In 1972 Golenbock was a lawyer with Prentice-Hall, checking reports, when he induced them to publish his book about the Yankees, Dynasty. In 1978 The Bronx Zoo, written with Sparky Lyle, sold 220,000 hardcover copies. His other baseball books include Guidry, with Ron Guidry, Number 1, with Billy Martin, and Bums, about the Brooklyn Dodgers.