Fall of the Roman Umpire

The third book by former baseball umpire Luciano (The Umpire Strikes Back, Strike Two is an odd idea gone wrong. After a delightful introductiondespite coauthorship with Fisher, the introduction is written in Luciano's voicein which he makes telling and humorous observations about fandom, ball parks, team mascots, special days (Purina Picnic Bag Night, etc.), contests and promotions (a Singing Dog Contest, a Cow-Chip Throwing Contest), Luciano unveils his premise for the book, which is to offer ""mini-autobiographies'' of 15 players and ex-players who might not otherwise be singled out. His selections are based on certain criteria: the men must love baseball, play hard but also have fun off the field. His 15 candidates include Mike Squires, Phil Garner, Thad Bosley Jr., Milt Wilcox and Charlie Hough, and while some of their stories are mildly entertaining, most are tedious. Photos not seen by PW. (JunepLawrence, a biologist, has studied wolves for nearly 40 years; in Secret Go the Wolves, he told about raising two orphan cubs which he released to the wild. When he learned that a captive pack lived on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, he paid them a visit to observe and compare their behavior with that of free-roaming wolves and the pair he had raised. He found that the social structure of the pack is preserved in both wild and free animals. Lawrence believes that, in areas of stress, wolves provide a closer model of human behavior than do the primates. He points out that while wolves can be successfully kept in captivity, they will be companions but not pets; human keepers must adapt to wolf-society rules. Two years ago, Lawrence and his wife left their home in Ontario to investigate wolf ``control'' (i.e., killings) in British Columbia and the Yukon. At Whitehorse they were given two starving cubs, which they have raised to adulthood. As with the first pair, Lawrence kept copious notes on their development and behavior during all phases of growth. Animal lovers will enjoy the wolf stories and appreciate Lawrence's insights into the relationship between wolf and human. (May 27)