Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues
These two volumes contribute a good deal to the ongoing  examination of the Negro Leagues. Holway, one of the deans of  black baseball history, provides the most complete statistical  accounting yet of the game's segregated half. The obvious  by-product of painstaking research, The Complete Book of  Baseball's Negro Leagues presents a quick overview of African  American participation from 1859 to 1882 and then an annual  accounting through 1948, the year after Jackie Robinson entered  the major leagues. Holway's contribution is noteworthy, covering  won-loss records, batting records, and pitching performances.  Textual commentary is sprinkled throughout, as are useful lists  of lifetime batting and pitching leaders. But the story remains  incomplete because of the paucity of written accounts,  incomplete box scores, and a general failure on the part of  black baseball management and journalists alike to provide a  historical record for the most statistically conscious of all  sports.  McNeil's (The Dodgers Encyclopedia) undertaking is different, as  he seeks to determine which Negro League participants should be  included in the National Baseball Hall of Fame; at present, 17  have been admitted. Cool Papas and Double Duties calls on both  former Negro Leaguers and black baseball historians to select  those candidates, then offers a final selection and biographies  of those chosen. Biz Mackey, Turkey Stearnes, Dick Lundy, Mules  Suttle, and Hilton Smith received the greatest number of votes;  Stearnes and Smith, in fact, have subsequently been elected to  the hall. McNeil's work also presents all-time Negro League  all-star teams, with corresponding biographies. Enjoyable to  course through, this book frequently enlightens but will in no  way stop baseball fans and scholars from debating the various  merits of the top performers. Both books are recommended for  general libraries. R.C. Cottrell, California State Univ., ChicoCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.