JayRo Reads: The Bullpen Gospels

The Bullpen Gospels
by Dirk Hayhurst

This is by far the most interesting book I have read in the last year. It is one of the best baseball books that I have read. It might be one of the best books that I have read.

The book is a recounting of Hayhurst's 2007 season, which was spent in the San Diego Padres' minor league system. In it, you get a great look at what minor league baseball is like, with most of the stories of sex, drugs and alcohol you would come to expect.

What isn't expected is Hayhurst's own story of overcoming his anxiety, his overcoming his family situation, to produce results on the field. Hayhurst approaches this in the same way that he approaches the minor league portion of the book - with honesty. What could have been a book that was filled with the antics of a minor league is instead an honest portrayal of not only the minors, but one man's struggles to exceed at baseball but also determine what his ultimate goal is for his life.

Even if you aren't a baseball fan, you should read this book. I can not recommend it enough.

JayRo Reads Books: Cowboys Full - The Story of Poker

Cowboys Full - The Story of Poker
By: James McManus
Published: 2009

Writing the histoy of poker is a massive undertaking. Its origins seem obvious, though those involved in the origins are long past, and not many thought to record their history. James McManus decides to workaround this difficulty by instead choosing to argue a thesis instead: Poker is America's game. This approach helps and hurts his book.

By defining a thesis, McManus allows himself to concentrate on some distinctly American topics which are tangentally related to poker. While he weaves the stories back into his narrative, they do make the reader wonder what they have to do with the "story" of poker. This is the weakness of the book.

Fortunately, the thesis also helps the book, as it allows McManus to explore a lot of different topics in the form of essays, especially at the end of the book. His pieces about poker etiquette and AI playing poker were fun to read. His comparisons of Civil War strategy and poker strategy were inspired, if not expected.

Naturally, the piece about the UIEGA is incredibly out of date, and I'm not sure why McManus spent so much editoralizing it when he had to know that the situation would drastically. But even with that weakness, the book was fun to read.

I recommnd reading this book if you are interested in a great book about poker. Just don't expect it to be a true history of poker.

Your Sunday Gospel

National Post's John Lott has a discussion with Dirk Hayhurst about his childhod heroes. What we get is an iteresting insight into Hayhurst's childhood.

I've just received Hayhurst's book The Bullpen Gospels and it is next on my list of books to read. A review will come as soon as I am done.