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Two recent books exceed expectations as Yankees tributes.

Yankee Stadium may have been forced into a premature funeral two weeks ago, with its longtime tenants missing the postseason for the first time since 1993. But while many superficial tributes riding the pinstripe-powered wave of nostalgia have surfaced over the past couple of weeks, this pair of books proves much more rewarding than the dozens of other capitalizations on the landmark's passing.

The opening pages of Harvey Frommer's hefty Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of "The House That Ruth Built" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $45, 239 pages) feature almost-claustrophobic images of Don Larsen, Lou Gehrig, Roger Maris and Mariano Rivera, managing to immerse the reader in the Stadium environs before they've even reached the table of contents. These photos set the stage for an 85-year journey the staunchest Red Sox fan could appreciate. That's because Frommer, a Dartmouth professor and oral historian who's written 40 books, doesn't make the mistake of celebrating the history of the Yankees exclusively. Sure, the decade-by-decade narrative and first-person reminiscences may center around the baseball team and venue namesake. But Frommer's grounded prose and obvious appreciation for baseball beyond the Bronx makes this tribute palatable for even the most hardened Yankee hater.

A second Yank tribute -- Babe Ruth: Remembering the Bambino in Stories, Photos & Memorabilia (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35, 175 pages) -- was written by the subject's daughter Julia Ruth Stevens in tandem with veteran author and newspaper man Bill Gilbert. The familial connection lends a certain authenticity to this chronicle of one of the 20th century's towering personalities. But it's an ostensibly kooky but surprisingly well-executed novelty which engages the reader most: The book includes 10 pull-out facsimile reproductions of memorabilia, from a copy of Ruth's first professional contract, to World Series tickets from 1922, to the official souvenir program from Opening Day at Yankee Stadium in 1923. The exquisitely detailed program from the '32 World Series is 10 pages, complete with an New York University football schedule and outmoded advertisements (for Chesterfields and White Rock mineral water).

We endured Yankee Stadium fatigue as much as anybody else during the occasionally insufferable month of September. But with their fresh and innovative takes on an officially bygone era, both Remembering Yankee Stadium and Babe Ruth may actually leave you wistful for the history they describe.