Seven of the best nonfiction books for sports fans

Claire Zulkey is a writer who lives in Chicago.  Her books include the novel An Off Year. She also edits the aptly named website, Zulkey.com.

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Zulkey tagged seven books for sports fans, including:

Ball Four: The Final Pitch, by Jim Bouton

Any baseball fan would be tantalized by a memoir that caused the baseball commissioner to proclaim it “detrimental to baseball,” before trying to coerce the author into signing a statement declaring the book fictional. That was the effect Ball Four had when it came out, detailing (before scandalous sports tell-alls were common) all the dirt that went on off the field, including drinking, drugging, and cheating. This edition comes with a new epilogue from Bouton, who pitched for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 1962 and 1978.

Read about the other books on the list.

Ball Four is one of Tim McGarver's five best baseball books.

--Marshal Zeringue