In "Red Tails Black Wings," John B Holway details the development and service of the first group of black aviators who eventually made up the 332nd fighter group. This distinguished group of flyers fought with the 15th Air Force in North Africa and Italy during World War II. During their service they destroyed 409 aircraft and earned a Presidential Unit Citation. The 332nd took most pride in the fact that they never lost a bomber they escorted to enemy fighters. What makes the history of the 332nd so interesting is that throughout their development and deployment they were opposed by those who felt that blacks were incapable of the high skill level, courage and discipline required to be fighter pilots. Red Tails Black Wings is an excellent book about two battles, the battle against racism and the battle against Fascism.
This book is a history of the first black aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps. There have been several books written on the Tuskegee airmen prior to this one, as well as autobiographies of the aviators that cover this era. John Holway draws on these secondary sources and personal interviews to bring a unique perspective to these pioneers of black aviation. His extensive use of oral history really brings to life all aspects of this exciting time. The secondary sources provide the background and facts of this time, while the personal stories of the men who lived it bring it to life. These personal stories told by the men who were involved, shed light on all aspects of the development, training and combat of the Tuskegee Airmen. In addition they give the reader insight into segregation, prejudice and other difficulties the flyers had to be overcome.
These oral histories provide a colorful first person account into the every day lives of these fine pilots. A reader may know that segregation was in place at this time, but it becomes real when a personal experience of racism is told by one who encountered it. The book contains gripping combat narrative and is loaded with drama. Dogfights, emergencies, and accidents all come alive when told by those who were there. It also contains personal stories, humor and portraits of the pilots. The book ultimately transcends all issues of race and shows hard work, bravery, fairness and patriotism that speaks to everyone regardless of race or color. Besides its hard to go wrong when writing about P-51s and their pilots.

This book really got to me. Full of first person quotes, you can really hear the pilots talking to you. I enjoyed their humor, felt pain when they lost fellow pilots and anger on how they were treated by fellow Americans. Yet it is full of hope, with 'white' officers who treated them with fairness and Europeans who also treated them as heros. They helped us take one more step towards what the ideal America should be and one day may be.

I found this book an experience to read. As an aviation enthusiast living in the Uk I found what the airmen had to put up with disgusting. Their record speaks for itself especially no bombers lost. In war everyone starts on a level playing field but sadly in these cases its different. The author lets the achievements speak for themselves and they do, sadly the individual awards are lacking. An excellent read on a topic that should enspire rather than shame. The Black Airmen rise above the predjudice and print their own chapter in aviation history.

My personal library collection of baseball books includes several hundred volumes. Only a privileged few of these books sit on a small shelf handy above my word processor. Among the selected few is a newcomer, The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History by John Holway. This unique book succinctly traces the history of Negro baseball from pre-civil war days to the end of the Negro Major League era in 1948.

Mr. Holway is no stranger to the more than 7,000 members of the Society for American Baseball Research. He has been chronicling Negro baseball history since 1969, and has produced five previous books on the topic. His innumerable newspaper and magazine articles are referenced in the book's laudable bibliography. Well indexed, this book is the culmination of over three decades of dedicated ressearch by the man who knows more about Negro baseball than any writer ever. Royse "Crash" Paarr, co-author, Glory Days of Summer: The History of Baseball in Oklahoma.

"To appreciate any sport, you must learn about its entire history. And you can't truly appreciate baseball without learning about the Negro Leagues. Begin with this book."

As submitted to Hasting House on Dec. 10, 2001 via e-mail

"To appreciate any sport, you must learn about its entire histroy. And you can't truly appreciate baseball without learning about the Negro Leagues. Begin with this book."

-Sports Columnist, Kansas City Star

Any baseball buff worth his or her salt has heard of Satchel Paige. This book is a reprint of a book first published in 1962, so all the language is quite dated. Enjoyment of it requires a willingness to understand that 'coloured' and 'Negro' were once acceptable terms for black people without getting bent out of shape.

The co-author to whom the book was told by Mr. Paige did a good job, it seems, in standardizing Mr. Paige's English without losing his unique and very entertaining mode of expression. It is fairly entertaining and Mr. Paige displays a good deal of self-honesty concerning his strengths and weaknesses. There is a lot about how he felt at any given time in his career that gives real insight into himself and his peers.

The reasons you want to read this book are twofold. One, there's a lot of good baseball lore being told here. Two, and more importantly, this man gave his life to the game, showing courage and determination any American can be proud of. With all Mr. Paige missed out on due to the social structure of his time, to listen respectfully to his words now is one way to pay tribute to him.

One of the better first hand descriptions of the Negro Leagues by one of the all time great pitchers. Satchel Paige describes this shameful period in America's history in his own unique way, with homespun language and a flair for entertainment. Paige expresses the joy of playing baseball and the pain of not being allowed to play in the major leagues until late in his career.

This book will let you experience what it was like to be a member of the Negro Leagues with all the barnstorming, year round playing all over the western hemisphere, the games against the major leaguers, and the love of the game experienced on the backroads of America and the big stadiums of the large cities. These dedicated men paved the way for the intergration of baseball and changed the United States for the better.

If you love baseball, purchase this book and learn more about the history of the game - a history that was obscured by the bright lights of the segragated country and big leagues. You will learn about great players who put it all on the line for the grand old game.

This "Piping Systems, Drafting and Design" is good enought for technical reference, such as up to dated Standard, etc.

"The Sluggers" was the inaugural book in the World of Baseball series, which made it to nine volumes before abruptly ending. The cover of John Holway's book shows Mickey Mantle in full stride (batting right handed) and begins with "A Great Day at the Plate," a blow-by-blow account of the baseball game on May 17, 1979 where the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22 in ten innings with eleven home runs leaving the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. The only player who has an entire chapter devoted to them is, of course, Babe Ruth. Other famous sluggers rate as many as four pages (e.g., Ted Williams, Jimmy Foxx and Willie Mays), others two (e.g., Josh Gibson, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio), while some get but a single column (e.g., Eddie Mathews & Hank Greenberg). Actually, what comes across in "The Sluggers" are not the players but the other things associated with home runs: "Lumber" takes a nice look at bats as the tools of the trade, "Going for the Fences" covers how ball parks were configured to help (Yankee Stadium's short porch) or hinder (Washington's Griffith Stadium) the home run hitters, and "The Casey Syndrome" looks at the strikeout as the flip side of the homer. As always with these books, there are little gems scattered throughout: a lot at great one-two punches such as Mantle & Maris the M&M Boys of 1961, Bobby Thompson's celebrated homer against the Dodgers when the Giants won the pennant in 1951, and interesting graphics on statistical matters. Some of the most gorgeous color photographs in the series are in this volume with full-page shots of Ted Williams and Mark McGwire standing out.

It's hard to believe that respected Negro League historian John Holway could write a book this utterly wrongheaded. "The Baseball Astrologer" collects a host of anecdotes, then labors to find some paranormal explanation for them. But correlation is not causation: look hard enough at a large collection of data and you're bound to find some patterns, even if they have no significance whatever.

Hilariously, Holway devotes several pages to debunking biorhythms, which are no more ridiculous than astrology, "good luck charms," "omens" or any of the other foolishness the book presents as fact.

Odds-on favorite for Silliest Baseball Book of the Year. Total Sports should be ashamed of itself for publishing this.

I don't believe a bit in astrology. That being said, I have always enjoyed offbeat, oddball books on baseball - and this one qualifies as both. Fans of baseball history and stats often touch on odd coincidences and circumstances. Ballplayers themselves have - many of them - long been known to have a variety of superstitions and quirks that they hope might improve their play. We've all heard the stories and enjoyed them on one level or another.
Some of us have ourselves ritually worn certain articles of clothing to ballgames in hopes that it could somehow make a difference. Being from Boston, I have indeed sometimes worn red socks to a game. In Boston this year, the story came out about a local man who placed a Red Sox cap atop Mount Everest - and burned a Yankees cap in base camp. Well, it didn't seem to work this season, but there's no harm in trying.
And you won't get harmed reading John's book. In fact, you'll probably have a lot of fun - as I did. There's a lot of baseball in there and a lot of thought-provoking comment as well.

--Bill Nowlin, Cambridge MA

John Holway remains one of the best baseball writers extant and this look at the supernatural and unusual side of baseball reflects the depth of his knowledge and his continuing abilith to paint vivid word pictures.