The Baseball Timeline
By Burt Solomon
DK Publishing, $50
ISBN 0789471329

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Four years ago, Burt Solomon came out with The Baseball Timeline, a commendable effort to record the highlights of the national pastime since 1845. The book was nothing fancy, but it served as a useful reference for the baseball researcher or casual fan. This year, thanks to DK Publishing, which produces handsome and informative books on a variety of subjects from architecture to mythology, The Baseball Timeline has been transformed from an ugly duckling to a swan. The revised version, made with the imprimatur of Major League Baseball, is everything the advertising community conceived of when it invented the phrase "new and improved."

Although the text is practically identical to the original edition, save for additions to bring it up-to-date, the presentation is stunning. This massive volume (over 1,200 pages) now includes photos and illustrations of the players and events. Solomon does a superb job, citing birthdays, trades, special games and "the best of each season" including league leaders and major award winners. Timeline is more than just a sports book, however. The author recognizes that baseball is part of the American fabric and reminds you of that fact with major headlines from each year ("Truman Defeats Dewey," in 1948, for example) for cultural context.

Extra information is sprinkled throughout -- drop boxes containing trivia; league, rule and equipment changes; historical notes, and quotes. If you know some special baseball fan deserving of a gift (maybe even yourself), The Baseball Timeline is one that is guaranteed to please.