hitler and the Nazi's.

Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'roids, Smash Hits, and how Baseball got Big (2005) Jose Canseco

 The title says it all. It's the autobiography of steroids slugger, Jose Canseco.  He's a man who reflects his times and helped to make them. 

The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports 2017 by Jeff Passan

 Yahoo Sports writer explains the epidemic of pitcher elbow injuries in MLB and youth sports. It's a great and important book.  read it!

Now Pitching Bob Feller (1990) Bob Feller with Bill Gilbert

 This is the autobiography of the great Bob Feller, rocket arm pitcher from the 1930's to 1950's.  He looks back on his life many years after his career ends and reflects on the game then, changes, and the game at the time he wrote. You would say he is one of those Greatest Generation guys. It's a good read.

Clemente: The Grace and Passion of Baseball's Last Hero (2006) by David Maraniss

This is a biography of the great Pirate by David Maraniss, the same author who wrote the biography of Presidents Obama and Clinton.  As in the other ones, you get a good feel for the times in which Clemente lived.  Also the circumstances of the plane crash are interesting.  There's more to it than just the plane went down.  This is a good read.

Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer (1989)

 It took me about 6 mos to polish off this one, it was the major reading accomplishment of 2021.  The author talks about the 4 different groups of British settlers in the American colonies- Puritans, Virginians, Quakers and Borderers/ Scots Irish- and their impact on the development of the US all the way to the present.  I permanently changed the way I think about US history. 

Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports b7 Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams (2006)

 This was another excellent goodwill purchase.  It tells the story of how the track stars, baseball players and other athletes broke a bunch of records in the 1990's and 2000's with steroids and then how they got caught.  It's an entertaining story and there's a lesson in it.

Darryl Strawberry and the Boys of Crenshaw by Michael Sokolove (2004)

 This was a goodwill pickup.  It was great.  Writing was good. Subject- Darryl Strawberry's 1979 Crenshaw High baseball team- was great.  Why was that team so good?  What are they up to now?  Why hasn't Crenshaw High had a team to rival that one since? Not all of the questions are answered but they are all explored.  read it!

I'm Keith Hernandez: A Memoir (2018)

Autobiography of the great lefty contact hitter of the  Cardinals and Mets in the 1970's and 1980's.  Lots of good insight about baseball and a nice flavor of the times.