THIS IS A VERY GOOD ACCOUNT OF THE MEMBERS OF THE 500 CLUB. EACH PLAYER IS PROFILED BRILLIANTLY. THEIR CARRERS ARE WELL TOLD AND A READER GETS AN APPRECIATION FOR EACH MEMBER. THE AUTHOR DOES A GOOD JOB ON THIS BOOK. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TO ANY FAN WHO WANTS A LOT INFO ABOUT EACH MEMBER OF THE 500 CLUB.

In baseball every pitcher dreams of winning 300 games in a career for power hitters it is the mark of 500 home runs that drives them to excel. This book, The 500 Home Run Club, takes you inside baseball's exclusive fraternity that only has 15 members.

Watch baseball history come alive as you read about the power of Harmon Killebrew of the grace of Henry Aaron. Watch baseball's magical wizardry in the story of Babe Ruth, or the trials faced by Jimmie Foxx. See how Ted Williams missed 5 years and still hit 521 home runs.

The game covers some many different eras, from early baseball with Mel Ott, to the 50's with Yankee great Mickey Mantle to the 80's with the raw power of Mike Schmidt of the Phillies. So many of the true legends of this game are here in this book.

You'll also read what other players had to say about these 15 great hitters, all of which are in Baseball's Hall of Fame. For the serious and true baseball fan in your life grab copy of this book, you won't be disappointed.

I think that this book by Bob Allen and Bill Gilbert is an excellent book to read and see the many and the few(which ever way you want to see it)great hitters who have been lost in all the Babe Ruth and the Hank Aaron Home Run Derby. This book goes into detail about the life and careers of all of the 500 home run hitters. Do you remember the name Eddie Matthews or Mel Ott because they both hit 500 home runs. And how about Harmon Killebrew, second only to Babe Ruth in American League home runs. I don't think that Willie McCovey gets the credit that he deserves for hitting as many home runs as Ted Williams. I for one am glad that these two guys wrote this book to let you know how great of hitters these guys really were.In conclusion I feel that any real baseball fan should go out and get this book to remiss about the old times of baseball.

Right now there are sixteen players who have hit over 500 home runs. Each one has a nice write-up and stories that are very enjoyable to read. Fifteen are retired or deceased and one is still playing.

I have always dreamed of meeting the 16 baseball players that have hit over 500 home runs. Now I realize that meeting Ruth, Ott, Mantle and Matthews would be impossible that's why I'm glad to have a copy of this book.

Along with those listed earlier you read about Aaron, Schmidt, Jackson, Foxx, Killebrew, Mays, Robinson, Williams, McCovey, Banks, Murray and the newest member McGwire.

The book is new and updated and the 16 players are listed alphabetically and no ranking system is used. I like this concept as it gives the reader the choice as to which they consider the best of this very special and elite group.

Each chapter is written to not only discuss the career of the player but also let others who knew them talk about the person as well. The book also includes photos of each of the players. This is for every baseball fan young and old - excellent work and well done!!

I just want to comment that everything in the book about Mr. Wootten is absolutely true. I attend DeMatha and have the pleasure of knowing Mr.Wootten and can personally say that he is a great coach, teacher, and human being. I think the book does a great job of pointing that out and I would recommend it to anyone interested in basketball and Mr.Wootten's life story,or who is just looking for an interesting and well-written book.

Great story about a great program. Morgan coaches at the infamous Dematha High in Maryland. He is a history teacher their as well. He started there with nothing. For the past 40 years they have something like a 90% win loss ratio. Yet Coach Wooten supposedly keeps it all in perspective. He first stresses God, family, and education. His players include Adrian Dantley, Danny Ferry, Sidney Lowe, Joseph Forte, etc. His most famous win was over Lew Alcindor and Power Memorial in the early 60's.

This book, which I found at the library(can I say that word here?) was truly engrossing. The author juxtaposes indian and colonial culture so clearly and freshly, putting a historical and very personal perspective on facts not previously so well illuminated. He described and de-bunked for me the particulars of early period of colonial-indian political and territorial relationships. The action and battle scenes are painted with skillful brushstrokes as are the characterizations of the principle players. Mr Gilbert fairly describes with a warm heart the phenomemon which was the native American, sharing the fine points which created this honorable people without filtering the panorama through rose-colored glasses. The reader is reminded of this sad and shameful legacy of our country's history with each turn of the page. I think we would have been a much greater nation had we dealt these people an even hand. Great reading, greta history.

The history of the deceit effected upon Native Indian ancestors, especially the Shawnee, by the British, French, Americans, and by the Iroquois truly made me ashamed to be a white American. We call ourselves "civilized"; the lies, purging, and needless slaughter of Native Indian nations is comparable to the extermination of the Jews. Americans stole this continent from the Indians. Tecumseh (Tekamthi) was an honorable, just man, who only wanted what God had given his people - the land and the freedom to roam it and to use it (Mother Nature). As I approached the last chapter of God Gave Us This Country, I did not want Tecumseh to die; but I know he still lives on in the minds of living Indians as well as those of us who avidly study Native American history and who prefer justice

Great book about the Andrews Sisters, their work during the WWII years with the USO, and many of the other stars that participated in these shows to entertain the troops.

This book provides fabulous insight on WWII and the spirit of America that helped win the war for the Allies. So many times, my parents said, "Why, back in my day we didn't get meat at every dinner. But we didn't complain: we LIKED it!" If you want to know more about America's patriotic spirit and how it "gets the job done", you'll love this book. The Andrews Sisters were a class act and Maxine and the other USO "soldiers in greasepaint" did their best to encourage and cheer our fighting forces on home soil and abroad. This book has a lot of history and tells about emotions of the folks during that time in a very poignant way. If you ever wondered why certain songs with wacky titles were popular ("Six Jerks In A Jeep"), you'll come away with greater understanding.

GREAT GREAT BOOK FOR ANY BASEBALL FAN[!]THE LEATHER BOUND WITH THE AUTOGRAPH OF THE GREAT HANK AARON IS A TRUE STEAL AT THE RETAIL PRICE[!] EVERY AARON FAN SHOULD OWN ONE... A GREAT READ[.]

TOMMY HENRICH TAKES US BACK TO HIS PLAYING DAYS OF THE 30'S 40'S AND EARLY 50'S. HE DISCUSSES MANY TEAMATES, OPPONENTS, MANAGERS, AND OWNERS. HIS STORY TELLING IS REFRESHING, INTERESTING, FACT FILLED AMD HUMOROUS. HE IS ONE OF THE LAST DINOSAURS OF THE ERA WHEN THEY PLAYED FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME AND NOT THE BIG BUCKS. HIS TYPE OF ATHLETE IS A THING OF THE PAST. THOSE GUYS PLAYED HURT AND SYMPATHY WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SH__ AND SYPHILUS. AN EXCELLENT READ FOR ALL BASEBALL FANS. VERY WELL TOLD AND QUITE ENTERTAINING. VERY RECOMMENDED.

great book. a redskins fan should not be without it.

A Decent book, very interesting read. The style in which the story is told is very engrossing as it is told from the first person. The one drawback to the book is that it is based on one persons recollections and biases. With the exception of the Plymouth mail truck robbery most of these crimes were standard criminal enterprises, hardly crime of the century material. Of the crime he boasts the most of, a Brinks hold up, Cresta ended up going to prison. This is the story of a man who thought he was smarter then he was and in the end, was too smart for his own good.

Very enjoyable. I agree with other reviewers about its
contents. My vote to play Phil Cresta in a movie is
Robert Di Nero. Looking forward to the movie.

I read until I finished (3am), because I couldn't put it down. It is a very well written, interesting, and entertaining story of an lifestyle that is often contrived or overdone by others in the genre. The no-nonsense, unapologetic tone is definitely fitting of the central figure, Phil Cresta. I give my highest recommendation, which doesn't show itself very often. I can't wait for the movie, and you shouldn't either. Get a copy, block some time (I doubt you'll be able to put it down either), and enjoy.

After the heroics of this past baseball season, it was a pleasure to read about one year in another era of the sport that also included monumental feats by star players. Joe dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak and Ted William's .406 batting average are records still waiting to be broken. Dom Dimaggio has brought us a view of 1941 that is unforgettable. He certainly did his homework as he quotes statistics and plays on the field in certain games as if they happened yesterday. He tends to repeat himself a bit and spends too much time on American history, but all in all a wonderful reminiscence of a great era.

As the jacket cover states: "1941 was the last original baseball season." Although I wasn't around to see 1941, this book made me feel like I was. Dom DiMaggio's perspective on this historic year is fabulous. I've read lots of baseball books about all the great players of the past and this one outshines them all. It's written with passion and "insiders knowledge" that makes the season itself seem like an all-too-perfect script. It's warm, engrossing, and highly dramatic, without being overly sentimental.

The author of "Real Grass, Real Heroes", Dom "The Little Professor" DiMaggio (For those of you who don't know about him: He was a terrific outfielder with the Red Sox from 1940-41, 46-53), looks back at the "good old times" (sometimes a little bit nostalgically) and the historic baseball season of 1941 which most of us haven't experienced personally. In this time teams still used to travel by trains, there were only 10 Major League teams in 16 cities, no astroturf, no expansion, no Division or League Championship Series, and baseball wasn't played just because of money but because of dedication and love for the game! He describes not only the love for his brothers (especially the more famous Joe who played for the Red Sox' arch enemies, the Yankees) and the game of baseball but also the feelings of people living on the eve of WWII. He also tells us about such unique historical things like the first baseball night game, Johnny Vander Merr's two consecutive no-hitters, the first televised MLB-game, Lou "Iron Horse" Gehrig's farewell and death, Lefty Grove's 300th win, the dramatic ninth All-Star Game, Joe DiMaggio's Major League record consecutive hitting streak of 56 games, Ted Williams hitting .406, the World Series (and the Mickey Owen game). But he also criticizes some conditions which the players of that time had to endure: many of them were under-paid bond man, e.g. This book also contains lots of small details about life in that time when radios were just becoming common and cars were still considered a luxury, that's why I think even somebody who doesn't like baseball will like this book! "Real Grass, Real Heroes" also features lots of autobiographical notes about Dom, great anecdotes about such heroes as Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Enos Slaughter,... ,and 41 great photos (mostly from the 1941 season)! He doesn't even forget the umpires (of which there were only two in each game at that time, by the way!).

In my opinion this book is very well written, sometimes funny, sometimes sad (just like life itself!) and exciting! Although it's non-fiction it isn't dry at all. The only thing I miss in this terrific book is an index because it's really hard to find some detail again without it! I think this book is good for anyone who wants to find about more about life just after the great depression and before WWII. It's great for all baseball-fans, and it just is a must-have for all Red Sox-fans (and especially for Dom DiMaggio-fans, like me!!!)!