The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon's Golden Age Baseball Photographs

This beautifully rendered study from the McCabes%E2%80%94the brother/sister writing team who produced Baseball's Golden Age%E2%80%94offers a superb range of photos and intelligent prose, covering the many forgotten men of baseball, as well as some giants. In his entertaining foreword, acclaimed journalist Roger Kahn describes the volume as "just about the finest collection of baseball photographs I have ever seen%E2%80%A6they speak to the nature of mankind." Photographer Conlon (1868-1945) took more than 30,000 photos during his career, among them action shots, portraits, unnerving depictions of piercing stares, and joyful scenes of fielding and betting. The various pictures that will engage readers and entrance fans include: a marvelous page on Joe DiMaggio: Rogers Hornsby in the dugout in civilian togs; a crazy batting stance; overviews of the field; a serious Connie Mack; and a powerful portrait of hands gripping a bat. As Pepper Martin of the 1935 St. Louis Cardinals said: "You have to picture yourself in your subconscious mind the night before as a hero doing tremendous things." (Sept.)