Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Unwinding"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Unwinding"
"The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America" by George Packer was published in 2013, but it is just as important now as it was then to understanding where our inner soul is as a nation. Packer is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of other books that reflect on recent history in the U.S. In the prologue to this work, Packer says, "No one can say when the unwinding began - when the coil that held Americans together in its secure and sometimes stifling grip first gave...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The St. Louis Browns: The Story of a Beloved Team"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The St. Louis Browns: The Story of a Beloved Team"
Did you know that in 1951 the St. Louis Browns' Ned Garver received a call from a reporter with the Washington Post to congratulate him on winning the MVP award? A day later it was announced that Yogi Berra won the award. Did you know that in the 1944, in the movie "Going My Way," Bing Crosby wore a St. Louis Browns jacket and cap? How about the fact Don Larsen of World Series no-hit fame was the last former Browns player to play in the majors? Me either. Bill Borst, Bill Rodgers and Ed...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Walls of Lucca"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Walls of Lucca"
It is always such a treat to have a fellow broadcaster join us to talk about a book he has written. Today it is Steve Physioc of the Royals broadcast team. Steve has been in the professional play by play business since 1983 with the Reds, Giants, Angels, ESPN and now the Royals. With the support of his family, he undertook a long look at the history of Lucca, Italy, and the story-filled history of the place. From that examination came this novel. I have not yet read this book. The release came...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Killers of the Flower Moon"
The depth of evil and inhumanity found in "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" is so deep that it could not be fiction - no one would believe it. David Grann is an investigative reporter, a staff writer for the New Yorker and an author. He approaches this work to tell us what happened at the turn of the 20th century to the Osage and their new-found wealth. As always, the U.S. government kept pushing the Native Americans anywhere the white man didn't want...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Eternity Street"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Eternity Street"
John Faragher is a noted historian, particularly regarding the American west. His biography of Daniel Boone is considered a seminal work. "Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles" may gain the same reputation. This is the story of the wild west, in all its horror, set in L.A., well before the Dodge City stories came to be. California became a territory in 1848 because of U.S. military force against Mexico. It became a state two years later. While Faragher takes us from...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "When Pride Still Mattered"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "When Pride Still Mattered"
Tom Hamilton is the "Voice of the Tribe" - the radio voice of the Indians. He is in his 28th year with the team and is one of the reasons working in this business is so much fun. Laughing with Tom, who carriers a magical sense of humor, is worth a least a month longer in your life. He had the entire crew in the booth laughing and falling in love with him in a matter of minutes. That's Tom. I was delighted he joined me to talk about his favorite book, "When Pride Still Mattered" by David...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Taking of K-129"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Taking of K-129"
Truth is often stranger than fiction which is why history novels are so fun to read. That is the case with "The Taking of K-129." K-129 was a Russian sub lost at sea and found by the U.S. The CIA decided it was worth trying to bring the sub up to find its secrets - but how? That is the subject matter of this book. As is said, "You couldn't make this up." Josh Dean is a writer who has previously published and written articles for many leading magazines. He was deputy editor of "Men's...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Alou: My Baseball Journey"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Alou: My Baseball Journey"
Buck Showalter's comments on Felipe Alou are on the back cover of "Alou: My Baseball Journey." When the Orioles skipper received an advance copy, he was kind enough to let me read it. I'm glad he did. This is an important book. This is a Jackie Robinson story from a different place in a different time. The baseball stories are here. Three Alou brothers playing in the same outfield in a major league game; Felipe Alou's assessments of the best players he saw at the different positions; his...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The American Spirit"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The American Spirit"
"The American Spirit" is the latest in David McCullough's writings on the lineage of American history. There are few authors I run to the bookstore for to acquire their latest work, but he is one of them. The book contains 15 speeches of McCullough given before Congress, at the White House and to college graduates. Each contains historical matter relevant to the location of the speech, beautifully intertwined to a larger historical theme - America's history - for which this author has a...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Cocktail Waitress"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Cocktail Waitress"
We return now to noir. That genre of writing also referred to as "hardboiled," "tabloid murder" and "lose/lose fiction." James Cain is considered by many to be the writer who most influenced these noir works in the U.S. along with Raymond Chandler ("The Big Sleep") and Dashiell Hammett ("The Maltese Falcon"). His seminal works include "Double Indemnity" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice." These are considered classic writings not only in the noir field, but in fiction...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Washington's Farewell"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Washington's Farewell"
We are back with the third season of Hitting the Books. I say "we" because without the help of Olivia Witherite producing and Pete Kerzel editing, Hitting the Books would not happen. And none of our work would matter if you, the reader/viewers weren't there. So thanks to all and I hope this year's books spark an interest to read on. The selections are mine, sometimes suggested by others, but I do the reading and writing. Again this year we will have guests to discuss their favorite books....

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Thousand Days"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "A Thousand Days"
Richard Griffin is a highly respected baseball columnist for the Toronto Star. He has covered baseball for decades beginning with the Montreal Expos in 1973. He became the public relations director for the Expos in 1978. Since 1995, he has been a columnist and beat writer for the Toronto Star covering the Blue Jays. I have known Richard since his Montreal days. He was an outstanding PR director. He knows the game and its people from the inside out. His quiet, quick sense of humor is never far...

Gary Thorne hosting "Hide a Book Day" at Oriole Park on Sept. 18

Gary Thorne hosting "Hide a Book Day" at Oriole Park on Sept. 18
MASN broadcaster Gary Thorne may just be one of the most interesting men in the world. The longtime play-by-play man, who was recently inducted into the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame, is known for his illustrious sports broadcasting career. But beyond the box, there are so many other interesting facts about Thorne. Sit down and chat with him for a few minutes, and you'll learn so much about him, from the fact that he wanted to be an FBI agent to his journey in law school. However, his greatest...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Far and Away"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Far and Away"
"Far and Away" by Andrew Solomon is a travelogue covering some 83 countries from every corner of the globe. It is not a travel guide. Each stop is its own story. Each stop is a moment to ponder. Solomon, an art historian and psychologist, seeks to find the world in the place where he currently stands. Trying to understand that place on this small planet may help explain a bigger world. Or the spot may just define that place. The book was written in 2016 of travels that covered two or three...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Pictures at an Exhibition"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Pictures at an Exhibition"
When the Germans invaded Paris during World War II, one of Hitler's objectives was to loot as much of the world's great art from museums and private collections as possible. Parisians stripped thousands of art works from their private and public places and hid them wherever they thought the Nazis might not find them. However, there were plenty of priceless pieces that were stolen, and some were never recovered. The basis of "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Sara Houghteling is the art dealer...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "His Final Battle"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "His Final Battle"
"His Final Battle" by Joseph Lelyveld is the story of the final 16 months of Franklin D. Roosevelt's life. He was dying with limited time to live. He knew it, but few, if any other than his personal physician, shared that knowledge. He learned in March 1944 that his congestive heart condition would be fatal. That would remain a secret even from his wife. With the conclusion of World War II, FDR longed to leave the office of president with a United Nations in place and some agreement with...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Art of Racing in the Rain"
Eric Nadel is the voice of the Texas Rangers. He has been recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. He is a longtime associate and friend and he is a reader. I caught up with him on the Rangers' trip to Baltimore. Nadel not only reads, but believes in supporting the book business, by visiting bookstores and buying books in which he has an interest. Good man. I have not read "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein, but...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Waste Land and Other Writings"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Waste Land and Other Writings"
Written in 1922, T.S. Eliot's epic poem, "The Waste Land," is considered a masterpiece of poetic writing. The characters in the poem are many, the sense of depression drips from their stories and there is little politeness in this work. Eliot wrote this in the aftermath World War I in a world of chaos and change. He himself struggled to figure out where mankind was headed, to the point of a depression that sent him to a sanatorium. It was there that much of this work was written. His friend...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Camus: Portrait of a Moralist"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Camus: Portrait of a Moralist"
Camus was a French philosopher, author and journalist who lived from 1913 to 1960. His search was for a meaning to life, which in many ways he found to be absurd. Thus, he is sometimes referred to as the father of absurdism. The problem of defining Camus is he constantly would seemingly support two sides of a position in the same work or discussion. He found life absurd, but said there were still reasons to live, still matters of value. That seems to be the gravamen for this work. Rather than...

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Maples Stories"

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Maples Stories"
John Updike is recognized as a giant of the writing world, his fiction having covered the bestseller and positive review lists for decades, "The Maples Stories" is a collection of 18 works that he penned over five decades. They are the stories of a marriage between Richard and Joan Maple. They are the stories of his own married life to the point that some have said it might be hard to call the stories fiction. The works are poignant. They are not only close to the facts of so many marriages,...