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Bill James lives in his native South Wales. He is married with four children and is the author of a critical work on Anthony Powell as well as many thrillers and crime novels.
Barry Forshaw on Ian Rankin and Bill James... Ian Rankin is one of the UK’s bestselling British crime writers. Aficionados admire the gritty, socially committed toughness of his books, along with their vividly realised sense of place. And these are exactly the qualities that may be found in the work of the veteran Bill James, whose astonishing consistency over many years is a continuing cause for admiration. And, like Rankin, James has few equals when it comes to memorable, highly individual dialogue. Fans of Rankin’s Rebus novels – including Resurrection Men – will relish Bill James’ Harpur and Iles novels: start with You'd Better Believe It.
Shortlisted for the 2006 Duncan Lawrie Dagger. A brilliant police procedural with complex characters and plenty of black humour. The relationship between DCS Colin Harpur and his boss ACC Desmond Isles is wickedly funny and one of the many highlights of James's writing. This was my first taste of Bill James and I'm already champing at the bit for more.
Bill James and Baseball Info Solutions team of analysts continue to pack in new content, including a fresh look at the continues rise and effectiveness of The Shift and a new breakdown of home runs and long flyouts. And, as always, the book forecasts fresh hitter and pitcher projections for those looking to get an early jump on the next season.</
Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.Between 1898 and 1912, families across the country were bludgeoned in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Jewelry and valuables were left in plain sight, bodies were piled together, faces covered with cloth. Some of these cases, like the infamous Villasca, Iowa, murders, received national attention. But few people believed the crimes were related. And fewer still would realize that all of these families lived within walking distance to a train station. When celebrated baseball statistician and true crime expert Bill James first learned about these horrors, he began to investigate others that might fit the same pattern. Applying the same know-how he brings to his legendary baseball analysis, he empirically determined which crimes were committed by the same person. Then after sifting through thousands of local newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, he and his daughter Rachel made an astonishing discovery: they learned the true identity of this monstrous criminal. In turn, they uncovered one of the deadliest serial killers in America. Riveting and immersive, with writing as sharp as the cold side of an axe, The Man from the Train paints a vivid, psychologically perceptive portrait of America at the dawn of the twentieth century, when crime was regarded as a local problem, and opportunistic private detectives exploited a dysfunctional judicial system. James shows how these cultural factors enabled such an unspeakable series of crimes to occur, and his groundbreaking approach to true crime will convince skeptics, amaze aficionados, and change the way we view criminal history.
Bill James and the Baseball Info Solutions team of analysts continue to pack in new content, including a fresh look at the continued rise and effectiveness of The Shift and a new breakdown of home runs and long flyouts. And, as always, the book forecasts fresh hitter and pitcher projections for those looking to get an early jump on the next season.
Here is the first-to-market, most comprehensive, and most fun annual reference guide to the complete lifetime stats on every player in the majors in 2015. New sections include "e;On the Black"e; analysis of how often specific pitchers hit the corners of the plate and "e;Times to First Base"e; on how fast specific batters get to first on balls in play. And, of course, there will be first projections on what players can be expected to do next season in every facet of the game.
Panicking Ralph is a big-time villain - but he's a local villain - and when his life is threatened, policemen Harpur and Iles are straight on the caseDetective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, worry about the safety of one of the big-time crooks on their ground, Ralph Ember, sometimes known as Panicking Ralph. Yes, Ralph is a villain, but he's a local villain, and Harpur and Iles feel a kind of bizarre affection for him. And in any case, Ralph helps Iles keep the city reasonably peaceful. But now some awkward repercussions from Ralph's lawless past seem to bring danger.Ralph is aware of this new peril and has installed a bulletproof steel barrier to protect himself in the club he owns - but will this be enough to keep him safe? Harpur thinks not. Surely the upcoming party at the club will provide the perfect moment for a gunman to do for Ralph? The only way Harpur can be sure of protecting Ralph is to attend the party himself . . .
In this second collection of recent articles (the first was Solid Fool's Gold), groundbreaking sabermetrician and baseball historian Bill James takes his unique way of looking at the world and applies it to topics as diverse as the major league players who went out on top, whether ground ball pitchers are as good (or as bad) as people think, do hitters like Yasiel Puig have hot hand streaks (they do) and why (that's a different question), and do teams have tough stretches and soft patches in their schedules (they do) and how to mention them. Along the way, James takes several detours to discuss his views on classical music, fiction versus non-fiction, keeping will animals in captivity, conservatives and liberals, and several other things that interest or offend him. He even includes a couple of his favorite old baseball stories and a new way to summarize something's or someone's history in exactly 10-25-50-100-200-500 words.
Widely considered to be one of the greatest minds in the history of the game, Bill James has changed the way we think about the sport of baseball. In this chronicle of field generals, strategists, and occasional cannon fodder, James writes with piercing insight about the men who hold what may be the most important spot in the dugout.NEWSWEEK once called him The guru of baseball, and Bill James, for nearly forty years, has led the vanguard of how we measure the game. From Sabermetrics to his Baseball Abstracts, James has influenced even the casual fan all the way up to the top brass. Somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, however, is the manager, and Bill James has penned a guide on some of the most innovative and renowned men to ever hold that position. Some of the game's greatest managers have been Hall-of-Fame players who put down a bat and picked up a lineup card: Frank Robinson, Mel Ott, Joe Cronin, Tris Speaker, Rogers Hornsby. Others have achieved greatness from their ability to assemble legendary teams: Billy Martin, Tommy Lasorda, Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy, Dick Williams, Leo Durocher. Here, Bill James explores the history of the manager, and its evolution from 1870-1990, in a decade-by-decade chronicle, examining the successes, the failures, and what baseball fans can learn from both. THE BILL JAMES GUIDE TO BASEBALL MANAGERS is a thought-provoking, entertaining, and seminal guide to a vital part of the national pastime, written by one of its most groundbreaking iconoclasts.
The twenty-seventh title in the popular Harpur and Iles series.A street shooting leaves a mother and child dead on the school run. But was this a random attack? Unlikely, when it transpires that the victims were the wife and son of well-known drug baron Mansel Shale. Having committed this atrocity, the gunman flees to a nearby shop where a hostage situation quickly develops. Detective Chief Inspector Harpur and Assistant Chief Constable Iles are brought in to oversee the siege - which ends in sudden tragedy. But as subsequent events unfold, it appears that the gunman wasn't tracking Shale after all, but his wife . . .
Drug barons Ralph Ember and Mansel Shale have co-existed peaceably for years, tolerated by Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles as a way of keeping violence off the streets. But times are changing. In a downward spiral of paranoia and panic, Ember fears Shale has a plan to kill him and take over his firm - after all, one of his people has already been gunned down and nobody's taken the rap for it. Shale is about to remarry and has asked Ember to be best man. Iles and Detective Chief Constable Colin Harpur, alert to their potentially deadly double game, know that they have to act fast to avoid out-and-out carnage. 'Dazzles . . . a modern morality play of epic scope' Publishers Weekly
Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles misses a crucial conference and is not able to give vital advice to a colleague, Assistant Chief Constable Esther Davidson. She is having big trouble from a local gang known as the Guild, and proposes to put an undercover spy into the criminal outfit. Iles might have been able to dissuade her from such a rash move. One of his own undercover officers was murdered not long ago. But Esther goes ahead, with terrible consequences . . .'James continues to produce the most realistic, unsettling sequence of novels, recording the subtle relationships between police and villains' The Times
A houseful of paintings is stolen and the body of a finely dressed stranger is discovered at the home of art-loving drug dealer Mansel Shale. Meanwhile Detective Chief Inspector Colin Harpur and his boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, find their domain descending into bloody chaos as villain drug firms fight for dominance. Luckily Iles has done some illicit phone-tapping and has inside information on which way the battle will go. In this fast-paced thriller, there's no telling who will catch the next bullet. 'Shrewd, savage, funny enough to give you an injury' Literary Review
For years Panicking Ralph Ember and Mansel Shale have run profitable drugs empires in peaceful cooperation with each other - and Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles turns a blind-eye to their trade as long as it keeps violence off the streets. But this happy arrangement is threatened by foreign dealers moving in and offering punters not just drugs, but exploited girls from Eastern Europe. These invaders have no respect for the old way of managing things and soon bloody gang warfare breaks out in a deadly scramble for territory. 'Another dodgy gavotte by the master of the revels . . . brilliant' Literary Review
A cash-in-transit raid goes pear-shaped when armed police show up. After all the smart planning and careful preparation someone must have talked - so think the relatives and friends of the jailed gang members. And it looks like the grass must have been the only raider to escape the trap. A vengeance squad is on the prowl and Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his boss Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles are given the job of protecting the informant and his family. Yet all the time the lynch mob is closing in . . . 'James's writing dazzles with its poetic brevity' Publishers Weekly
For years Colin Harpur's dubious boss, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles, ran an 'arrangement' with Mansel Shale and Panicking Ralph Ember, owner of the Monty Club: Iles would protect their drug businesses if they ensured peace on the streets. But when a small-time crook's house is firebombed and he and his daughter are both killed the pact is knocked sideways and gang war erupts. With the relaxation of drugs law legislation, Shale and Ember have serious competition. Their profits slide and an all-out battle for survival begins.'Most other British Police writers are foam rubber truncheons to James' iron riot baton' Time Out
With the rumoured transfer of Chief of Police Mark Lane, London's competitive drug lords are on edge. In the past, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles has managed to maintain the peace on the streets in an old-fashioned system of give a little, take a little. But suddenly Iles is in danger of losing his power when the new chief constable comes to town, and the drug gangs begin a struggle for dominance. With a dangerous mix of greed and fear, the looming threat of a stricter police force, and three sudden deaths, all sides are preparing themselves for a full-scale battle of the ugliest kind.'Essential reading' Independent
Drug dealer Ralph Ember stumbles on a ghastly surprise when he and sidekick Beau Derek arrive at the house of yachtsman Barney Coss, his bulk supplier. Barney and his two women have been savagely murdered and the murderers, three drug rivals from London, are still in the house. Beau dies quickly at their hands, and although they let Ralph go, he's a marked man. But when Melanie, Beau's alluring, ruthless widow, learns what has happened, she is bent on revenge and wants Ralph as her partner all the way.'Bill James is a frontrunner among those who have turned the police procedural on its head' Sunday Times
Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur and his amoral superior Assistant Chief Constable Desmond lles face a political and personal dilemma when they suspect fellow Officer Nivette of taking bribes from underworld villains, panicking Ralphy Ember and Mansel Shale.Is Nivette doing some unauthorised undercover work, or is he really bent? And where has the body of smalltime dealer Slow Victor gone? Trussed up in the cabin of a deserted boat one minute, gone the next. Harpur starts to make the connection, but will it be in time to save Nivette?'The suspense is almost unbearable, the latent truth uncomfortable and the result haunting' Frances Fyfield
Naomi Anstruther's undercover operation among the drug gangs - planned carefully by Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur - has ended in a bloody shoot-out. Naomi has escaped harm, but her lovers Donald McWater and Lyndon Evans are dead. Now the biggest danger to Naomi is a young woman named Esme, who believes that she and Naomi should personally avenge their deaths.'A comic novel of a high order . . . essential reading' Observer
Pursued from the shadows, Simon Pilgrim fled in terror from the floating restaurant Eton Boating Song. In the bar of the Eton, he'd had the choice spot, discreetly purveying high-stakes drugs to the restaurant's well-to-do patrons. Now he's dead, his throat cut, and the police know that the drug syndicates are in an all-out war, with the Eton as the prize. Police officer Naomi Anstruther is sent undercover into this turbulent world. Right away she becomes an unknowing pawn in the rival criminals' plans and in the complex struggle between Harpur and his rival, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles. 'Masterly . . . there is nothing else quite like this series' The Times
Eleri ap Vaughan, Keith Vine's best dealer, has turned to other drugs wholesalers for her supplies. Now she has to die. For the threat of invasion by rival syndicates cannot be ignored, particularly as an elegantly dressed spy from London, nicknamed Lovely Mover, is in the area. Eleri's death must serve as a warning to others to stay loyal.It's at times like these that Vine's new partner, Detective Chief Inspector Colin Harpur, will prove invaluable - for example, in sweeping the murder scene for incriminating evidence. Harpur, however, is playing a dangerous game, and he now finds himself in the precarious position of covering up a murder and investigating it. 'There is nothing else quite like this series...all delivered in a ferociously poetic voice that is uniquely Bill James' The Times
Ralph Ember, owner of a shady drinking club, is playing a dangerous game. Someone knows of his plans to set up his own drugs syndicate. And that someone is not keen on the competition. But who are Ralph's trade rivals? The ambitious Keith Vine? Cultured villain Mansel Shale? Perhaps even Detective Chief Constable Colin Harpur and his superior Desmond Iles, about whom there are rumours.And Harpur is developing his own plan - one so secret it could cost him his job, so dangerous it could cost him his life . . .'Extraordinary and electrifying' Val McDermid
Thirteen-year-old Mandy Walsh has been gunned down in the street, caught in the crossfire between rival drug gangs. For Chief Constable Lane there is only one option - infiltrate the drug syndicates and rid his patch of this menace. Unfortunately, Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles has a better idea: let the gangland police itself in return for a few 'favours'. As his superiors battle it out, Detective Chief Superintendent takes a closer look at Mandy's death. He learns the bullets that killed her were not fired by the warring gang. There was, it seems, a third gunman targeting Mandy...'Comes off the page like electricity' Sunday Times
When Oliphant Kenward Knapp's drug-dealing empire comes up for grabs, there's a rush to control his domain. Caught in the middle is Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur who must protect his informant, Keith Vine, and his pregnant girlfriend.Unfortunately, his amoral superior Desmond Iles is determined to keep the couple in the midst of danger - as bait for the underworld villains. Can Harpur provide them with the protection they need? Especially when it becomes clear that Keith himself has resorted to murder?'An excellent and alarmingly realistic novel' Independent
Fear grips the drugs underworld after two principals in the trade are murdered, and even Assistant Chief Constable Desmond Iles is under a cloud of suspicion.Now the chief players start closing in on a fortune, while Iles, Chief Constable Mark Lane and Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur plunge into their own fierce struggle to control the game.'An unconventional and spicy tour-de-force. James is terrific' Frances Fyfield
'One of British crime writing's hidden jewels' Time OutMegan Harpur had taken the train back from London to tell her husband she was leaving him for another man. By the time Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur discovered her in the station car park in the early hours of the morning, there was nothing anyone could do. Who had committed this savage killing? And what did Megan's lover's secret activities have to do with it? The crime confronts Harpur with the most unnerving case of his career - an investigation into his own wife's brutal and apparently senseless murder.
'One of British crime writing's hidden jewels' Time OutAt 19 years old Denise Prior knew little about criminals and even less about the law. In hindsight only her innocence was to blame for her affair with Detective Inspector Colin Harpur. That same innocence led to a friendship with ballet student Helen Surtees - live-in lover of Harpur's number one informer, Jack Lamb. It wasn't until later that the guns came out for the raid on the Link Street sub-post office. The tip-off had come from Jack Lamb and Harpur wanted to be there . . . but the Link Street shoot out changed everything, and Harpur's actions made Denise the only possible victim for a cruel and terrible revenge.
When a large chunk of a bank heist vanishes, the thugs who pulled off the job - and survived - are a little upset. One of them, it appears, has different ideas about sharing the loot fairly and it soon becomes every man for himself. Now, Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur is on the case. This is a search for high stakes, a search in which the competitors will stop at nothing. Not even murder. 'James has to be the funniest crime writer now trespassing on that twilight territory where fuzz and felons make their moves and talk their humorous heads off, with menace constantly rippling beneath the surface' Sunday Times
Suspects in the fatal bludgeoning of lowlife Ian Aston include his criminal pals - and Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur's superior officer Desmond Iles, whose wife, Sarah, was having an affair with Aston. As Harpur appears to take Aston's place in Sarah's affections, local club owner Ralph Ember takes over the dead man's spot in the criminal hierarchy, becoming a reluctant participant in a bank scheme that seems cursed from the start.'The tortuous private lives of James's policemen are often more savage than the crimes they investigate . . . Mr James is bruisingly good' Sunday Telegraph
The sixth title in the popular Harpur and Iles series.'Planner' Preston, a lifetime of successful robberies behind him, is organising a heist against a wages van, ill-guarded and with a predictable route. After hiring the necessary manpower and allowing for every contingency, Planner sets a date. Then one of his team learns that the route has lengthened and the guard has been doubled. Against his instincts, but goaded by the young recruits who think he has become timid in his old age, Planner agrees to go ahead - even though he knows the risks.Harpur and Iles always suspect Preston is planning something and view even a visit to the dentist as cause for speculation. Now, the increase in activity surrounding Planner's associates begins to turn their detective antennae firmly in his direction.
The fifth title in the popular Harpur and Iles series.Sarah Iles' latest young lover, Ian Aston, and the seedy gangland club he frequents both possess the intense attraction of the forbidden. When one night at the Monty they witness a fatal knifing, they unwittingly learn far too much for their own good of a deadly plot that could, if successfully executed, rearrange the city's criminal power structure. Immediately, the unfaithful wife and petty criminal become targets of both police and underworld observation. In Come Clean Bill James once again explores that no-man's-land of law enforcement, where human concern and naked expediency stand perennially at odds with each other.
The fourth title in the popular Harpur and Iles series.When Bernard 'Tenderness' Mellick maims Ivor Wright with a blowtorch, Wright retaliates from his hospital bed by sending his men to kidnap Mellick's 11-year old son. At the same time, a colleague of Harpur's, Hubert Scott, is the subject of an internal investigation. Scott's longterm underworld contact just happens to be 'Tenderness' Mellick, and it is Mellick's plight which gives Scott an idea that if successful, could tie up a number of loose ends and clear him in the eyes of the department. 'Extraordinary and electrifying' Val McDermid
The third title in the popular Harpur and Iles series.Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur is disconsolate: his mistress, the widow of a fellow officer, has recently married another cop; and Ray Street, the young policeman that Colin sent undercover to infiltrate a druglord's gang, is recklessly endangering himself.When Street is murdered, Harpur plants evidence implicating the druglord, but a clever barrister sways the jury, and the druglord goes free - free, as it turns out, to meet an altogether more basic kind of justice.
The second title in the popular Harpur and Iles series.Five teenage girls have been raped and murdered, and the criminal is still at large. Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, assigned to the case, is a tough hunter, but so is the 'Lolita man' watching the school playgrounds. Now it looks as if the daughter of Harpur's friend may be the latest victim. Virtually obsessed with the urgency of the matter, and hampered by the bitter police rivalry that is jeopardising the case, Harpur decides to go it alone.
Barry Forshaw on Ian Rankin and Bill James... Ian Rankin is one of the UK’s bestselling British crime writers. Aficionados admire the gritty, socially committed toughness of his books, along with their vividly realised sense of place. And these are exactly the qualities that may be found in the work of the veteran Bill James, whose astonishing consistency over many years is a continuing cause for admiration. And, like Rankin, James has few equals when it comes to memorable, highly individual dialogue. Fans of Rankin’s Rebus novels – including Resurrection Men – will relish Bill James’ Harpur and Iles novels: start with You'd Better Believe It.
Since he first began publishing his Baseball Abstracts in the 1980s, Bill James has constantly challenged conventional wisdom by asking simple questions like, "e;Is that really true?"e; or "e;What if we looked at the question this way?"e; He has sparked a virtual revolution in the way the game of baseball is understood and played, from how players are evaluated or positioned to whether or not they should attempt to bunt or steal a base. In Solid Fool s Gold James continues his lifelong work with new analyses of: Hot pitchers, clutch pitching, and "e;late career"e; players The predictability of RBI A better way to organize the minor leagues The 33 best starting rotations and the worst teams of all time The best pitching matchups of the 1980s (and 2010) How the "e;Expansion Time Bomb"e; will affect the Hall of FameBut it is not just baseball that draws James inquisitive eye. He discusses the growing expectation for tips and decreasing effectiveness of advertising; his new method for measuring rainfall; the counterproductive use of physical stop lights and red-light cameras; and the statistical inefficiencies of the federal Transportion Security Administration. James wonders how Buck O Neil would have related to his ancestor s cousin (Supreme Court Justice James Clark McReynolds), proposes whimsical rules for Olympic NASCAR Racing, and poeticizes about Ricky Weeks and WikiLeaks. He compares the chances of a particular-size town producing a Justin Verlander or a William Shakespeare, imagines Roger Maris apologizing in heaven for having beaten Babe Ruth s single-season home run record, and explains how to "e;battle expertise with the power of ignorance."e; As a bonus, he includes one of his seminal articles from The Bill James Baseball Abstract 1983 titled "e;The Law of Competitive Advantage"e; and looks at how it has held up over the intervening years.
First time in U.S. paperback, the third in Bill James's standout, witty, well above the ordinary series (starred reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist). When Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur places young policeman Ray Street undercover in a vicious drug gang, the entire department knows the risks. If Street is found out, he will take his place in the halo parade. Then the killing of a fellow officer will have to be avenged, by whatever means . . .
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