John Erardi

A memoir of more than three decades of fishing trips, The Mud Daddy Chronicles follows three journalists and friends through the seasons of their lives. Mysterious omens over the years reveal that a supernatural current, an environmental warning, courses through these annual weekend quests for fish. Three young men with dreams and goals become gray-haired guys with grit and guts. These stolen weekends pile up year after year until the years and trips blend one into the other and become decades. All soon realize that a spiritual dimension accompanies these pilgrimages for smallmouthbass. Full of fishing tips (as well as plans for a potato launcher, suggestions for lures and 20+ man-and- a-pan recipes) The Mud Daddy Chronicles is a glimpse into a mystical and remarkable natural world while offering a cautionary tale about theenvironmental threats that haunt our national waterways. The stories and recipes in this book prove, too, that nothing is better than a crisp autumn morning on a boat on the water - life-long friends nearby, libations at hand and a smallmouth bass tugging on 10-pound test

Cincinnati's Crosley Field presents the field's history through text and more than 150 photographs. The Cincinnati Reds played at Crosley Field from 1912 through 1970, and the ballpark holds an iconic place in the city's history as well as throughout Reds Country. One of the most beloved ballparks in Major League history, Crosley Field played host to the first night game and the first of Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters, as well as four World Series and two All-Star games. From the outfield terrace to the "Moon Deck," from Lombardi's "snooze" to Big Klu's biceps, Blackwell's "whip" to Rose's belly-flop slides, the Redlegs to the Big Red Machine, Cincinnati's Crosley Field has them covered in words and pictures. Greg Rhodes and John Erardi also present the great Negro Leagues teams that played at Crosley, as well as the field's many colorful characters, such as longtime announcer Waite Hoyt and the top-hatted vendor known as Peanut Jim. In April 2009, the Reds' Hall of Fame and Museum opens this season's key exhibit, Crosley Field Remembered, and Cincinnati's Crosley Field will be sold at the team's gift shop as a souvenir.