Just in time for the news that the New York Yankees are back in the World Series comes word that the illustrious team's story is about to be chronicled in exhaustive detail by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Kluger. After a lively auction conducted by his agent, Owen Laster at William Morris, Norton's Edwin Barber emerged the winner. "Great author, great subject," he commented. "Every one of Dick Kluger's books has been the last word on a big hunk of history. This one will be no different." The book, which is tentatively titled If They Don't Win It's a Shame: A History of the New York Yankees, will not be rushed out in the current fashion (it won't hit the stores to coincide with the hoped-for Yankees' win of the Series). The book, which will be researched and written with Kluger's usual care, will not appear until 2003, the year the team will celebrate its centennial. By no means, however, will it be an authorized study, though the team has promised Kluger limited cooperation in terms of access to people and archives.
(Incidentally, Norton tells "Hot Deals" that the Ian Kershaw book on Hitler that was causing a stir at Frankfurt is theirs in the States, to be published in late January.)
