BOWLED OVER: A ROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE

Bowling lore tells of an Italian immigrant who could launch two balls consecutively at different speeds so that they crossed paths mid-lane and toppled, at exactly the same instant, the two pins of the loathed snake-fangs 7-10 split. He was Andy Varipapa, one of the alley heroes of a marvelously illustrated short appreciation of the sport’s ”Age of Gleam” from 1945 to 1960. Like Varipapa, the authors are making something cool out of something uncool, and although their prose lacks the finesse of a heat-seeking strike ball, at least they wear their dorky bowling shoes, so to speak, with unashamed pride.