This review was originally published in ForeWord Reviews magazine. Visit their website for reviews of independently published books.
If as Ted Williams famously said “Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports,” then the fastball is the most devastating weapon. While hitting a fastball may not have been that difficult for “The Splendid Splinter”, it’s downright scary for most of us and practically impossible for even the best hitters in the game. In High Heat seasoned baseball author Tim Wendel turns his attention to hard-throwing hurlers to find the fastest pitcher in baseball history.
This is no armchair investigation. Wendel treks across the US visiting ballparks, an aerodynamic testing lab, and baseball’s Valhalla, Cooperstown’s National Baseball Hall of Fame where he sifts through the artifacts of pitching legends.
Especially intriguing is Wendel’s frank and frightening examination of the beanball which uncovers a taboo subject in a game dominated by macho athletes: fear. Pitchers have long intimidated batters by throwing the ball high and tight often with devastating results. Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson explained the fear simply: “Your heart might be in the batter’s box but your ass isn’t.” The career-altering and -ending injuries outlined here include those of Tony Conigliaro, Dickie Thon and Ray Chapman.
As Wendel searches for the fastest of the fastest he dissects the usual suspects: iconic American farmboys Walter Johnson and Bob Feller; dazzling late bloomer Sandy Koufax; fiery Lefty Grove; the workmanlike Nolan Ryan whose fastball could be recognized by its sound; modern slingers Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson; and Negro Leagues legend Satchel Paige.
The diminutive Billy Wagner threw the ball as hard as anyone ever recorded on a speed gun. Buried in Division III college ball Wagner’s fastball miraculously jumped from the low 90s to 100 mph. “You just can’t figure how a guy that small can throw the ball that hard” marveled one scout. As a consequence Wagner went on to become the top closer in the major leagues, striking out batters at a record pace.
Readers will also enjoy the stories of lesser-known pitchers like Sam McDowell, Steve Dalkowski, Ryne Duren and the tragic J.R. Richard. At the conclusion of High Heat Wendel selects his top ten fastball pitchers: a list that may surprise and which will certainly spawn debate.
High Heat is more than just a cursory ranking of baseball’s fastest arms, it’s a fun and fact-filled flip through baseball’s record book that brings to life the players we previously only knew from our baseball card collections.
For the longest time, since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to sail on the ocean to faraway and exotic islands. The more remote, the better. Travel writer Paul Theroux is fortunate enough to be able to make those escapes for a living. The American travel writer has several bestsellers to his credit, including The Mosquito Coast, which was made into a popular movie.
I recently read The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific, in which the author tells of his journey by kayak to the Cook Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Easter Island, and more exotic (or not so exotic) island locales.
To his credit, when Theroux paddles his collapsible kayak onto the sandy beach of one of the islands, he doesn’t enter into it with a desire to change it, or judge the people. Instead, he embraces it and honors it through his respect for the land and the people he meets. On some occasions, the people he meets are hostile, as when a group of islanders, all teenagers, mocked him and threatened him as he stood on their beach sheepishly accepting their aggressive taunts. But his quiet and chilling confidence continually led him out of harm’s way. Over and over again, he met islanders who changed his life and outlook on the world.
Theroux has a wonderful way of finding stories among the people and places he blends into as he travels at the most basic level. This isn’t a travel guide for sight-seeing tourists, it’s a bible for the adventurer.
Be sure to browse other Books by Theroux from Amazon.com. He’s really the best of this genre of travel writing.
It’s never been easier to travel, as airlines, hotels, resorts, and travel-related retailers are clamoring to attract us to use their services. The website TravBuddy.com is a great place to get travel info and much more.
The best thing about TravBuddy.com: Social networking. The site allows users to find travel buddies planning to travel to the same places at the same times, or to learn about destinations from people who have been there or actually live there. In fact, some users find friends on TravBuddy who they can travel with or get help from when they take their trip.
Another wonderful part of the site are the reams of travel reviews. There are, as of last count, more than 17,000 reviews of restaurants, bars, hotels and attractions. Need to know where the best martini is in Madrid? You can find out. Want to find the best place to rent a kayak in Sydney? That’s there too.
Users can also create travel-based blogs and upload travel photos. The photos (750,000 have been posted to blogs so far) are a great way to actually see places you want to go to, but the blogs are a little thin. Though TravBuddy boasts 65,000+ blogs, most of them are old our rarely updated, and many of them offer little to help you plan a trip. The reviews are best for getting the nitty-gritty details.
As of March 2008, TravBuddy has nearly 1,350,000 registered contributors and it’s growing, as it has been featured prominently on the NBC Nightly News, Popular Science, Real Simple Travel, and other media outlets.
I signed up on TravBuddy a few months ago because I’m going to the South Pacific in 2009. In a very short time (within hours) I had connected with folks who had been where I plan to travel and they gave me valuable tips. I also met several very friendly TravBuddy users who gave me advice on booking flights. The community at TravBuddy is wonderful.
The worst thing about TravBuddy.com: the blogs are not updated frequently (user-driven so that’s to be expected somewhat). For that reason, the site just misses a 5-star rating.
The least you need to know: TravBuddy.com is a social networking site to connect travelers with similar interests and itineraries. It’s especially appealing to adventure travelers, the types who cringe at the thought of a bus tour or a guided walk through a museum. However, it still offers a community that will benefit all types of travelers. It’s a fantastic way to safely connect with people in the places you want to travel to, to learn the secrets of enjoying that destination. You may also make a travel buddy who will throw on a backpack and take the trip with you!
Website rating: 4 out of 5 stars
URL: www.travbuddy.com