The glorious collections of cooperstown are brought to life by respected baseball writer John Thorn in an officially sanctioned and lavishly illustrated gift edition.The shrine to baseball is tucked away in a quiet corner of upstate New York. For those unable to get to Cooperstown, John Thorn, in collaboration with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, brings the museum to the fan in this glorious celebration of the game.John Thorn is the ideal guide to the Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame. A prolific writer, he is the author of Total Baseball, and was creative consultant to Ken Burns's Baseball series. Thorn has chosen the most unique and extraordinary treasures from the hall's collections, many of them archived and unseen by the public for years, and has written evocatively about each piece. There is the letter Lou Gehrig wrote home from Detroit the day he sat down to end the Streak; the ball Cy Young used for his five hundredth win; the bat that brought Willie Mays his three thousandth hit; collages of mementos of the giants of the game, like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams; and artifacts from the Negro Leagues and the women's game. Each entry is accompanied by a full-color photograph.This is an essential book for any baseball fan. These priceless pieces of baseball history tell, in words and pictures, the history of America's favorite sport.