prone to enthusiasms….
Bill James published 40 quarterly issues of a newsletter called The Baseball Analyst beginning in June of 1982. His idea was to “provide a place where people who have research they want to do can find a place to print it.” The first edition contained five articles, and was apparently edited by James:
Filed under
Baseball CrankSpace
Bookworm Alley
Posted on
December 31st 2011
The best piece of research in the book is the Cleveland essay, where they discover that teams who win from far behind (rallies of five or more runs) are fairly likely to win the next game they play, but virtually certain to lose the fifth game after the comeback win. They offer, and dismiss, the pitching rotation as an explanation. This just screams for a followup study; I don’t know that it’s ever been done.
Filed under
Baseball CrankSpace
Bookworm Alley
Posted on
December 31st 2011
This book’s subtitle is “Machiavellian Statecraft and the English Reformation,” which pretty much sums up the author’s argument. It’s an adequate overview of Cromwell’s life and accomplishments, and does a satisfactory job of presenting alternative interpretations where the facts and interpretations are contested. Be aware that the author’s a political scientist; this book is much more about Cromwell’s politics than a proper biography. If that’s what you’re looking for, this book will fit your purpose.
Filed under Bookworm Alley Posted on December 24th 2011
Rickard examined the mining practices of most of the major mines on the range, with the significant exceptions of the Calumet and Tamarack mines, where non-employee mining engineers were not welcome. For the mines he did examine, he highlighted what they did best, the roots of their technical preferences, and any glaring weaknesses he identified in their processes. He then did the same for the associated mills (including, interestingly, the C&H mill on Torch Lake). There’s a wealth of technical detail, and enough economic detail that one could estimate the entire cost of production for many of the mines.
Filed under
Bookworm Alley
History Scrapbook
Mitten State
Posted on
December 14th 2011
Roughly fifty maps of towns and mining locations on the Keweenaw peninsula, with only a minimal amount of text. These are sort of idealized maps, actually, showing each town/mine’s main features but not tied to specific dates. So (according to the author/mapmaker) some of the maps include structures which not only are no longer there but which never coexisted on the specific site. The result is that each map locates both current (2009) buildings and construction which was dismantled 70 years ago.
Filed under
Bookworm Alley
History Scrapbook
Mitten State
Posted on
December 12th 2011
Perhaps one groundbreaking article is enough to ask. All in all, this is a decent effort, again edited by Bob Davids with help from Kermisch, Tom Hufford, and Bob McConnell.
Filed under
Baseball CrankSpace
Bookworm Alley
Posted on
December 11th 2011
A fine piece of research. Most minor leagues failed in the 1950s; we need more people examining why specific leagues succeeded.
Filed under
Baseball CrankSpace
Bookworm Alley
Posted on
December 10th 2011
Schom’s story actually begins around 1801. Napoleon’s (eventually) failed attempt to invade England with a flotilla of relatively small craft is the main focus of the book, with a great deal of discussion of the the British government’s efforts to thwart the French invaders. Schom does this extremely well.
Filed under Bookworm Alley Posted on December 10th 2011
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