Library of Michigan – The 2013 Michigan Notable Books

Library of Michigan – The 2013 Michigan Notable Books.

Every year the Library of Michigan gathers information on the latest authors and books that focus on the history, people and life of our great state. They have now put together and published the list for 2013, and once again it is an interesting collection on a wide variety of subjects – from poetry, to birds, to a great baseball story, to a children’s book about a bear with a story to tell! With summer rapidly approaching, you should be able to find something off this list to read and enjoy

Here is the introduction the LOM gives to the list, along with a link to the specific titles.

The Library of Michigan has announced the list of the 2013 Michigan Notable Books - 20 books highlighting Michigan people, places and events.

The list highlights exceptional “Michigan books” published in 2012 that bring attention to Michigan authors and topics. Books that showcase the range of experiences of Michigan’s citizens and life in the Great Lakes by well-established and first-time authors can be found on the list.

“This year’s selections again exemplify the extraordinary resources, people, talent, and history we have here in Michigan,” said State Superintendent of Public Education Mike Flanagan. “Our Notable Books for 2013 are important for everyone to learn about Michigan’s enduring success and promising future.”

Books featuring topics as varied as a physically-challenged kid from Flint who went on to win an Olympic Gold Medal and pitch a no-hitter for the New York Yankees; the 1968 Detroit Tigers, survival of the Kirtland warbler, a biography of Michigan’s first governor, northwest Michigan’s Fishtown, the revival of Detroit, saving the Theodore Roethke’s house, Michigan’s historic train stations, a memoir of a Detroit soul singer, a study of Michigan’s amphibians and reptiles, depression era Flint and an illustrated history of Detroit’s historic places of worship are all part of this year’s list.

History of Our Pastime: G.Washington, Wicket, and Baseball!

From my new book on the history of baseball, Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, by John Thorn (Simon and Schuster, 2011):

The modern reader may ask: ‘Apart from why it may have mattered to so many in the past, why do the origins of baseball matter today?’ Why does each announcement of a new find – an advertisement for a game of baseball in New York City from 1823, a prohibition against playing it in Pittsburgh from 1791, a diary mention of a game in Surrey in 1755 – land on the front page of major newspapers? Because baseball provides us with a family album older and deeper, by many generations, than all but a relative handful of Americans can claim for their own lineage; because the charm of baseball today is in good measure its echo of a bygone age; and because it is gratifying to think we have something lighthearted in common with the harsh lives of our forefathers, going back to the nation’s earliest period and likely beyond. Parson Weems created the tale about a boyish George Washington and a cherry tree (‘I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet’), but it is no creation myth to report that the Father of Our Country played a bat-and-ball game called ‘wicket’, now vanished but long concurrent with baseball, with the troops at Valley Forge (“Introduction”, pp.xiv-xv).

And Now, a Cubs Update!

Ricketts: New Wrigley Field revenue needed for Cubs to stay – Chicago Sun-Times.

The MLB season is a month old and we have yet to post about my favorite team, the Chicago Cubs. So let’s start today with a little update. There’s a lot in the news lately about these “Cubbies” and their wonderful, old ballpark, Wrigley Field. With their rebuild-from-within youth movement well under way, the Cubs are in their familiar spot in the NL Central division – 5th place – last, in other words. They do have some good, young talent, along with a few off-season additions, so look for them to move up to at least 4th soon.

Meanwhile, most of the drama has been off the field. Sort of. It involves 99 year old Wrigley Field (2nd oldest in the majors, behind only Boston’s Fenway Park.). New Cubs owner Tom Ricketts is proposing a multi-hundred million dollar renovation of Wrigley (The proposal has gone from 500 mill to 300 mill, as they try to work things out with the city of Chicago.), including a Jumbotron scoreboard (see the Sun-Times link above).

These proposals have fired up all of Wrigley-ville – and if you know the cozy north-side of Chicago, you know how closely tied to Wrigley the community is (While not unique, it is special.). Including those rooftop owners across the street, who are not at all pleased with the idea of a mega-screen blocking their view of the field and the games.

And I can appreciate that. As much as I want the Cubs to improve, I say, leave the ball park alone, other than to make it safe. Spend the money on the team, and when the team wins, talk about improvements to the park. When I see the sketches of the renovations, I cringe. Some things are best left as they are, and Wrigley is one of those things. No, it’s not a museum. But it doesn’t have to be a clone of every other ball park either.

With that said, here are a couple of quotes from people on both sides of the issue. First, the owner (in the link above), and second, from a writer at the Sun-Times. Enjoy the competition off the field! And remember, go Cubs, go!

Ricketts, speaking after presenting plans for a $300 million renovation of 99-year-old Wrigley to the City Club of Chicago, said the possibility of moving is not a threat.

“There’s no threats,” he said.

“We are committed to working this out,” he said. “We’ve always said we want to win in Wrigley Field.”

In his presentation, Ricketts said “All we really need is to run a business like a business and not a museum.”

And the second:

The pictures look impressive. The rhetoric is almost inspiring.

But with every shiny new announcement of a Wrigley renovation deal that’s not even close to being approved, it gets harder to keep your eye on the ball.

You know, the ball the Cubs pitcher just threw into the outfield. Or the one the Cubs opponent just hit onto Waveland. Or the one the Cubs cleanup hitter just swung at and missed with a man on third.

This is what all the ownership bluster is about — or should be. The baseball.

It’s certainly how history will measure this debt-burdened, street-fair-pushing, Jumbotron-chasing chapter of Cubs lore. And maybe how the Ricketts family ownership will be judged a generation from now. The baseball.

A Plug for Schuler Books & Music

Last Saturday night my wife and I ended up in two different Schuler Books &  Music stores in Grand Rapids (Alpine and 28th St.), in part because I was on the trail of a newly published book on Reformed education by retired Calvin College professor Don Oppewal. Turns out this book is published by an imprint of Schuler Books (Chapman Press – print on demand), which is why the 28th store had it in stock.  To my shame, it had been some time since I had been in Schuler Books. For some reason I thought it was just another “big box” bookstore, which I tend to avoid. I prefer the smaller, independent ones. But, alas!, I had forgotten that Schuler Books is also local and independent, even though their stores are large and full-featured. Here’s the paragraph on their “About” page:

The husband and wife team of Bill and Cecile Fehsenfeld share a passion for reading and community involvement. These shared interests led them to open the first Schuler Books in Grand Rapids in 1982. Since then, their business has blossomed into Schuler Books & Music, five of the nations largest independent bookstores. Each location now also boasts a large selection of music, DVDs, unique gift items, as well as a full-service, gourmet café. Remaining independent and locally-owned, Bill and Cecile continue connecting writers and readers throughout Michigan.

Naturally, I had to roam throughout the store and discover its contents. Schuler carries a wide variety of titles almost in every field and under every subject. They have a great history section (one of my favorites). Little did I know that they also carry used books – again, from every genre. They also have a fantastic children’s area, including Legos And their music selection is broad but deep, able to satisfy every taste. The stores often bring in local authors for talks and book-signings, and feature wonderful in-house cafes with great coffee and drinks, as well as soup, salads, sandwiches and snacks. Free wi-fi is standard too, of course.

So, yes, this is a plug for Schuler Books and Music. After browsing a lot of Thrift stores for used books lately, it was good to step into a new, clean, full-service bookstore. The atmosphere was warm and cozy, and that’s not sentimental slop! Surrounded by good books and soothing music, how could one not feel warm and cozy?! I highly and heartily recommend our local bookstore ‘chain”. Put a Schuler Books visit on your agenda.

O, what did I buy besides the book on Reformed education? My annual summer baseball book – Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game by John Thorn; Simon & Schuster, 2011) – just started, but looks to be a great read! And a big Dr.Seuss “Fox in Socks” floor puzzle for the grandkids – complete with some of his famous tongue-twisters! They had fun with it Sunday afternoon

20 most dramatic images from historic Grand River flood | MLive.com

20 most dramatic images from historic Grand River flood | MLive.com.

These are 20 of the best photos taken at the peak of the flooding here in Grand Rapids in the last week (posted Wednesday, April 24, 2013). The link in the brief introduction below will take you to more of the stories and more pictures if you are interested. The good news is, that even though we had more rain this week, the waters are receding and warmer, dry weather is in our forecast!

It’s been days of rising and falling river waters in West Michigan, causing dramatic rescues, traumatic evacuations and the clean-up has just begun. Below are the most memorable moments captured by MLive photographers in Grand Rapids from April 17-23, 2013. See our complete coverage of the historic Grand River flood.

This one taken by Christ Clark shows how close to being flooded our minor league ballpark was -Fifth-Third Ball Park, home of the Whitecaps, a team which is part of the Detroit Tigers farm system.

Baseball: Fixed | The American Conservative

Baseball: Fixed | The American Conservative.

Though this was posted back on Feb.22, 2013, it is more timely now since the new ML baseball season is almost two weeks old.  Alan Jacobs, the Wheaton College English professor whose writings I have referenced and quoted here several times, is also apparently a baseball fan (proving once again that baseball is a scholarly game!). And on one of the blogs to which he contributes he proposes 6 ways to fix the slow pace of baseball and speed up the game – a worthy endeavor indeed. Although, I might add, this is what makes baseball “baseball”. If I may make the comparison, baseball is like reading: when you have a good book, you must take your time with it. I am not a speed reader, and I cannot imagine ( or desire!) speed baseball either.

In any case, I will let Jacobs plead his case – because he does write well – and with some humor. And it is part of our “Friday Fun”, after all. Click on the link above to read the rest of his proposals.

For years now baseball fans have been complaining, and with good reason, about the ever-slackening pace of the game. Games that once took less than two hours now routinely take more than three, despite various half-hearted efforts by the high pooh-bahs of the game to address the problem.

With a new season soon to begin, I shall now fix baseball.

1) Once the pitcher receives the ball from the catcher or umpire, he will have twenty seconds to release his next pitch. The more languorous pitchers will hate this, of course, and will feel that they’re being rushed to the point of exhaustion; but since the best pitchers tend to work fast, the rule may well improve the quality of pitching overall.

2) Batters can’t step out of the box. No more “human rain delays”, no more watching the Nomar Garciaparras of the world endlessly fiddling with their equipment, no more watching batters stick their back arm out to call time just when the pitcher is about to go into his windup. Get in there and get ready to hit, son. If a bug flies into your eye, back away fast so you don’t get beaned by a heater.

3) Baserunners will no longer get to call time out in order to brush dirt from their pants and make sure they look all pretty before the next pitch. They have plenty of time to do that between pitches, and even if not, this is not a problem and therefore does not need a solution. You can run with dirt in your drawers if need be.

Wit and Humor – Baseball Style

For our second “Friday Fun” item today we draw once again from the packed-full-of-fun book The Reader’s Digest Treasury of Wit and Humor (1958). And with the start of the baseball season this week, it only seems appropriate to pick out a few baseball funnies. So, for those fans who love the historical, anecdotal – and humorous – side of baseball, here you go! And for the rest of you, pick up your own copy of this great book! You are sure to find plenty of “wit and humor” from all branches of life to please you!

Jackie Robinson, the first Negro to play in big-league baseball, entered the majors with a wry, if subdued, sense of humor. On the day of his first apperance he kissed his wife good-by at their hotel and said, ‘Honey, if you come out to Ebbets Field today you won’t have any trouble recognizing me.’ He paused with the skill of a Frank Fay. ‘My number is 42.’ -Bob Considine, INS

Casey Stengel, manager of the New York Yankees, is quite a one for spinning tall tales. One concerns the pitching prodigy from deepest Alabamy who failed to show up at the spring training base. Inquiry brought this reply from his irate pappy: ‘Forget that scoundrel son of mine, suh. When he boasted he was going off to put on a Yankee uniform, I shot him.’ Bennet Cerf in “This Week Magazine”

Philadelphia’s hotels were filled for the opening game of the 1950 World Series when a gray-haired woman came looking for a room. She finally found one across the river in Camden. ‘Are you a baseball fan?’ asked the clerk, looking at her curiously.
‘Oh, yes, indeed,’ she answered eagerly. ‘My husband pitched the first ball in the 1924 World Series.’
The clerk looked down at the register and read: ‘Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Northampton, Mass.’

Also, don’t forget the free eBook, The National Pastime at the National Archives, available at the U.S. National Archives website. This 137 page book is packed full of pictures and history of our great national game, including the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. It is available in multiple formats, so download yours today and see the game from this unique perspective!

“The National Pastime in the National Archives” – Free eBook!

eBooks.

In connection with the start of the baseball season yesterday here in America (April 1), the National Archives has released a free eBook which baseball fans will not want to miss: The National Pastime in the National Archives. It is available in two basic formats – ePub (for use on multiple devices) and a special iBook format for iPads (interactive multi-touch).

For those of us especially who are Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tiger fans, you will note below that these are two of the original MLB teams featured. And yes, by the way, both of these teams did win their openers yesterday. Maybe a preview of this year’s World Series? Never hurts to dream It’s a new season!

Here is a description of the free eBook ; visit the National Archives link above for instructions on the downloads:

“Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives” tells the story of baseball in America through documents, photographs, audio, video, and other records preserved at the National Archives.

It covers the two world wars, contract disputes, civil rights, equal access and opportunity on and off the playing field, the steroids era, the universal appeal of the game, Presidential involvement, improvements to the sport, Little League, Spring Training, Opening Day, and celebrations along the way.

The eBook features notable players including Roberto Clemente, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Casey Stengel, Andrew Rube Foster, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Joe DiMaggio, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood, Joe Tinker, and Hank Aaron.

Major League teams covered include the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Senators, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, and New York Giants.

March Crazy Madness!

As the NCAA college basketball tournament has gone into full force, we feature a few of those special moments in the games from the present and the past via YouTube. Enjoy!

 

And, of course, GO BLUE!

Word Wednesday: “Amateur”

For our “Word Wednesday” post this week I not only have a new word to feature, I also have another new book to introduce! Another Thrift store bargain found last week while browsing (I keep telling you that this is where you can find some real treasures!). It jumped out at me as it sat all lonely on the shelf, and fits in perfectly with my love of language and my etymology posts here. The book carries a bland title – Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (by William and Mary Morris; Harper & Row, 1962), but there is nothing bland between the covers! Sheer delight on every page! Today we take our first word from this dictionary, and we connect it to the annual NCAA basketball tournament – “March Madness”, as it is called. For our word is “amateur”, and unlike the pro’s who play the same game for fame and fortune, these fine college athletes play ‘hoops’ simply for the love of the game! At least I’d like to think that they do.

Without further ado, here is what an “amateur” is all about:

An amateur is – or was originally – a person who loves a game or subject. The word comes from the Latin amare (to love). Thus a painter like Sir Winston Churchhill may properly be called an ‘amateur painter’ for, though his works may indeed have genuine artistic merit, he paints them primarily for the sheer love of painting.

Love in tennis and other racket games is directly derived from this idea of amateurism A person who ‘plays for love,’, in the age-old expression, is literally playing for nothing – at least in the form of a tangible reward. Thus the figure ‘O’ has for more than two centuries been called love – and the person who remains on the love end of many sets of tennis must truly be called amateur in all the sense of that much abused word.