Book Review: Rollie's Follies

Rollie Fingers and Yellowstone Ritter. Rollie's Follies. Cincinnati, OH: Clerisy Press, 2009, 325 pp., $14.95 (cover price).

This is my kind of book. I mean, with authors named Rollie and Yellowstone writing about baseball, how could I go wrong? But it's also my kind of reading. I don't have a lot of time for reading (I'm also easily distracted), so I prefer to read in small bits.

Rollie's Follies is a collection of baseball stories, history, tidbits, facts, lists, player profiles, timelines, and general good stuff. It's divided into small, easy-to-digest chapters, perfect for light reading while traveling (or, as I was, sitting at wrestling tournaments) or right before bed.

The content is fun and interesting, and the authors' enthusiasm for the game is clear throughout. Every story has a goofy, gee-I-never-knew-that spin, and it's just plain fun to read. But it's also clear they did their research -- there are plenty of stats and facts to make all the articles legit.

I did notice that much of the focus was about teams and players that Fingers was associated with. But that was no big deal -- it just made me want more about other teams and players.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. In fact, now that I'm done with it, my son has insisted that I give it to him to read. It's a great book for all baseball fans. I give it an A

And, a sequel is due out spring of 2010; I can hardly wait.