David Pietrusza
Encyclopedia
David Pietrusza is a noted historian and author.
Pietrusza has served as a regular panelist of FoxNews.com Live, appearing with such hosts as Kimberly Guilfoyle
, Jonathan Hunt, and Patti Ann Browne
. He has been a frequent guest on C-SPAN
and on ESPN documentary series such as SportsCentury
, You Can't Blame, and Who's Number 1? and has been interviewed on NPR, MSNBC's "Morning Joe," SIRIUS-XM, The History Channel, the Voice of America, Bloomberg Radio, the Fox News Channel, GBTV, ESPN, the Fox Sports Channel, and the MLB Network. He has produced and written the PBS-affiliate documentary, "Local Heroes."
Pietrusza collaborated with baseball legend Ted Williams
on an autobiography called Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures. This book contained pictures of Williams throughout his life (many from his personal collection) and commentary on what each one depicted. Williams died shortly after the book was published.
From 1993 to 1997, Pietrusza served as president of the Society for American Baseball Research
(SABR), and was later the editor-in-chief of the short-lived publishing company Total Sports
.
Pietrusza holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in history from the University at Albany. He has served on the City Council in Amsterdam, New York
and as Public Information Officer for the New York State Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform and the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General.
Pietrusza's 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents received a Kirkus starred review, was honored as a Kirkus "Best Books of 2007" title, and was named an alternate selection of the History Book Club. Historian Richard Norton Smith
has listed 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents as being among the best studies of presidential campaigns.
Pietrusza's biography of Arnold Rothstein
entitled Rothstein: The Life, Times & Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series was a finalist for the 2003 Edgar Award
. Rothsteins audio version won an AUDIOFILE Earphones Award.
Pietrusza's Judge and Jury, his biography of baseball
's first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis
, received the 1998 CASEY Award
and was also a Finalist for the 1998 Seymour Medal and nominated for the NASSH Book Award.
His Lights On!: The Wild Century-Long Saga of Night Baseball was a 1997 CASEY Award finalist.
Pietrusza is the Recipient of the 2011 Excellence in Arts & Letters Award of the Alumni Association of the University at Albany.
Career
David Pietrusza has produced a number of critically acclaimed works concerning 20th century American history, including a trilogy of works ("1920," "1960," and "1948") on presidential electoral history. He is also an expert on the 1920s and on the presidency of Calvin Coolidge and the career of Charles Evans Hughes.Pietrusza has served as a regular panelist of FoxNews.com Live, appearing with such hosts as Kimberly Guilfoyle
Kimberly Guilfoyle
Kimberly Guilfoyle is an American cable news personality and is currently one of the rotating co-hosts on The Five on Fox News Channel at 5 pm EST , as well as the host of an Internet-only crime-related program for Fox News...
, Jonathan Hunt, and Patti Ann Browne
Patti Ann Browne
Patti Ann Browne is an American news anchor and reporter on the Fox News Channel.Browne currently hosts the headline update during Glenn Beck's program, among other Fox News shows. She also substitute anchors various shows. On international feeds of Fox News, Patti Ann also hosts Fox News Extra...
. He has been a frequent guest on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
and on ESPN documentary series such as SportsCentury
SportsCentury
SportsCentury is an ESPN biography program that reviews the people and athletic events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries....
, You Can't Blame, and Who's Number 1? and has been interviewed on NPR, MSNBC's "Morning Joe," SIRIUS-XM, The History Channel, the Voice of America, Bloomberg Radio, the Fox News Channel, GBTV, ESPN, the Fox Sports Channel, and the MLB Network. He has produced and written the PBS-affiliate documentary, "Local Heroes."
Pietrusza collaborated with baseball legend Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
on an autobiography called Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures. This book contained pictures of Williams throughout his life (many from his personal collection) and commentary on what each one depicted. Williams died shortly after the book was published.
From 1993 to 1997, Pietrusza served as president of the Society for American Baseball Research
Society for American Baseball Research
The Society for American Baseball Research was established in Cooperstown, New York, in August 1971 by Bob Davids of Washington, D.C. The Society's mission is to foster the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, while generating interest in the game...
(SABR), and was later the editor-in-chief of the short-lived publishing company Total Sports
Total Sports Publishing
Total Sports Publishing refers to a book publishing company based in Kingston, New York, that operated from 1998 to 2002. Prominent author John Thorn served as the division's publisher throughout its existence.-Total Sports:...
.
Pietrusza holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in history from the University at Albany. He has served on the City Council in Amsterdam, New York
Amsterdam (city), New York
Amsterdam is a city located in Montgomery County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 18,620. The name is derived from the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands....
and as Public Information Officer for the New York State Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform and the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General.
Awards
His book 1960: LBJ vs JFK vs Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies was named by ForeWord Magazine as among the best political biographies.Pietrusza's 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents received a Kirkus starred review, was honored as a Kirkus "Best Books of 2007" title, and was named an alternate selection of the History Book Club. Historian Richard Norton Smith
Richard Norton Smith
Richard Norton Smith is an American historian and author specializing in US presidents.-Life:Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, in 1953, Smith graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1975 with a degree in government...
has listed 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents as being among the best studies of presidential campaigns.
Pietrusza's biography of Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein
Arnold Rothstein , nicknamed "The Brain", was a New York businessman and gambler who became a famous kingpin of the Jewish mafia. Rothstein was also widely reputed to have been behind baseball's Black Sox Scandal, in which the 1919 World Series was fixed...
entitled Rothstein: The Life, Times & Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series was a finalist for the 2003 Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
. Rothsteins audio version won an AUDIOFILE Earphones Award.
Pietrusza's Judge and Jury, his biography of baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
's first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
, received the 1998 CASEY Award
CASEY Award
The CASEY Award has been given to the best baseball book of the year since . The honor was begun by Mike Shannon and W.J. Harrison, editors and co-founders of “Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine.”-CASEY Award recipients:...
and was also a Finalist for the 1998 Seymour Medal and nominated for the NASSH Book Award.
His Lights On!: The Wild Century-Long Saga of Night Baseball was a 1997 CASEY Award finalist.
Pietrusza is the Recipient of the 2011 Excellence in Arts & Letters Award of the Alumni Association of the University at Albany.
Written by Pietrusza
- 1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America
- 1960: LBJ vs JFK vs Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies
- Silent Cal's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Vermont's Calvin Coolidge
- 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents
- Rothstein: The Life, Times and Murder of the Criminal Genius who Fixed the 1919 World Series
- Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
- Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures (with Ted WilliamsTed WilliamsTheodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
) (aka Teddy Ballgame) - Minor Miracles: The Legend and Lure of Minor League Baseball
- Lights On!: The Wild, Century-Long Saga of Night Baseball (Foreword by Enos SlaughterEnos SlaughterEnos Bradsher Slaughter , nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 19-year baseball career, he played from 1938–1942 and 1946-1959 for four different teams, but is noted primarily for his time with the St...
) - Major Leagues: The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present (Foreword by Lee MacPhailLee MacPhailLeland Stanford MacPhail, Jr. is an American retired front-office executive in Major League Baseball...
) - Baseball's Canadian American League: A History of Its Inception, Franchises, Participants, Locales, Statistics, Demise & Legacy, 1936-1951 (Foreword by John ThornJohn ThornJohn Thorn is a noted sports historian, and the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball.-Early life:Thorn was born in Stuttgart, West Germany. His Polish Jewish parents had come there as refugees. He immigrated to the United States in 1949...
)
Co-Edited by Pietrusza
- Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia
- Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball
- The Total Baseball Catalog: Great Baseball Stuff and How to Buy It
- The Hidden Game of Football
- Total Super Bowl
- Total Quarterbacks
- Total Steelers
- Total 49ers
- Total Packers
- Total Cowboys
- Total Mets
- Total Braves
- Total Indians
Books for Younger Readers
- The End of the Cold War (Lucent, 1994)
- The Invasion of Normandy (Lucent, 1995)
- The Battle of Waterloo (Lucent, 1996)
- John F. Kennedy (Lucent, 1996)
- The Cultural Revolution (Lucent, 1996)
- Smoking (Lucent, 1996)
- The Roaring Twenties (Lucent, 1997)
- The New York Yankees (Enslow, 1997)
- The Phoenix Suns (Enslow, 1997)
- The Boston Celtics (Enslow, 1997)
- The Los Angeles Dodgers (Enslow, 1998)
- Baseball’s Top 10 Managers (Enslow, 1998)
- Michael Jordan (Lucent, 1999)
- The Baltimore Orioles (Lucent, 2000)
- The San Francisco Giants (Enslow, 2000)
- The St. Louis Cardinals (Enslow, 2001)
- The Cleveland Indians (Enslow, 2001)