Written by Boston Globe National Baseball writer Nick Cafardo, Boston Red Sox: Yesterday & Today chronicles the team’s rich history, from its humble beginnings to the success that it is today, with the use of stunning photographs that capture the familiar and heart-warming images of the franchise through the years. Even for well-seasoned fans familiar with the highs and lows of Boston’s American League representative, this book will give a new, visual perspective on some of the most memorable moments and legendary players that have given fans reason to root for the Red Sox year after year.

The first subject covered is the beautiful ball yard that the Sox have called home for 95 years: Fenway Park. With its quirky dimensions and unique features, it has often been copied but never duplicated; words and rich photographs capture the feel of the wooden grandstand seats, the magnitude of the legendary Green Monster, and the smell of a warm Fenway Frank. The book then turns to examining some of the legendary teams that played on its field and some of the players who made up those great teams. The names and faces are more than familiar to longtime fans, like Young, Speaker, Williams, Yastrzemski, Fisk, Rice, Clemens, Martinez, and Ortiz, to name just a few. Next, the subject turns to the Fall Classics, from the lows of losing Game Seven in 1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986, to the highs of winning the inaugural World Series in 1903 as well as the 2004 Classic that broke an 86-year drought between championships. Finally, the book recalls a few of the magical moments in team history as seen through the camera’s eye, such as Ted Williams’ heroics in the 1941 mid-summer classic, the 17 runs scored by the Sox in one inning in a game in 1953, Carl Yastrzemski’s Triple Crown in 1967, Dave Henderson’s home run in Game Five of the 1986 ALCS, and Dave Robert’s stolen base in the 2004 ALCS.

This is more than just a simple book on Red Sox history, trivia, and lore; Boston Red Sox: Yesterday & Today employs a unique photographic approach to document the past and present of the legendary franchise that has thrilled fans for over a century.

Whether or not you can name the player who holds the record for hitting into triple plays (Brooks Robinson, who did it four times) or the first left-handed pitcher to win the Cy Young Award (Warren Spahn), Grand Slam Baseball was written to entertain even the most knowledgeable trivia buffs. Included are: brief biographies on some of baseball’s most influential personalities, from Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner to Hank Aaron and Roger Clemens; tales of some of the greatest teams assembled, from the 1885-1888 St. Louis Browns to the 1998 New York Yankees; and some of the greatest games ever played, from Game Eight of the 1912 World Series to Game Six of the 1975 World Series. In between, you’ll find plenty of other unique and unusual facts, trivia, and statistics told in storybook fashion to entertain you during pitching changes, rain delays, and the hot stove season. These anecdotes include: the rise and fall of Denny McLain, the last pitcher in baseball to win 30 games in a single season; the success of Cal Hubbard, the only person elected to both the baseball and football Halls of Fame; the practices of superstitious ballplayers like former Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer, who ate pancakes before every start, and Charlie Kerfield, who wore the same T-shirt under his jersey for the entire 1986 season; the exploits of a religious community that raised money as a barnstorming baseball team; a feature on Steve Dalkowski, the best pitcher you’ve never heard of; the greatest turnarounds made by teams facing impossible odds; and the more colorful, if not controversial, characters to own a baseball team.

Crafted from stories taken from the long and colorful history of the sport, Grand Slam Baseball is perfect for your coffee table or nightstand and offers plenty of fascinating tales that everyone from the casual enthusiast to card-carrying baseball fanatics will treasure.

Growing up in the shadows of Boston, it’s not surprising that writer Robert Sullivan, who has been published in TIME, Sports Illustrated, and LIFE, among others, became a Red Sox fan. His first exposure to its mystical aura came in 1960, when his father took him and his older brother to Fenway Park, with the main purpose of being able to see the legendary Ted Williams play in what would be his last season. Years later, he continues to align his loyalty towards the Boston nine but he must do so behind enemy lines, since he lives in Westchester County, New York, or, as the back cover of the book reads: “…in the backyard and too often in the shadow of the Yankees.”

Our Red Sox: A Story of Family, Friends, and Fenway obviously touches a lot on Boston’s successful 2004 campaign, but the main focus of the book is what it has meant to Sullivan, his family, and his friends to live through the agony and ecstacy of wearing that spoked “B” on your cap and rooting for a team that year after year had you wondering: What if…. Sullivan first tells of his father who, like many others, had often stated: “I hope that they win it in my lifetime.” (For “Artie” Sullivan, that would not happen, unfortunately, but he would take his intense loyalty to Ted Williams, “a class guy,” to the end.) He speaks to his membership with the Benevolent Loyal Order of Honorable and Ancient Red Sox Diehard Sufferers (BLOHARDS) of New York, founded years before Red Sox Nation came to fruition, as he quietly roots for his team from afar. He also talks of doing everything that he can to pass on that love to his children, errant foul balls at a Lowell Spinners game, Lowell being the Single A affiliate of Boston, and the horrific sight of finding the unfamiliar sight of Yankee blue all around him in Westchester aside. Of course, the book would not be complete without speaking the suffering endured by Sox fans after witnessing the horrific end to the 2003 campaign at the hands of those very Yankees, setting up what would be a memorable 2004 season in which the collective weight of he and other Red Sox fans would be lifted.

In short, Sullivan’s book is a heart-warming tale that stretches across generations of star-crossed Red Sox fans, some who have waited exactly a lifetime to see Boston win that elusive championship; it’s a story that any baseball fan will enjoy, no matter whose cap you wear.

Former Boston Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman had the good fortune to be given the chance to run the team that he followed as a youngster in Rhode Island, idolizing the legendary Ted Williams, when the organization signed him away from the New York Mets before the 1984 season. Not long after that, he found himself sitting high above the action near the end of Game Six of the 1986 World Series as the Red Sox faced his old team. Boston was just one out away from a celebration that was sixty-eight years in the making…

One Pitch from Glory offers the reader an insight into Gorman’s time as the GM with the Red Sox as he tried for nearly a decade to help Boston claim that elusive title. He speaks on several matters that he faced during his tenure, which include the walkout staged by Roger Clemens during spring training in 1987, the Wade Boggs-Margo Adams affair, the trades that shipped Curt Schilling, Brady Anderson, and Jeff Bagwell to teams where they blossomed into All-Stars, the hiring and firing of personnel, the release of fan favorites Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans, the loss of Wade Boggs and Ellis Burks to free agency, and the failure to lure Kirby Puckett away from the Twins.

He also opines on the ruling on owner collusion in the late 1980’s, the Moneyball philosophy used by general managers of today, including the current Red Sox GM, Theo Epstein, and the influence of sports agents on the relationship between teams and players. He also focuses a good portion of his tales on the brutal nature of the Boston media, including one Boston Globe sports reporter in particular who, in Gorman’s opinion, seemed to make it his sworn duty to paint the GM in a bad light with every chance given.

Gorman does his best to lay claim to his personal belief that every decision was with the intention to better the ball club and bring a title to Boston. He also shares with us the relationship that he forges with the players, the coaches, and even the Splendid Splinter himself, and the difficulty of having to put personal feelings aside in making some rather difficult decisions, even if they weren’t his in the first place. He also points out that, despite never achieving the ultimate goal of the team and its fans, he had developed more than his share of players who went on to play in the big leagues and find success.

Undeniably, One Pitch from Glory gives the reader an understanding of the pressure that Boston Red Sox general managers have faced for generations in the demanding Boston market; it’s an occupation that many believe they can do better yet about which they have no real understanding of its extent, at least if you take Gorman’s word on that. Gorman obviously hopes that his book will help reshape his legacy which he believes was unjustly sculpted by the media; whether or not that happens, it offers an appreciation to Boston Red Sox fans who want to know more about what goes on behind the scenes in the offices at 4 Yawkey Way.

Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley had the opportunity to interview 50 ex-Boston Red Sox players; what he got was the chance to learn a little bit more about what it meant for players of the last sixty-plus years to wear the uniform of one of the most storied franchises in baseball history. They also talk about more than just their baseball experiences; they spoke about their life experiences and how there is more to these men than a few lines of statistics.

Boston Red Sox: Where Have You Gone? chronicles life’s journey for some memorable personalities than saw action with Boston, whether it was for a brief moment or several seasons. Whether you have followed the Red Sox for just a few short years or have been a fan of the Old Towne Team for generations, you will smile, you will laugh, and you will reminisce along with some of your favorites. While there are plenty of familiar names, like Rico Petrocelli, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, there are those who only the tried and true follower might remember, like Lou Stringer, Earl Wilson, Gary Waslewski, Frank Malzone, Lee Tinsley, and Billy Rohr.

There were those whose time in Boston would hardly qualify as unforgettable, like Gene Michael, who never stepped foot on the field for the Red Sox, or Billy MacLeod, who pitched two games for Boston in relief but never touched the grass of Fenway Park in a game. Then there are the somber tales of a few African-American ballplayers who had to deal with the difficulty of feeling truly embraced by the last major league club to integrate, nearly twelve years after Jackie Robinson’s debut.

Still, each of Buckley’s subjects has something to offer on their experience with the Red Sox and how life faired for them after their baseball career came to an end. Perhaps what is most enjoyable about the book is that almost every generation of ballplayers is represented, from the time of World War II, Pesky, Doerr, and Dominic DiMaggio through the Impossible Dream season, the memorable teams of the Seventies, and right up to just a few years ago. Buckley even gets some of these former player’s thoughts on what it means to finally see Boston win its first World Series title in 86 years, a feat that eluded so many of these players during their time with the Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox: Where Have You Gone? is an enjoyable read that should evoke some great memories to Boston fans, irregardless of how long they have been loyal members of Red Sox Nation.