Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Alchemist"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Alchemist"
What better way to end Hitting the Books for 2019 than with a book of hope. "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho is on just about every must-read list and its message never wanes - if anything, it is a book for this time of so much angst. I am so happy to have with us Kristen Hudak, the director of public relations for the Orioles, who presents this work and what it means to her. Kristen deals with the hopes and dreams of so many who come through the Orioles system. She sees the search for...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "On the Road"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "On the Road"
It is our great good fortune to have Pete Kerzel as the co-producer of Hitting the Books. Pete organizes the written portion of the blog, for which I am deeply grateful. Earlier this summer, you met co-producer Olivia Witherite, introducing her favorite read, "The Book Thief." Today, Pete joins us with his insight on a classic: "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. Kerouac's book is more than a classic novel; it is a timeless work about a point in time, the subject matter of which rings true...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Place Called Maine"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Place Called Maine"
Twenty-four authors have their stories about Maine related in this book, "A Place Called Maine." I hesitate to offer this work only because, being from Maine, many of these stories strike at the heart of my growing up. How others view the stories may not be so captivating. Then again, don't all stories reflect an author's life in part and it is the quality of the presentation that creates the interest in the work? Hopefully, you will find that quality here. The small-town aspect of many of...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Leadership in Turbulent Times"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Leadership in Turbulent Times"
"Leadership in Turbulent Times" by Doris Kearns Goodwin is an examination of four presidents who took office in times of crisis - Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. Kearns can bring the real essence of the times and the men to life in a novelistic read. She has done this in her many books and that is a prime reason she is a vital historian for today and forever. Lincoln had the Civil War, FDR had the depression and WWII, Teddy Roosevelt took office...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Bullet for Cinderella"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Bullet for Cinderella"
There is no reason for the selection of "A Bullet for Cinderella" over the myriad of other works by John MacDonald. That is one of the great truths about his writing. Pick a book and you will enjoy. Sure, some are better than others, but as always, the "better" lies in the mind of the reader. His works are the stuff of the best of crime fiction, of gumshoe investigators, of dark secrets, of noir novels, of hard-boiled detectives, of good and bad gone bad. These tales come with a writing...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Book Thief"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Book Thief"
What a treat to be able to introduce you to the co-producer of "Hitting the Books," Olivia Witherite. She has been the coordinator and videographer of this blog from day one and an uncompromising supporter of what we do here. She takes the video and edits it to what you see, while working with her social media department to get this blog up and running each time. Today she will tell us about her favorite book of the moment, "The Book Thief," one she could not have more highly recommended to...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Story of Lucy Gault"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Story of Lucy Gault"
There is a silent loneliness about the history of Ireland. All the pubs and all the music and all the poems cannot remove this reality. Neither does "The Story of Lucy Gault." William Trevor is an extraordinary writer of the Irish soul. He hits the mark here. The endless battles among religions and the British is the undertone of this novel, but the story set in the 1920s and for decades thereafter is the story of a girl turned woman whose life is lost in the endless conflict. An 8-year-old,...

MASN's Thorne to teach play-by-play class at Arizona State's Cronkite School

MASN's Thorne to teach play-by-play class at Arizona State's Cronkite School
MASN's Gary Thorne is about to begin training the next generation of baseball play-by-play announcers. Thorne, who is in his 13th year of calling Orioles games on MASN, will this week begin teaching a play-by-play course as a visiting professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The one-of-a-kind course runs from today through July 20 and will be open to a select group of sports journalism majors at the Cronkite School. "Gary Thorne...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Dead Wake"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Dead Wake"
I knew very little about the sinking of the cruise ship Lusitania in 1915. The sinking of the Titanic always draws major attention, while the Lusitania story exits in the shadows. That story won't be in the shadows anymore after reading "Dead Wake." Author Erik Larson has written much of historical events in non-fictional works filled with massive research efforts. "Devil in the White City" is a book written about previously on "Hitting the Books," a riveting tale of a murder lurking in...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Adventures in the Screen Trade"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Adventures in the Screen Trade"
You do not have to want to be a screenwriter to enjoy "Adventures in the Screen Trade." This is a fun read, and if you do want to be a screenwriter, you can get to that in the latter chapters. Two-thirds of this book are wonderful stories about dealing with Hollywood studio big wigs, the ego-filled attempts to deal with the stars and figuring out how to get your next job - even if you are one if not the top screenwriters in Hollywood. You'll learn about the stars who jacked up the pay scale...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Triumphs of Experience"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Triumphs of Experience"
"Triumphs of Experience" by George E. Vallant is about findings from the longest (in time) and most in-depth study of the maturation process of adults ever undertaken. The study began in 1938 and was intended to last 10 to 15 years. This book was written in 2012 with the study still underway. In 1938, 268 Harvard male sophomores were selected as the subjects of the study to examine adult development. Yes, all males - a sign of the times. Through the decades, a myriad of followup examinations,...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Beethoven in Love; Opus 1139"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Beethoven in Love; Opus 1139"
Howard Jay Smith is an acquaintance of mine, not through literature, but our shared love of wine. Sampling vino with a group of regular imbibers at a luncheon, we got to talking about this book. He sent me a copy, and thank goodness for that. Smith is an award-winning writer and "Beethoven in Love; Opus 139" is his third book, published in 2015. He has taught at UCLA, published numerous short stories and articles, and been an executive with national television outlets working on films, radio...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Monuments Men"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Monuments Men"
Welcome back to the 2019 edition of "Hitting the Books"! With the support of producer Olivia Witherite, editor Pete Kerzel and you as readers, let's try another trip into the stacks. As from the beginning, the idea is a look at books I've enjoyed and would like to pass along. We will be joined at times by guests-managers, players, coaches, and broadcasters-who'll tell us their favorite reads. Your comments are always welcome. Onward. Preservation of art in a time of war. That was the work...

Gary Thorne launches "The Sports Rivals Podcast"

Gary Thorne launches "The Sports Rivals Podcast"
You know Gary Thorne knows and enjoys baseball. One listen to his work on Orioles broadcasts on MASN tells you that. But in his career - which enters its 52nd year in 2019 - Thorne has done a little bit of everything. He's covered the National Hockey League, Olympics and NCAA sports. And done plenty of voiceover work on commercials and video games. That widespread knowledge of sport is the genesis of his newest venture: a podcast entitled "The Sports Rivals Podcast," in which Thorne and the...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Every Thing On It"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Every Thing On It"
So one more for the year. First, my sincerest thanks to Olivia Witherite, our videographer and digital editor, and Pete Kerzel, our content editor. They are the best. Their earnest interest in Hitting the Books is deeply appreciated. To all who have looked in, thanks. May we always love to read. We end this season of Hitting the Books with a treasure for all ages, "Every Thing On It" by Shel Silverstein. Silverstein is largely known for his book of poetry for kids (read that 1 through 101...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Sun Does Shine"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Sun Does Shine"
For 30 years, Anthony Ray Hinton, author of "The Sun Does Shine," served in solitary confinement in Alabama jails, convicted of murders he did not commit. He was 29 when he went to prison and was not released until 2015. We know there are wrongful convictions that lead to death row and executions. When spoken of in the abstract, we seem to take such horrors as conditions of life. When face to face with a man who lives the horrors, as happens in this read, one realizes these unjustified deaths...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Terrible Glory"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Terrible Glory"
On a recent visit to the Little Bighorn site, a good friend asked the tour guides what was in their opinion the best historical book regarding the battle. "A Terrible Glory" by James Donovan is that book. There is more here than the history of the actual battle. We are taken in short form through the life of George Armstrong Custer. The "boy general" of the Civil War sought fame through the wearing of the uniform and he certainly found it. The June 25-26, 1876, event was also known by the...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Silk Roads"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Silk Roads"
So my broadcast partner, Mike Bordick, shows up one day with a tome of a book easily useable for weightlifting and says he really likes this work. That was all I needed to hear to start egging him on to join me on Hitting the Books and tell us all why he liked "The Silk Roads: A New History of the World" by Peter Frankopan, a monumental work that bends the weight of the world's development to Asia and China. Only thing was, I hadn't read the book yet. So after lugging this on planes, trains...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Color Blind"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Color Blind"
There are unlikely stories, and "Color Blind" by Tom Dunkel is one of them. During the Great Depression, in of all places, Bismarck, N.D., a car dealership owner named Neil Churchill decided to put together the best baseball team he could with players from everywhere and nowhere. This was an age of town teams and Sunday doubleheaders that were taken very seriously. Churchill wanted to expand this concept to the nth degree by making his town team a nationally recognized outfit. This was...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Markings"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Markings"
Why would a middle school student become interested in Dag Hammarskjöld? I have no idea, but I was, and have through this life held this man and his work in the highest esteem. Hammarskjöld was the second United Nations secretary-general, appointed in 1953. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961, shortly after his death in a plane crash while he was on his way to negotiate peace in the Congo. That death has been the subject of debate ever since. "Over the years, multiple claims...