Old Guys and Old Papers, by Michael D'Antonio:

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Judging by what you would find in my office, a biography is made of a few thousand pages of documents, a few hundred clippings from newspapers and journals, a couple of dozen dog-eared old books and a pile of notebooks filled with quotes and anecdotes collected during interviews. Forever Blue is made of these items as well as the many feelings - love, anger, pride, hope, fear etc. - I uncovered in all these sources.

My goal, with every nonfiction book, is to create a clear but also complete picture of a person, event, or moment in time. My only assumption when I begin is that nothing is as simple as it first appears. Of course I also want to explore a worthy subject and in Walter O'Malley, who became the center of unending controversy when he moved the Dodgers out of Brooklyn, I had one guaranteed to hold my interest and yours.  

I began with the basics - old works of baseball history and journalism - and then began seeking more original sources. A few phone calls led me to the man's surviving son and daughter who held thousands of documents that once belonged to their father and the team. After a couple of discussions about my starting point - I was interested in discovering the story not creating one -- they turned me loose in the rooms where the files were kept, asking only that I keep an open mind.  To their credit, they never tried to influence me and didn't ask to see the book before it was in print.

In the O'Malley archives, and other libraries and research centers, I experienced the thrill of holding documents no one had ever seen, including letters written by Jackie Robinson and private files form the Dodger organization. But the best moments of my exploration came when I sat with people who lived the story and were happy to share what they knew. As anyone who write history knows, old guys who have nothing to lose, like to share what they know. I had this experience with former ballplayers, retired baseball executives and even some sports writers who have hung up their notebooks. Though I needed to check some of their facts, I trusted their feelings.

Michael D'Antonio, Forever Blue, Riverhead, Penguin Books