The Baseball Chronicles

Sports Illustrated editor Burke here covers the national pastime from the early 1900s to the present. He highlights each era's important events (i.e., May 24, 1935: the first major-league night game, in Cincinnati; October 8, 1956: pitcher Don Larsen's perfect World Series game; April 11, 1966: first game umpired by the first black umpire, Emmett Ashford. There are also sections on the Man of the Decade, the Most Memorable Games, the Best Teams and Decade Pitching and Hitting Leaders. Colorful anecdotes are recounted in the chapters on Worth Remembering and the Decade Spotlight. But what makes this book notable are the wonderful 150 color and black-and-white photographs: Johnny Vander Meer pitching his second consecutive no-hitter at Ebbets Field in 1938; Bill Mazeroski rounding third after his home run wins the 1960 World Series; Roger Maris slugging his 61st home run in 1961; and the wind-up of a young Brooklyn Dodger southpaw named Sandy Koufax. A worthy addition to baseball literature. (June)