Books like Cooperstown by Eugena Pilek

"This delightfully written, lesson-laden book deserves a place of its own in the Baseball Hall of Fame." ―Forbes Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis follows the low-budget Oakland A's, visionary general manager Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball theorists. They are all in search of new baseball knowledge―insights that will give the little guy who is willing to discard old wisdom the edge over big money.

One of the most important works of gay literature, this haunting, brilliant novel is a seriocomic remembrance of things past -- and still poignantly present. It depicts the adventures of Malone, a beautiful young man searching for love amid New York's emerging gay scene. From Manhattan's Everard Baths and after-hours discos to Fire Island's deserted parks and lavish orgies, Malone looks high and low for meaningful companionship. The person he finds is Sutherland, a campy quintessential queen -- and one of the most memorable literary creations of contemporary fiction.

"Murray Tepper would say that he is an ordinary New Yorker who is simply trying to read the newspaper in peace. But he reads while sitting behind the wheel of his parked car, and his car always seems to be in a particularly desirable parking spot. Not surprisingly, he is regularly interrupted by drivers who want to know if he is going out." "Tepper isn't going out. Why not? His explanations tend to be rather literal: the indisputable fact, for instance, that he has twenty minutes left on the meter.". "Tepper's behavior sometimes irritates the people who want his spot. ("Is that where you live? Is that car rent-controlled?") It also irritates the mayor - Frank Ducavelli, known in tabloid headlines as Il Duce - who sees Murray Tepper as a harbinger of what His Honor always calls "the forces of disorder."". "But once New Yorkers become aware of Tepper, some of them begin to suspect that he knows something they don't know. And an ever-increasing number of them are willing to line up for the opportunity to sit in his car with him and find out."--BOOK JACKET.

Gifted baseball player Roy Hobbs, his career derailed by a youthful indiscretion, makes a stunning comeback in later life, but finds himself still struggling against the temptations that would bring him to ruin.

"A ... narrative of growing up within shouting distance of Ebbets Field, working for the Herald Tribune in the Jackie Robinson years ... and what's happened to everybody since."

"A journey through the 1949 pennant race, in which two legendary rivals, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, battled down to a winner-take-all final game of the season"--Page [2] of dust jacket.

An uproarious tale told in alternating voices follows the stories of a pet shop owner and a curmudgeon who find themselves on the run from police, terrorists, and a pizza chain mascot. One character, Philip Horkman is a happy man, the owner of a pet store called The Wine Shop, and on Sundays a referee for kids' soccer. The other, Jeffrey Peckerman is the sole sane person in a world filled with goddamned jerks and morons, and he's having a really bad day. The two of them are about to collide in a swiftly escalating series of events that will send them running for their lives, pursued by the police, soldiers, terrorists, subversives, bears, and a man dressed as Chuck E. Cheese.

Bette is 27, smart, pretty, fun - and bored. When she splits up with her long-term boyfriend, she decides it's time for a change. A chance meeting propels her into a new role as a party planner. Running with the cool Manhattan pack, Bette can hardly believe her luck. Suddenly, the greatest city in the world is her own personal playground and boy, the toys are incredible! But quicker than you can say Manolo Blahnik, everything starts to fall apart. Bette finds herself the prey of a notorious playboy - and suddenly the lead item of the society gossip columns. Her new boss couldn't be more thrilled but Bette's family and old friends are less so. The girl they know and love, with a penchant for dodgy romance novels, cheesy 80s music and junk food, is in danger of turning into just another Park Avenue Princess. As Bette struggles to keep both her old and new lives from imploding, she finds salvation in an unlikely form. But can she say goodbye to the glamour and the Gucci, the Prada and the parties, and step back into the real world - and into the arms of a real Prince Charming?

It started with a ring. A cheap ring. The yellow metal said brass, not gold, and the sparkly bits were certainly not diamonds. But the ring belonged to May's horse-playing uncle, who swore it brought good luck. Dortmunder, who wouldn't kick a little good luck out of bed, puts it to the test when he goes to burglarize Long Island billionaire Max Fairbanks. As luck would have it, Dortmunder is greeted by Fairbanks himself--and a loaded gun--as soon as he strolls through the door. When the cops arrive, the mogul adds insult to injury by claiming that Dortmunder's lucky ring is actually his. Big mistake, big guy. As soon as Dortmunder can give the cops the slip, the world's most single-minded burglar goes after the fat cat with a vengeance and a team of crooks that only he can assemble. And from the get-go everything will go Dortmunder's way--everything that is, except the ring. Plowing through Fairbanks's many residences, from New York's Great White Way to Washington's Watergate Hotel, Dortmunderand his gang rob the unlucky billionaire blind, all in search of one ridiculous ring. By the time Fairbanks understands what's going on, it's mu

From Cynthia Ozick, a masterful modern-day picaresque - the adventures of a female Don Quixote transplanted in Manhattan. Ruth Puttermesser, yearning for a life of the mind (her idol is George Eliot), finds herself mired in the lowest circles of city bureaucracy. Her love life is hopeless. Her fantasies are more influential than wan reality - she takes Hebrew lessons from an uncle who died before she was born; she makes a golem out of the earth of her houseplants. Still, she turns out to be the best mayor New York City has ever elected (with the most unusual campaign manager). Soon enough, though, paradise gained becomes paradise lost, and the impact of getting exactly what you want and then losing it plays itself out in dramatic and surprising fashion.

It ought to be just a game, but basketball on the playgrounds of Coney Island is much more than that - for many young men it represents their only hope of escape from a life of crime, poverty, and despair. It is their last shot. This is the story of a small group of high school boys who have given their young lives to basketball, as neighborhood stars and as team members of the Abraham Lincoln High School Railsplitters, consistently one of the best teams in New York. They dream of a college scholarship and escape from the neighborhood. What they have going for them is athletic talent, grace, and years of dedication. But working against them are an educational system that has woefully failed them and family circumstances that are often desperate.

The beloved baseball classic now available in paperback, with a new prologue by Jim Bouton. When Ball Four was first published in 1970, it hit the sports world like a lightning bolt. Commissioners, executives, and players were shocked. Sportswriters called author Jim Bouton a traitor and social leper. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force him to declare the book untrue. Fans, however, loved the book. And serious critics called it an important social document. Today, Jim Bouton is still not invited to Oldtimer's Days at Yankee Stadium. But his landmark book is still being read by people who don't ordinarily follow baseball. For the updated edition of this historic book, Bouton has written a new prologue, detailing his perspective on how baseball has changed since the last edition was released.