The Dodgers by Bruce Chadwick (1993, Hardcover)

This is a terrific and inexpensive little book for all you Dodger lovers out there from Brooklyn to LA. This 150 page book chronicles the Ball Club's history from their early days at Washington Park in Brooklyn, when they were known as the Bridegrooms and Superbas, right up through Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series. Informative throughout with great stories and anecdotes. Comprehensive but not too in depth makes it a great overview and an easy read. It has seven chapters broken down by era from 1884 up to the present time of printing (1993). However, as a memorabilia collector what I also love about this book is the hundreds of color and black & white photos of Dodgers memorabilia including many seldom seen items. Almost every page has one or more photos of Dodgers memorabilia from pins, pennants and tickets to dolls, programs, bats and balls. Some of my favorites include a vintage Jackie Robinson doll with its original box and tag, some early pennants that I had never seen before and the figural opening tickets from 1939-41. Can be a handy reference to the collector or just a pleasure to look at. Can generally be found on ebay fairly easily for less than its origianl cover price of $24.95 making it a worthy buy.