The Heart of the Game: An Illustrated Celebration of the American League, 1946-1960

This is a book that definitely belongs in the library of every baseball fan, especially if you were a fan during the 1950's. This book covers the years of the American League from 1946-1960. There is a text for each of the eight teams that were in the league during those years written by a different author. Some of the authors are Arnold Hano, Furman Bisher, Milton Gross, Frank Graham, Jr., Al Stump, and Dick Schaap in addition to an introduction by Rober Creamer entitled "Baseball's Golden Age." However, the outstanding part of the book is the pictures. WOW! Every picture in the book looks like a painting similar to those in the 1951 and 1952 Bowmans or the 1953 Topps baseball cards. The poses aren't necessarily the same, but the picture quality matches those cards. The photos aren't limited to star or superstar players on each team. Many average major leaguers that you will remember are illustrated in this book as well. There are also full page paintings of star and superstar players that overpower you in their beauty. Each team has over 20 pages devoted to coverage with the Yankees having approximately 40 pages. Each team has a story about one of their prominent players to begin the team's coverage, and a separate page is devoted to photos of the hitters and another to the pitchers. Throughout the pages of each team are the photos all painted in glorious color. You will especially enjoy this book if you were of age to be a baseball fan in the 1950's, because the book will bring these years back to you. I have hundreds of baseball books in my library, and this one will take a prominent place in my library. I do not exaggerate. Trust me on this one. This is a book that you need. Now we need a similar book on the National League from the same time period.