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Books that need to be written

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Pringle, Sep 13, 2006.

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  1. Pringle

    Pringle Active Member

    Reading the Maraniss bio of Roberto Clemente recently, and it struck me - "I can't believe, that in nearly 40 years since his death, no one has taken on this towering figure as a subject until now."

    Made me wonder what else may be arrive at our local Borders and B&Ns some day. I wish, for example, someone would try to take on a Steve Carlton bio (Leavy did a tremendous job with another silent guy, Sandy Koufax). Or Kirby Puckett perhaps?

    Or maybe a really, really good look at the '94 strike?
     
    Pringle, Sep 13, 2006
    #1
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Maybe some day there will be biographies galore about Steve Carlton and Kirby Puckett, but they don't have the same kind of stature as Sandy Koufax or Roberto Clemente. I couldn't imagine those books selling very well; particularly right now. Clemente died heroically, ended his career with exactly 3,000 hits, is a hero to all Latinos, etc. Puckett died, but the circumstances aren't even close. The story--other than that he was troubled--isn't begging to be told. And beside that, what is his story? It's not like his name is going to jump off a book cover for a casual reader who isn't a Twins fan. Similarly, Koufax has a story: Jewish pitcher (this is pretty big), didn't pitch on jewish holiday, almost two separate careers between mediocre and perhaps best ever, arm problems cut him short, virtually disappears from the public eye after retirement, comports himself with a mysterious dignity, etc. Carlton's has a story, but it isn't capturing anyone's imagination in anything near the same way. I think the thing holding up a biography of Koufax was that he is still alive. Why you finally saw one was that he reached that age at which there were serious readers who hadn't seen him play. Carlton isn't there, and even when he does reach that age, he doesn't really have the right kind of popularity to command the same kind of book. Just my thoughts, if I was a book publisher.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 13, 2006
    #2
  3. the_rookie

    the_rookie Member

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    the_rookie, Sep 13, 2006
    #3
  4. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    I read a book about Clemente a few years after he died. Read it many times and loved it. He's my all-time favorite baseball player. I think Girlinthehood and I have that in common.
     
    Johnny Dangerously, Sep 13, 2006
    #4
  5. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    The one I've been working on for too fucking long.
     
    BYH, Sep 13, 2006
    #5
  6. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    That damn thing isn't done yet!
     
    spnited, Sep 13, 2006
    #6
  7. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    "Definitely ~ And Other Commonly Misspelled Words"
    Moderator1
     
    Johnny Dangerously, Sep 13, 2006
    #7
  8. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    Hey man it's not easy writing your biography.

    All my background sources are dead! :D :D :D <-----------------fucking dickhead!!!!!!!!!
     
    BYH, Sep 13, 2006
    #8
  9. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    You got me as your best source....if I can remember.
     
    spnited, Sep 13, 2006
    #9
  10. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    That's the problem. Everything you say is so sketchy it needs to be double- and triple-checked! Do you know how hard it is to find one, never mind TWO, people who can confirm the memories of your relative youth? :D ;D ;D :D <-----------always a fucking dickhead!!!!
     
    BYH, Sep 13, 2006
    #10
  11. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    I would think it would be easy. Spinted plays a prominent role in the Old Testament.
     
    PopeDirkBenedict, Sep 13, 2006
    #11
  12. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    Well, there have been plenty of book written about the Battle of Kinsale, but it would be a great topic for a historical novel and a movie.

    O'er many a river bridged with ice,
    O'er many a vale with snow-drifts dumb,
    Past quaking fen and precipice
    The princes of the North are come.
    Lo! those are they who year by year
    Roll'd back the tide of England's war;
    Rejoice Kinsale, thy help is near,
    That wondrous winter march is o'er.
     
    Buck, Sep 13, 2006
    #12
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