1 comments about Stealing Home: Intimate Family Portrait by the Daughter of Jackie Robinson, An.

1. I guess I went into this book with the wrong expectations. I thought this would be a book about Jackie Robinson. But it was almost exclusively about Sharon, his daughter. And though she had an interesting life, I feel like her book didn't go far beyond the surface.

   I felt like she really didn't know her father all that well, or at least she didn't express that in the story. I have no doubt that Jackie Robinson was as great a man as the public believed him to be. However after reading this book, it seems like Sharon got parts of her life from reading articles from past newspapers. I don't feel like I understand the workings of her family any better than I would if I had simply watched old news clips.

   I wasn't ever bored with the book and I am glad that the Robinson's were a functionsl black family amidst so much external societal strife. Sharon does do a good job of showing the rest of us the priveleages and the tribulations of being the child of a famous African-A! merican in the 1950's and 60's. She also shows that there are still racial conflicts even when blacks and whites are on the same economic level. Overall its a B+, Robinson was not only a premiere ballplayer, but an outstanding father!

No comments about Baseball Forever: Reflections on 60 Years in the Game.

No comments about Comó llegó a ser grande...Carlos Zambrano.

2 comments about The Kid: Ted Williams in San Diego.

1. This book was a very pleasant surprise. It is one book that details his early years in San Diego. Reading of Ted's high school games, tournaments, the PCL, his exibition games in SD, etc, was great. Unfortunately the second half really bogs down with some information that I was not interested in. Researching the origins of his family; the father's military and work record; etc. were not the things I was looking for. Too much time was spent debating the years his parents were born - and then never really coming to a conclusion. Again, there was too much in the second half of the book that was of very little interest to me. I would rate the first half of the book 5 stars. The second half detracts from the book.



2. Ive read 8 books in the last year about ted williams and I found that this book doesnt talk as much about his life but more of his statistics throughout his years in the PCL , AA , HS , and MLB. It is amazing that they were able to find the statistics they did for his highschool days and the few tournaments he played in. But if you are going for a more complete book about his life I would go with Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero by Leigh Montville.

No comments about The Quiet Hero: A Baseball Story.

2 comments about Connie Mack: A Life in Baseball.

1. It is evident that writing and publishing this book was a labor of love for its author, and for that he is to be commended. Although the book is primarily a narration of the highs and lows of the early and middle years of the Philadelphia Athletics, it does provide some basic biographical information on Connie Mack himself. As a devoted fan of the various incarnations of the Athletics, I appreciated this opportunity to learn more about their early years and become better acquainted with their legendary and revered manager/owner.

   However, be advised that this book is riddled with grammatical mistakes. I found that I was so distracted by having to decipher the text through all the mistakes that my appreciation of the book was greatly diminished. If you depend upon quality writing, as I do, then reading this book will not be an enjoyable experience.




2. THIS IS A GOOD ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF CONNICE MACK AND THE HISTORY OF THE PHILADELPHIA A'S. THE BOOK SPENDS MORE TIME ON A SEASON BY SEASON HISTORY OF THE A'S THAN ON THE LIFE OF CONNIE MACK BUT IT IS VERY INTERESTING AND VERY FACT FILLED. I ENJOYED THIS BOOK AND RECOMMEND IT FOR HISTORIANS AND BASEBALL FANS. CONNIE WAS TRULY ONE OF A KIND OWNER. HIS YEARS IN BASEBALL ARE UNSURPASSED AND HIS LEGEND WILL LIVE FOREVER. A GOOD READ.

1 comments about Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson's First Spring Training.

1. An excellently researched and written book. One would think that there isn't much new to be said about Jackie Robinson, who is among the two or three most written-about men in the history of baseball, but Lamb tells a story that has previously received little attention, mainly because the mainstream news media didn't think it was worth covering.
   
   Lamb points out that black newspapers covered Robinson from the moment he began spring training with the Montreal Royals in 1946, and he uses many of those papers as his sources. In retelling the story of Branch Rickey's historic decision to sign Robinson and break baseball's color line, he refuses to treat Rickey as a lone, saintly hero; he points out that, for decades before Rickey joined the fray, black newspapers, socialists, and Communists had been agitating for the inclusion of blacks in organized baseball. Lamb shows that Lester Rodney, sportswriter for The Daily Worker, was also instrumental in the struggle to bring integration to the game. His is a name that seems to have been dropped from the record when other authors retell Robinson's story.
   
   The most powerful aspect of the book is the way Lamb portrays the gagging outrageousness of the racial prejudice and discrimination Robinson faced in the Jim Crow-era American south. The vicious, buck-naked bigotry he and other blacks encountered ought to make every white American ashamed.

5 comments about Ain't No Sense Worryin: The Wisdom of Mick "the Quick" Rivers.

1. This book by Mickey Rivers is truly unique. It reads more like a loosely connected bunch of stories somewhat covering his life and career. Mickey breaks the rules of proper grammar in favor of telling a story in his own words.
   The book is interesting, but lacking in any real depth. You can probably read it quickly in one setting, but I would rather have a meatier book from one of the true characters of the game, a man who spent time on one of the craziest and greatest baseball teams ever.



2. In a sense, this book IS Mickey Rivers - humorous, irreverent, oddly distracted, and in a sense somewhat disassociated from the reality that the rest of us live in. On the surface, the book is little more than a collection of mildly to moderately humorous stories: other than (arguably) Billy Martin, Rivers does little to expose facets of the people he discusses that we aren't already well aware of.

   Yet in the telling of the stories Mickey does expose much of his inner self to the reader, and in so doing he more or less validates the title of the book. Apparently, Mickey truly didn't believe in worryin' about anything: his marriage, taking care of himself physically, what others thought of his various and sundry antics. Having said all of that, though, Rivers does come off as quite likable - he may have more or less unconsciously made his way through his career, but at least he did so with a smile on his face and a desire to do the best he could with those talents that he could readily muster.

   In the end, I gave this book three stars because one doesn't get the feeling that Rivers put much thought into it, but what the heck... if the book was full of deep self-contemplation, it wouldn't be Mickey, would it?




3. A great book for Yanks fans as well as other baseball fans, and a great trip down memory lane for those of us who remember and treasure the late 70s Yanks and Sox.

   I bought this because Mick's odd yet wise quotes were legendary during his playing career, kind of a next-generation Yogi Berra. (A nice touch in the book is that it includes many of these quotes in his own handwriting.) Mick recalls his baseball life with humor and a deep sensitivity, especially for those teammates who are gone -- Thurman Munson, Billy Martin, Catfish Hunter, Jim SPencer, etc. For example, he recounts his post-game activities playing ball with kids around the stadium and racing them down the street, and talks about the importance that today's players - Jeter, Williams, etc. - be role models for children.

   A quick read that will bring you back to the Bronx Zoo. (Particularly enjoyed the story about how Mick's wife played bumper cars w/ his Benz and Cadillac in the Yankee Stadium parking lot - bet The Boss loved cleaning up...)




4. I had hoped this book would be a lot more of a biography. Instead it was written as if the reader was a 10 year old. Not informative and a waste of money.



5. I purchased this book at the Yogi Berra museum in Montclair, NJ during a book signing by Mickey Rivers himself. I always liked him, and knew about his witty quotes, however, I never realized what a genuinely nice person he was. At the book signing, he talked to me for more than 5 minutes. The fact he's a nice person comes across loud and clear in the book as well. He tells tales of his childhood, the minor leagues, the Angels, Yankees, Rangers, and other experiences. The book is written in a conversational style, as if Mickey is talking right to you. You get a feel for the man, and you get to hear good stories as well. As you read, you'll laugh and come to like Mickey more and more. For me, I started to long for the days of my youth when the Yankees Bronx Zoo team battled with the Boston Red Sox, the KC Royals and the LA Dodgers. All in all, this book is a thoroughly enjoyable read. If you enjoy humorous baseball stories in an easy-to-read format, I highly recommend Ain't No Sense Worryin'.

2 comments about Things Happen for a Reason: The True Story of an Itinerant Life in Baseball.

1. This book is a short fast read a fairly detailed account of Terry Leach's major league career. While it contains almost no controversy or dirt, espicially when he was a member of the "bad boy" Late 80s Mets, the book is a good read when if you would like to know about the lesser players in baseball.



2. To be honest, I really wanted to like this book because Terry Leach seems like a good guy and an honest man, but this book isn't one that I'll think of when I think about good baseball books. It's an autobiographical account of his playing days in college at Auburn, the minor leagues, and the big leagues with the Mets, Royals, Twins, and White Sox. It's not a very well-written book. For example, there are a number of grammatical errors. He tends to use the word myself a lot when he could just use I or me. He also makes way too many excuses for his failures (I wasn't used right, I was hurt, etc., etc., etc.,) and he also complains too much about not being treated right by the different teams that unceremoniously dump him. When he does taste success he can't stop raving about himself or praising himself. On the plus side, this book is easy to read and easy to follow. It's possible to finish this book in the amount of time it takes to watch an entire major league baseball game. Another good thing is that he doesn't have anything bad to say about old teammates, managers, etc. The closest he comes to bad-mouthing someone is when he says that he didn't care for some of his teammates in the minors. He seems like a genuinely good man, and that's why it's too bad this book wasn't a bit more interesting to read.

No comments about The Mainieri Factor: Promoting Baseball With a Passion From Miami Dade to Notre Dame, LSU and the Chicago Cubs.