There was an abundance of excellent baseball books in 2006 -- once publishing houses purged themselves of The-Red-Sox-finally-won-the-World-Series subgenre, a lot of great titles made it to print. There were outstanding memoirs by top baseball essayist Roger Angell ("Let Me Finish") and top baseball author Roger Kahn ("Into My Own"), and Leigh Montville's Babe Ruth biography ("Big Bam") intelligently reinterprets the Bambino's life for 21st century readers. Peter Morris, in his two-volume "A Game of Inches" reference set, authoritatively traces the origins of every innovation in baseball history (from the first curveball to the first rain-check).

But my personal favorite was Joshua Prager's "The Echoing Green," a comprehensive history of Bobby Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world" which settled the 1951 National League pennant race. Prager details how the New York Giants stole signs during the stretch run, and documents the uneasy friendship Thomson made with Ralph Branca, who threw the fateful home run pitch.

In 1975 I first read "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg in a modern poetry class. I remember thinking: You can say that?! And I also thought: You can say that, that way?!

2006 has been the 50th anniversary of "Howl." Jason Shinder's timely book, The Poem That Changed America: "Howl" Fifty Years Later celebrates the mind-bending poem. In the book, various writers, artists, and musicians reveal their feelings and impressions about reading the poem for the first time. My favorites include Amiri Baraka, Andrei Codrescu, Gordon Ball, Alicia Ostriker, David Gates, and Anne Waldman.

This fall I taught "Howl" for the first time to a class of first year college students. A sample of the generation raised on rap, hip-hop, and alternative rock found the poem rather less than revolutionary. But I think that their response shows each generation must howl in its own way.

This is somewhat offtopic, but I'm wondering if any of you are using devices like the Sony Reader to read these books. I own way too many books, and my library has long wait-lists for popular titles, so I tend to read less than I would otherwise.

After reading this article and the other end-of-year reviews, I'm encouraged to either buy (or wait for) a bunch of books, or get them electronically. Any success? The online reviews of Sony's product are poor to mediocre. (And the thing is expensive!)

One not to be overlooked is Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilization": 1100 pages about the Middle East. Fisk's father was a veteran of World War I, in whose aftermath national boundaries were drawn and political entities established, which are largely responsible for today's, and tomorrow's, crises in that part of the world. Fisk, a 30-year resident of Beirut, has interviewed Osama bin Laden twice; was present at the Russian and American invasions of Afghanistan; the Iran-Iraq War (on both sides of the battle line); the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon; the return of Khomenei to Iran; the Gulf War; the cancer epidemic in Iraq resulting from the Gulf War; the US invasion of Iraq; at the Palestinian infitada; in Syria after the death of Assad; and in many other of the places where events in the present will affect us shortly, whether we like it or not. Fisk writes with the descriptive skill of a novelist while hammering the facts in place.

How comes "What is the What", from Dave Eggers, isn't mention anywhere? It is such a remarkeable piece of work ... probably the most touching & relevant book of 2006.

I'm surprised no one mentioned Jess Walter's The Zero. A glitchy, mesmerizing novel that unfolds like a puzzle and cannot be put down, Walter's novel is the first I've read that actually got what 9/11 was all about.

The Sony product has gotten some hype, but an e-book appliance has been around at least since 1999. It has gone through transitions -first the RocketBook, then the Gemstar and now is available as the 'eBook'- check out ebookwise.com. I own all three. I'm a voracious reader of current and classic books and my e-library is certainly upwards of 600 titles purchased over the years (and they're stored both online and on SmartMedia cards - so my already groaning bookshelves of physical books are not as challenged).

The most current e-Book is supported by an online ordering system and library which does a really good job of including many more current titles than the previous incarnations. I certainly don't think all of the titles we saw in this article will be available, but I printed off the list so I can go look.

I don't know about the Sony version, but advantages I can cite for mine include the ability to select large font (one owner indicated that with the e-book she could read any book available from the site - not just those that the hard-copy publishers decided to offer in large-print). It has a back-lit screen which means I can read in bed or other low-light environments without disturbing my sweetie or others. It has decent graphics capability so it can display photos, maps, etc. from the books. And these are just the features I use most often. It has a dictionary capability, highlighting options, bookmarks, etc. When I travel (esp. on vacation) I can "pack" 20+ books without filling my luggage up. When I buy a book, it is available to me the minute my credit card order is processed.

Every time I get on an airplane, other travellers initiate a conversation about my e-book. I can't prove it, but I suspect I've "sold" several. I don't have any financial interest in the company and don't get a commission ;-)

I too have been curious about eBooks and don't know a soul that uses them. Thanks for the info. I have been given notice by my patient partner that my endless stacks of books are now a fire hazard in our house. Since we live very rural, and reading is my answer to TV, I've got to check this thing out. The large print thing is very interesting.

Four more favorites, All dealing with history, that we Americans should learn, re-learn and never, not remember.

At the top of the list is Lawrence Wright's epic The Looming Tower - Al-Qaeda and

the Road to 9/11. The writer offers a most carefully crafted historical diorama that delves into the inside world of US geopolitical activity (and blunder), Islamic Fatwas, reformers and nihilists, and the resulting chaos that erupts throughout the Mideast and in the U.S., in the past two decades. A most enlightening resource and intimate view into the troubled world of Islamic fundamentalism - and how the FBI and CIA slipped in failing to understand and timely infiltrate, sense and track jihadists.

Thomas Ricks' Fiasco, The America Military Adventure in Iraq is a must read for those seeking an inside look at the politicians, generals and military subordinates that so often stumbled in their effort to correctly sort out tactics from soiled strategy in Iraq.

Ricks heaps compliment on many in the military arena but quickly sorts out the wanton dysfunction that existed in so many military/political corners. Before America steps into another war, it's citizens should read, and be reminded of the stories featured in Fiasco.

(Night Draws Near by Anthony Shadid and Assassins Gate by George Packer - two

2005 texts - are also excellent Iraq studies by gifted writers.)

Author Hampton Sides book Blood and Thunder is a respectable reminder of the dark side conquest by Kit Carson and compatriots in their crushing war against the western Navajo - Hopi (and other) native American Indians. Mythical romantized "white man" tales are balanced against historical views of the actual natives, settlers and other inhabitants.

Rory Stewarts piece the Places in Between was previously mentioned on this site. His most recent book though, The Prince of the Marshes - And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq, should be added to the "Stewart" reading list. The book is a poignant and problematical look at how British and American imperialistic viewpoints didn't fit the template of an all Arab culture. Humor, triumph and much tragedy grace the pages of this illuminating read.