Download the e-books: SABR Review of Books

From 1986 to 1990, SABR published five volumes of the SABR Review of Books: A Forum of Baseball Literary Opinion. Edited by Paul Adomites, the groundbreaking publication attempted to “tap the two universal loves of SABR members: the love of reading baseball books and the love of a lively discussion.”

Reviews of contemporary (and historical) baseball books were combined with in-depth essays on a variety of subjects, such as women in baseball literature, baseball books for children, and a survey of early books on the Negro Leagues. The Review also included original interviews with the likes of author/pitcher Jim Brosnan, filmmaker John Sayles, and Roger Angell of The New Yorker. In Volume II (1987), dozens of SABR members selected their “Essential Baseball Library.”

In 2020, Phil Bergen’s essay on the baseball novels of John R. Tunis was selected for inclusion in the SABR 50 at 50 anthology book published by the University of Nebraska Press. Jules Tygiel’s article, “The Negro Leagues Revisited,” was included in The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues, jointly published by SABR and Sports Reference in 2021.

All of the original essays from the SABR Review of Books can now be read online at SABR.org.

Click on a link below to download a PDF e-book edition of each issue:

• The SABR Review of Books, Volume I (1986)
• The SABR Review of Books, Volume II (1987)
• The SABR Review of Books, Volume III (1988)
• The SABR Review of Books, Volume IV (1989)
• The SABR Review of Books, Volume V (1990)