162-0: Imagine a Yankees Perfect Season: The Greatest Wins!

Well, perhaps not completely different, but certainly fresh and inventive, and lots of fun to read. Here's a book that employs a clever device, assembling a "season" of games - all Yankee victories - from contests going as far back as the first Yankees no-hitter in 1917, and the Yankees' home opener in 1923 (when Babe Ruth hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium, and committed the first error there as well), to as recently as A-Rod's walk-off home run in the bottom of the 15th inning in August of 2009 that knocked-off New York's arch rivals from Boston. With as long and an illustrious past as the Bronx Bombers have, populated by so many Hall of Fame players, Hall of Fame players in waiting, household names (even if not officially enshrined in Cooperstown), and far more than it's fair share of bona fide baseball legends and gods, it would be virtually impossible to round up a full season of Yankee wins, recount them, and not conjure up countless Olympian feats achieved by individuals whose names are indelibly associated with baseball greatness. But this nifty little tome has the cream of the crop. Consequently, it's a terrific read - from start to finish - filled with remarkable accomplishments and exploits on every page. In short, Mr. Appel has done a great job, and I have no doubt that the considerable help and assistance he received from fellow author Howie Karpin (sports reporter and official scorer for the aforementioned Yankees and their National League Metropolitan cousins in Queens) served Mr. A quite well (judging from the wealth of detail you'll find between the covers, and the quality of the end product). And best of all, you don't have to be a Yankees fan to like and enjoy this book: it's simply baseball history at its best.