Books on the Giants
a few months ago, jcb9 did a post on summer reading lists, and I was later wondering if we had a thread on books that are actually about the Giants, couldn't find one though
I figured it would be fun to do some boning up on the history of the SF ballclub, so I just got ahold of a copy of San Francisco Giants: Where Have You Gone? by Matt Johanson. I'll use this thread to post quotes or comments from it as I'm reading it (I'm in the middle of Glenn Dickey's 49ers right now which I'll probably finish first).
I was wondering, has anyone read Johanson's book before? If so, what did you think of it?
Does anyone have any top SF Giants history books that they'd recommend as the best that are out there?
I actually haven't seen too many, so if we could use this thread to compile of list of the books out there on the Giants, that would be cool too.
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32 comments
Comments
Yep, I read it. Didn’t like it much … He needed a copy editor, badly. But the stories were good!
The best book is Willie’s Time by Charles Einstein. I can’t say enough about this lyrical, gorgeous book. Go read it next!
Still backing Notgardo, wheresoever he may wander. (Don't forget to wriiiite!)
by tk on May 10, 2009 2:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
thanks
I’ll def put it on my “to read next” list – I’m in the mood for some baseball history
"Those boos really motivate me to make something happen." - Bonds
by Persiflage on May 10, 2009 6:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
That was pretty much my reaction. Decent book worth reading because it’s pretty quick.
by chilibean_3 on May 11, 2009 8:38 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Willie's Time!
+1
The Player about Christy Mathewson was a good read.
El Presidente Larry Baer's epitaph
"Nothing important ever happened without me."
by ResDog on May 12, 2009 12:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Comeback
I’ve read Comeback by Dave Dravecky. Great book. It’s his personal story, but a very important one in Giants history.
by coicoy on May 10, 2009 8:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
What about the religious overtones on this book?
by SFGuy on May 10, 2009 10:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Loved Dravecky’s book.
Sergio Romo: striking out professional hitters since 2005. And winner of the 2012 NL Fireman of the Year Award!
by Lyle on May 11, 2009 5:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
the christian material didn’t bother me for a few reasons:
1) he was being honest about what helped him through tough times
2) the thrust of the story is baseball
3) I happen to be Christian
I think the story is worth reading for numbers 1 and 2. It’s an incredible story. I think most people wouldn’t mind the fact that the guy has a belief system.
by coicoy on May 11, 2009 6:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
agreed 100%
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on May 12, 2009 12:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Depending on how far back you want to go, The Giants of San Francisco, by Art Rosenbaum and Bob Stevens
by m34josh on May 10, 2009 10:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Not about the Giants per se, but Jon Miller’s book Confessions of a Baseball Purist is awesome.
Judgment Day is coming
comics | art | Nattowear
by Natto on May 10, 2009 10:21 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I started reading that in a bookstore. It bordered on awesome and annoying.
I would love to hear that as a book on tape, though.
by coicoy on May 11, 2009 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hank Greenwald’s was terrific. Lots of Giants material there. I loved the bit where he was tired of being hassled to wear a badge, so he cut out a picture of Jeffrey Leonard and pasted over his own face. And he never got stopped!
"[Greg] Vaughn is in a funk so deep, George Clinton wearing a miner's helmet couldn't find him."
- Jim Baker, ESPN.com, May 2002
by achiappanza on May 12, 2009 5:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Larry Baer hated that book to a point where it wouldn’t be promoted by the Giants nor sold in the dugouts. Greenwald did a book signing at a Giants game in Oakland (during one interleague game).
by SFGuy on May 14, 2009 12:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think Tales from the San Francisco Giants Dugout by Nick Peters is a pretty good one.
Also, I mentioned this on another thread, but The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg is a pretty good fictional book about Christy Mathewson and a little about the 1919 World Series. The main character is fictional, but the story is built around real historical facts so it’s a nice blend of fact and fiction. It’s pretty cool. It’s a little depressing, though…
by sfgiantsgirl on May 10, 2009 11:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I keep meaning to get the 50th Anniversary book that Brian Murphy did.
My adopted Giant: "Raptor Jesus" Guzman
by Goofus on May 11, 2009 7:56 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
awesome, you guys ...
I figure if I’m really a hard-core Giants fan, I should have a section like this on my bookshelf anyway.
SF Giants history “to read” list so far -
1 – San Francisco Giants: Where Have You Gone? – by Matt Johanson
2 – Willie’s Time – by Charles Einstein
3 – Comeback – by Dave Dravecky
4 – The Giants of San Francisco – by Art Rosenbaum & Bob Stevens
5 – Tales from the San Francisco Giants Dugout – by Nick Peters
6 – The Celebrant – by Eric Rolfe Greenberg (fiction)
7 – San Francisco Giants: 50 Years – by Brian Murphy
Just Good books on baseball list –
1 – Confessions of a Baseball Purist – by Jon Miller
keep the suggestions coming, I’ve looked for something like this online and on google with no luck at all
"Those boos really motivate me to make something happen." - Bonds
by Persiflage on May 11, 2009 10:24 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
If you’re going for the baseball theme on that shelf, you may as well throw in Money Ball. Then you can say you read it before it became a Brad Pitt movie
by m34josh on May 11, 2009 10:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Brad Pitt being Billy Beane is laughable.
by SFGuy on May 12, 2009 12:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's not about the SF Giants
but Crazy ’08 by Cait Murphy is a really good book about the 1908 season. It has a lot of good stories about Christy Mathewson and Three Fingers Brown. Also, there is a whole chapter on the Merkle game.
Right now Jon Miller is somewhere wearing a flamboyant tie and thinking about me.
by Norm Median on May 11, 2009 10:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Away Games: The Life and Times of the Latino Ballplayer has a lot of stuff about the early Latino Giants baseball players. The Alous are mentioned often, as is Cepeda and Marichal. It’s just a great book anyway, written by former Sac Bee writer Marcos Breton.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 11, 2009 3:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Unforgettable!
…. for all the wrong reasons.
by Merope on May 11, 2009 6:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
It is definitely bittersweet reading.
Judgment Day is coming
comics | art | Nattowear
by Natto on May 11, 2009 6:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
“Unforgettable”?
is this a book, and if so, who is the author?
"Those boos really motivate me to make something happen." - Bonds
by Persiflage on May 11, 2009 6:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Unforgettable!: The Giant’s Spectacular [and heartbreaking] 2002 Pennant-Winning Season (Hardcover)
by San Francisco Chronicle
by Merope on May 11, 2009 6:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I liked Bobby Thomson’s Few and Chosen: Defining Giants Greatness Across The Eras. He chooses a top 5 for each position plus RHP, LHP, reliever and Manager, elaborating on each with anecdotes and stories. Oh, and a foreward by McCovey.
by kornstar2004 on May 12, 2009 1:14 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I'm liking the list so far guys
SF Giants history "to read" list so far -
1 – San Francisco Giants: Where Have You Gone? – by Matt Johanson
2 – Willie’s Time – by Charles Einstein
3 – Comeback – by Dave Dravecky
4 – The Giants of San Francisco – by Art Rosenbaum & Bob Stevens
5 – Tales from the San Francisco Giants Dugout – by Nick Peters
6 – The Celebrant (fiction) – by Eric Rolfe Greenberg
7 – San Francisco Giants: 50 Years – by Brian Murphy
8 – This Copyrighted Broadcast – by Hank Greenwald
9 – Unforgettable!: The Giant’s Spectacular 2002 Pennant-Winning Season – by San Francisco Chronicle
10 – Few and Chosen: Defining Giants Greatness Across the Eras – by Bobby Thomson
Just Good books on baseball list (usually with notable chapters on the Giants included) –
1 – Confessions of a Baseball Purist – by Jon Miller
2 – The Golden Game: The Story of California Baseball – by Kevin Nelson & Hank Greenwald
3 – Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game – by Michael Lewis
4 – Crazy ’08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History – by Cait N. Murphy
5 – Away Games: The Life and Times of a Latino Ballplayer – by Marcos Breton & Jose Luis Villegas
"Those boos really motivate me to make something happen." - Bonds
by Persiflage on May 13, 2009 8:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
+100000000000 for Away Games
Love love LOVE that book. The companion photobook Home is Everything is excellent too.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 13, 2009 9:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the Giants (I think there are some mentions of Mays) but you should read The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski (about Buck O’Neil).
Matt Cain: He'll save children, but not the Dodger children.
PABLO SANDOVAL AM STEAL DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS.
by jponry on May 13, 2009 9:42 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I Was Right On Time
Another great book about Buck O’Neil.
"While conservatives tell you 'leave things alone and no one will lose,' and liberals tell you 'interfere a lot and no one will lose,' baseball says 'someone will lose.' Not only says it - but insists upon it! ... Democracy is lovely, but baseball's more mature." BVCE supports SF Dugout and Manny Burriss.
by BaronVonCurrentEvents on May 13, 2009 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
S.F. Giants, An Oral History by Mike Mandel
Great photos and stories. Always hated Bobby Murcer because his one line entry was:
“I was never a Giant.”
by Goat on May 13, 2009 3:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I picked up The Original Giants, or something like that, at the library. I’m not too sure about it.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Kevin Frandsen should be with the big team.
by WalrusMan on May 13, 2009 7:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs




















