Tim McCarver

Tim McCarver, one of baseball’s most respected announcers, is the top analyst for Fox Sports and a broadcaster for the New York Yankees on Fox-New York. As a catcher in the major leagues for 21 seasons, McCarver was a two-time all-star and a member of two St. Louis Cardinal world-championship teams. Here are six of his favorite books:

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (Grove Press, $9.56). It’s hilarious. The main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, has a thought process that we would all like to have for a single day. It is a brilliant achievement.

Trinity by Leon Uris (Bantam Books, $7.19). This one really had an effect on me because of my heritage. It is very funny—especially if you are Irish. It is a remarkably accurate portrayal of people’s blind faith and loyalty.

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October 1964 by David Halberstam (Fawcett Books, $11.20). David interviewed me for about 15 hours for this book. I had never really thought about the cultural changes in baseball and the effect African-American players had on that World Series against the Yankees. The way he wove this social fabric was, I thought, extremely successful. This book is very personal to me—absolutely.

Blood Meridian, Or Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy (Vintage Books, $11.20). I don’t think I have ever read another book about so dark a betrayal.

Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone, 1932-1940 (Vol. 2) by William Manchester (Dell Books, $15.96). The Day of the Jackal was great, but I like Last Lion. I think it is a particularly poignant portrayal of Winston Churchill, showing how he was a lonely voice in Parliament in the early 1930s. Churchill was one of only a handful of men in Britain to speak out in favor of increased military action as a means of countering the growing Nazi threat in Europe.

Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command: Manassas to Malvern Hill (Vol.1) by Douglas Southall Freeman (Scribner, $32). This made me familiar with Stonewall Jackson’s brilliant campaign at the beginning of the war. A great book.