Book Description
What would legendary Boston Celtics coach and 16-time NBA champion Red Auerbach say is the most critical quality for a person to be successful? Would his advice differ from 10-time NCAA championship coach John Wooden's? What would each say to a young person just starting out in pursuit of their dreams? What is the best advice they were ever given?
It took author Christian Klemash more than two years of research, persistence, and original interviews, but now he's ready to pass on the best advice you'll ever get. Only the rare individual has had the opportunity to pick the brain of just one legendary sports coach—let alone thirty-four of the best sports coaches of all time. Klemash gives sports fans a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn valuable life lessons from the most famous, intelligent, and victorious coaches ever. The legends span the sports world, from gold medal-winning gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi and three-time college football championship coach Tom Osborne to four-time World Series-winning baseball manager Joe Torre and hall-of-fame boxing trainer Angelo Dundee.
These coaches know how to teach top athletes about character and winning, how to manage pressure at crunch time, and how to bring out the best in their players when it matters most. How to Succeed in the Game of Life shares their insights into sports, life, and the most vital keys to sustain success.Featuring Exclusive Interviews with:
Red Auerbach, 16-time NBA World Champion
Bobby Bowden, College Football's All-Time Winningest Coach, 2-time National Champion
Scotty Bowman, 9-time Stanley Cup Champion
Bill Cowher, Super Bowl Champion
Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Champion
Dan Gable, 15-time NCCA Champion
April Heinrichs, Gold Medal Winning Coach of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
Bela Karolyi, The World’s Greatest Gymnastics Coach
Bill Parcells, 2-time Super Bowl Champion
Emanuel Steward, Boxing Trainer of 30 World Champions
Joe Torre, 4-time World Series Champion
Bill Walsh, 3-time Super Bowl Champion
Lenny Wilkens, NBA’s All-Time Winningest Coach, NBA Champion
John Wooden, 10-time NCAA Champion
And More!
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read.......2007-08-26
Wow!Could not put it down.An extraordinay self help book.Gave it to my kids they loved it.Don't miss this one
What a great read!.......2007-07-25
I took it on vacation with me and I couldn't put it down. A great book for aspiring athletes and coaches as well as your average Joe who works 9-5. The coaches discuss a variety of topics from their childhood to how they motivate their players. Any easy read for all ages.
Game of life.......2007-07-24
I've read through Game of Life and I enjoyed it very much. There are so many things to take from this book, not just into sports, but also some reflections on life. I would recommend this book to everybody.
Coaching advise from athletic coaches.......2007-06-27
A fun read, especially if yoiu're a sports fan. I read it in search of things that would help my own ability as a coach in my company. Much of it is light stuff but the easy read makes it fun nonetheless and there are few golden nuggets laced throughout the book.
Overcome Adversity.......2007-04-12
Anyone looking for inspiration, either for their own life or to share with others, will find a gold mine of quotes here. This book isn't just for sports fans.
Book Description
Set in the vibrant Industrial Age and filigreed with family drama and epic ambition, Crosley chronicles one of the great untold tales of the twentieth century. Born in the late 1800s into a humble world of dirt roads and telegraphs, Powel and Lewis Crosley were opposites in many ways but shared drive, talent, and an unerring knack for knowing what Americans wanted. Their pioneering inventions — from the first mass-produced economy car to the push-button radio — and breakthroughs in broadcasting and advertising made them both wealthy and famous, as did their ownership of the Cincinnati Reds. But as their fortunes grew, so did Powel’s massive ego, which demanded he own eight mansions and seven yachts at the height of the Great Depression. Rich with detailed reminiscences from surviving family members, Crosley is both a powerful saga of a heady time in American history and an intimate tale of two brilliant brothers navigating triumph and tragedy.
Customer Reviews:
a msut read for radio fans.......2007-08-27
Great read for a radio fan or anyone interested in early 20th century business moguls.
The Crosley Empire.......2007-08-23
I bought this book for my brother who owned a Crosley years ago, but I read it before I gave it to him. Great book! One of the best I have read in a long time.
It was a great history lesson and you do not have to be a Crosley buff to enjoy it.
Would highly recommend.
Richard Flory
Crosley: Two Brothers and a Business Empire That Transformed the Nation.......2007-08-11
The person for whom I purchased the book absolutely loves it!! It's the story, the pictures and presentation that just makes reading it so enjoyable. I'm very glad that I made this purchase.
Industrial pioneers.......2007-07-23
I'm sitting in a home full of computers, MP3 players, dvd recorders and players, a satellite TV box, and scores of electric appliances that are smarter than I am. Reading of a time when consumer electronics were unknown, and the primary electric appliance was a lightbulb, is like looking into the dark ages. Well, not quite. But you know what I mean.
The Crosley name is one that I've heard around my home throughout my life, but with the exception of a Crosley radio on a shelf, my knowledge of the company or the men that founded the firm was fuzzy at best. The authors have done an outstanding job at fleshing out Powel and Lewis Crosley and the world they lived in and revolutionized.
Many a novel I've read non-stop, but this is the first biography that I've done an "all-nighter" with.
The authors had no axe to grind, the times were well fleshed out, and one's faith in the ability of someone to think it up and do it, is reaffirmed. It was chock full of interesting information and facts, and I found myself checking Google satellite maps for locations mentioned in the book (Yes, the Arlington St. location still exisits and the satellite pic catches the executive tower, one-time home of WLW).
There is some bumpy writing, as noted in a few other reviews. I blame not the authors, but the editor. The boys really like their cliches. Lawyers are always "Sharpening their pencils," people come and go "Exit Stage right/left, Enter stage right/left;" and so many variations of "Masses not the classes" permeated the text, I wondered if they had some sort of Bolshevik thing going on.
That aside, this guy will be giving several copies of this book for Christmas this year - and I can't think of a better testimonial to the book.
Crosley.......2007-05-31
This was one of the most intersting biog. I have read in a long time. It is hard to believe the brothers could jam that much into just one lifetime and then it was all gone. I heartly recommend this book if you have an interest in one of our most exciting periods.
Book Description
The Cincinnati Reds, founding fathers of professional baseball, have no historical equal. The team has a history rich in players, personalities, and championship moments. Echoes of Cincinnati Reds Baseball chronicles that history through some of the greatest sportswriting of the past century and a half. From the original Red Stockings to Johnny Vander Meer, and from the Big Red Machine to Junior, this book covers all the bases that define Cincinnati Reds baseball.
Book Description
The 1919 World Series is baseball's black eye, resulting in eight members of the White Sox being banned from the game for life for intentionally losing the series. Moviegoers recognize Shoeless Joe Jackson, the slugging outfielder for the Sox, from such popular films as Eight Men Out and Field of Dreams. And most baseball aficionados have seen photos of the grim-faced baseball commissioner who banned the offending players from the game.
But there is another side to the story, revealed for the first time in Red Legs and Black Sox. Author Susan Dellinger focuses on the series from the Cincinnati Reds’ perspective, as told by her grandfather, Edd Roush, star player of the 1919 Reds. This is a story that is far more complicated than previous movies and books have alluded to, involving fixes on both teams — and corruption right down to the leagues themselves.
Customer Reviews:
Romanced Fantasy.......2007-03-06
I found this book to book to be a disappointment. The problem was that it was written by Roush's granddaughter. It is not impartial, nor objective. In the book he does nothing wrong, or even off color, yet many other players do, while the worst that he does is drink beer and hold out during spring training. Despite any situation in the book he is always the "hero." It is unrealistic. Many of the conversations in the book are not referenced. We do not know how they were obtained. They were probably manufactured. The book comes across as a relection of a heroic grandfather. The grammatical errors toward the end of the book show a rush to finish the project. The conclusion that the 1919 Redlegs were the top team and that it was time to crown them as such was outlandish. It ignored the fact that the WhiteSox were, in fact, the favored team in that series. The evidence points to the fact that they did throw games intentionally. It is further ludicrious that she suggests that the 1919 Redlegs were the greatest Reds team ever, over the Big Red Machine. I found this book to be a waste of time to read. I was very disappointed after reading the final chapter, yet relieved.
Another Piece Of The Puzzle.......2006-07-21
Susan Dellinger, the granddaughter of Edd Roush, pens a biography on the legendary outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds, with the focus at about the halfway portion of the book on the 1919 World Series.
There has been so much written concerning the infamous "Black Sox Scandel," but Dellinger adds a piece to the puzzle through the perspective of Roush. Roush had heard about the fix from a Cincinnati businessman and had the opinion that several players on his club were attempting to dump games late in the series.
The book demonstrates how gambling was part of baseball; from those who made of living of playing/manipulating the odds, to the fans in the "cheap seats," and - importantly - the players and team management.
There will never be a definitive account of the fix. But Dellinger delivers a few more facts that will allow the reader to make a determination on "what really happened" that fall in Cincinnati, Chicago and cities large and small throughout the country.
Was this book edited?.......2006-07-10
I am in the midst of reading this book and generally enjoying it (other than having to keep flipping pages to read the footnotes, they would be more convenient at the bottom of each page). However, I am curious as to what extent the final version was edited. The number of basic misspellings and grammatical errors is astounding. For example, on page 59 there are three alone. First, the last sentence in the first full paragraph starts out, 'He handled her the bag....' Handled her the bag???! Second, at the end of that sentence, there is no period. Finally, in the last sentence of the page (above the letter being written), 'stationery' is misspelled 'stationary'. The word for paper for writing is spelled w/ 'ery', not 'ary'. Just wondering if anyone else noticed these and the various other errors.
Still waiting for a definitive Edd Roush biography.......2006-07-04
Students of dead ball era ballplayers and of the Black Sox scandal of 1919 will find this book a mixed bag. The writing style is often more fitting for a novel than an academic study of the author's grandfather, Hall of Fame centerfielder Edd Roush (who straddled the dead ball-live ball era). The novelistic technique in what is purported to be non-fiction includes the frequent placing of words in people's mouths, words the author cannot know were ever spoken. Edmund Morris was justifiably criticized for this in "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan."
Amateur psychological analysis of long-dead historical figures, verbal anachronisms (superstar as merely one example), and lack of comment on the prejudices of the day make for reader distraction. The lack of an index is inexcusable. On the good side, there are hitherto unseen pictures, and the author had access to family sources and scrapbooks that bring forward some new perspectives. The book will cause the reader to re-examine the conventional wisdom that an honest White Sox club would have easily beaten the Cincinnati Reds in 1919.
[...].
A new look at an old subject.......2006-05-15
I had high hopes for the book. I'm an avid reader of anything related to Reds history, and the early-1900 era has always fascinated me.
Let me start by saying that the book seems well researched. The author (the granddaughter of Edd Roush, perhaps the greatest player of Cincinnati's 1919 squad) clearly spent a great deal of time tracking down information, never before seen photos, and she did a fairly decent job of examining a topic that's been exmained in baseball literature over and over and over again. From a strictly fact-finding standpoint, the book is a success.
However, I found that the overall story just didn't live up to my own expectations. Maybe that's my own fault, and not the book's, but I think a lot of baseball fans will come to the same realization I did. At times, the book felt too "cutesy." I doubt the recreations of some of the conversations and events. And I got the impression that the author didn't enter the project with a great deal of baseball knowledge.
Book Description
As part of every Reds game broadcast on the Reds Radio Network, Greg Rhodes, noted baseball historian and director of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, presents a brief, colorful account of a memorable moment in the history of America's longest-running baseball team. These pieces have become a favorite feature for Reds fans, who love to celebrate the Big Red Machine’s long and storied history and traditions. This collection brings together every single one of Rhodes' pieces in a single book for both Reds fans and baseball aficionados. Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Highlights chronicles more than 130 years of history and five world series championships and includes over 300 short accounts of the team’s greatest, saddest, wildest, and weirdest players and moments. Packed with over 100 photos furnished by the Reds and their museum, the book pays tribute to a team that remains one of America's favorites.
Customer Reviews:
A 'must' for all dedicated Reds fans .......2007-07-10
Compiled and organized from his pre-game radio broadcasts over the Reds Radio network by sports announcer Greg Rhodes (who is also a Reds baseball team historian and the executive director of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum), "Cincinnati Reds Hall Of Fame Highlights" is a unique compendium of commentaries arranged in chronological order. Profusely illustrated throughout with photos and illustrations of some of the greatest players and plays in the more than 130 years of Cincinnati Reds history, Rhodes covers the team's highs and lows, including some of the grim moments, the goof escapades, and the truly glorious moments of Reds baseball. Reds fans will learn about Hall of Famer Edd Roush falling asleep in centerfield during a lengthy, heated argument between Reds manager Pat Moran and the presiding umpire (and when play resumed, Roush was ejected). Then there was the time when Reds General Manager Bob Howsam ordered his players to run for the dugout after their final out against the Yankees in the 1976 World Series to avoid a possible riot with irate New York Fans at Yankee Stadium. Simply put, Greg Rhodes' "Cincinnati Reds Hall Of Fame Highlights" is a 'must' for all dedicated Reds fans and a very highly recommended reading for all baseball fans and a core addition to academic library American Sports History reference collections.
Book Description
The 1975 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds is generally considered the best of all time, and baseball historians often rank its sixth game as the greatest single game ever played. Adelman opens his story of this epochal summer with the dramatic preseason showdown between owners and players that catalyzed free agency, increased player salaries, and launched an age when baseball would be less about the game and more about 'the green.' THE LONG BALL then tells the dramatic story of the star-studded season that followed and the heart-stopping series itself. With unforgettable portraits of some of baseball's most colorful characters, this is an affecting look at baseball's last great days-all of it leading up to a magical home run that wins a game for a losing team and leaves the bat with the thump of a heartbeat.
Customer Reviews:
An entertaining read.......2007-05-12
"The Long Ball" is definitely an entertaining read. There were laugh-out-loud moments as the author described some of the plays in the '75 World Series. The first half of the book covers the regular '75 season, many of its players and teams, while the second half concentrates on the post-season. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because the author's slant in favor of the Boston Red Sox eventually emerges as an unmistakable bias. I would have liked to see the book's approach be more even-handed between the Reds and Red Sox, especially since it was the Reds that won the World Series, not Boston. Still, a very enjoyable read. Recommended.
Not impressed.......2005-11-29
Don't let my review scare you from wanting to read this book. My reasons are obvious...I found myself in a love hate relationship with this one. As a die hard red sox fan I purchased this book with only them in mind. My only intentions were to learn more about the history of the sox. There was a lot more information than I needed to know in this book. All the other information was good but unnecessary to me. I found my self skipping around to get to the information that kept me awake.
The detail that was good was really good (this is why I still gave the book three stars). Some of the information on the hall of fame players that are described in the book was perfect. How Pete Rose played the game, How Carbo got to bat in the ninth, how the camera stayed on Pudge after he hit the bomb, what happened to Tony C. etc etc. If your a red sox fan and you wouldn't mind fighting through all the useless facts about the other teams, you would definitely enjoy this one. But if you're easily distracted there are probably better books out there on the history of the sox.
Warning Track Power.......2005-08-26
Tom Adelman's The Long Ball: The Summer of '75 is both an interesting and frustrating read. The concept of the book is excellent. Connecting various stories of the 1975 season in a cut and paste manner makes for a more interesting read than just a straight chronological account. Mr. Adelman is also very adept at painting a descriptive picture of the events he is relaying. The frustrating part is that he is very inaccurate with his facts and one never knows if everything is real. The story about how Barry Bonds started choking up on the bat during bat day at Shea Stadium just seems too far fetched to believe. This other similar stories of young Ken Griffrey, Jr., Mark McGwire & Rickey Henderson lead you to question how accurate or real the stories of the actual '75 are.
Makes you feel like you're right there in 1975.......2005-05-17
I happened to stumble upon this book at a local bookstore. The paperback cover said it was a "national bestseller." After a quick glimpse through it, I decided to pick it up. I wasn't disappointed. Adelman makes you feel as though you are right in the thick of things during the 1975 season. Newlywed Johnny Bench is featured prominently, as are Bobby Bonds and his son Barry, Pete Rose, Carlton Fisk, and Sparky Anderson. There isn't any reminiscing on how this year was, Adelman puts you right there month by month. The League Championship Series' and World Series are expounded upon greatly. The World Series is broken down by the days including the rainout days. A very good book. Recommended.
Why didn't I hear about this book sooner?.......2005-04-30
I just discovered this book at a local bookseller. I read it over the course of a few evenings, and I continue telling friends about cool tidbits I learned from The Long Ball.
Adelman's done his research, and his crisp, fast-paced writing gets you in the game quickly. Even if you're not a Reds or Red Sox fan, there's plenty in the book to enjoy, as it celebrates not only numerous players' personalities, but the nuances that make baseball so enjoyable for so many.
Book Description
Sam Fowler is taking a modern-day Amtrak home to San Francisco when an unscheduled stop somewhere west of Cleveland gives him the opportunity to stretch his legs. Instead, Sam finds that time has stretched and mysteriously transported him back to 1869.
Bewildered at first, Sam soon meets up with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's first all-professional team, and begins to ride the rails with them on their first national tour across post-Civil War America. He encounters a political conspiracy, a get-rich-quick scheme with Mark Twain, and through it all, the shaky-legged beginnings of America's favorite pastime . . . before it ever was!
"Could be the baseball novel of the new season . . . IF I NEVER GET BACK takes the reader out to the old ball game with great charm." -- The New York Times
"Engrossing . . . Intriguing . . . Exciting and fast-paced." -- The Washington Post Book World
From the Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Best baseball novel ever.......2007-08-23
This is a book I've read several times. I'd like to know where Mr. Brock found out so much about Charlie sweazy, Asa Brainard et al, to make these characters come alive the way they do. There were a few political issue editorials Darryl brought into the story. But these surely do not detract from the book. I wish I had Andy Leonard as a brother as well.
You will hate to see the end of this book as it is entertaining(and historically accurate) from first page to last. As I said earlier, it's my favorite baseball book and one of my favorite of any genre.
Best Ever.......2007-07-03
This is one of the greatest baseball novels ever written. If you like baseball,time travel,romance and "rooting for the good guys" this is a book that will never get old. I'm sorry they never made a movie if it. However I doubt Hollywood could do it justice. Superb!!!!!!!!!!
One of my favorite time travel novels.......2007-05-18
I love time travel novels and I love baseball; so this is one of my all-time favorite books. I enjoyed reading how baseball was played in its infancy and learned things that I never knew. A great book!
A home-run time-travel novel.......2007-05-05
I love this novel! A man goes back to 1869 and joins the Cincinnati "Red Stockings" baseball team. He falls in love and also introduces many new ideas--selling hotdogs, bunting. A super fun read.
Baseball History at Its Best.......2007-01-31
I don't usually like "fantasy" books, but this one is exceptional. It's sort of like Harry Potter: you suspend disbelief on about page 15, and from there on it's a joyous, rollicking ride! The author did a magnificent job of researching his subject and all the other historical events that he interweaves in his story. The hard part was when I was down to 25 pages or so and knew that it was all going to end. I didn't want it to end! Wonderful book for baseball fans, those who enjoy Mark Twain, and historical buffs.
Book Description
The companion piece to his baseball classic The Long Season, Mr. Brosnan's Pennant Race recounts the game-by-game lives of the Cincinnati Reds during their pennant-winning 1961 season. He was a pitcher with Cincinnati that season, but also one of the sharpest and wittiest writers baseball ever produced. One of the best baseball books ever written...probably one of the best American diaries as well. --New York Times Book Review
Customer Reviews:
A very good follow-up to a baseball classic.......2006-08-24
Jim Brosnan's second book is also a diary, this one on his 1961 season spent with the eventual National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Brosnan's wit, cynicism, and wry observations on the game of baseball make this an entertaining read. He enjoys interacting with his teammates (most of the time) and one conversation in particular involving Brosnan getting on a teammate for his grammar is priceless. It would have been nice had Brosnan included his spring training experience and the Reds' involvement in the World Series that year. Despite lacking those two elements, "Pennant Race" is an easy recommendation. It's not as good as "The Long Season", but it's still a very good read.
Another Witty, Fun Read By Brosnan.......2005-04-12
In his second player diary, pitcher Jim Brosnan describes his day-to-day participation as a member of the pennant-winning 1961 Cincinnati Reds. Brosnan writes with the same wit and amused irreverence he used two years earlier in his superb initial diary, THE LONG SEASON. Here we get an insider's view of star teammates like Frank Robinson (that year's MVP), Vada Pinson, Jim Maloney, manager Fred Hutchinson, etc. Readers will enjoy hearing about now-forgotten players in long-gone ballparks like Crosley Field, Shibe Park, Forbes Field, etc. We also get the tension and thrill of a pennant race. Unfortunately, the author omits spring training, and he ends the diary on the last day of the regular season, before the Reds played the Yankees in that year's World Series - thus I gave the book just four stars instead of five.
Brosnan was a college-educated player who gained recognition (and notoriety) for his writing. PENNANT RACE is as readable and charming as its predecessor, and once again landed Brosnan in some hot water with baseball's establishment.
The Best Baseball Book.......1999-11-22
Pennant Race and its companion book, The Long Season, are the best baseball books ever written. I enjoyed Ball Four, written ten yeras after The Long Season, but it is a pale imitation. Brosnan's style and perspective are unique; his blend of candor and cynicisn unmatched; his writing subtleties are brilliant. I have read hundreds of baseball books, and these two, which I basically consider one volumne, are unequaled.
Excellent! One of the best baseball books ever!.......1999-08-26
Although most of the players from the 1961 Cincinnati Reds are forgotten now (exception: right fielder and National League MVP Frank Robinson), this book remains current due to the good humor and insider's view it affords the reader. Nearly 40 years old now, it shows how timeless the game of baseball is.
I'm a lifelong NY Yankees fan, but this remains one of my favorite books on any subject.
One note: this is one of the only baseball books that was _really_ written by the named author. Brosnan had no ghostwriter.
Book Description
Who is Pete Rose? Is he Charlie Hustle, the all-American kid who never grew up, who pushed and stretched himself to get the most out of his limited talent, who would do anything in his power to win and to be a part of the game he loved? Or is he the bloated ex-athlete who broke baseball's one absolute taboo, and who was willing to drag down the whole structure of the sport to save himself?
In January 2004, Pete Rose publicly admitted to betting on baseball and began his controversial campaign to get himself off the ineligible list and into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His recently published autobiography, the baseball legend's selective telling of the truth, only furthers the myth and the mystery that surrounds him.
With a new, updated introduction by the author, and packed with interviews with Rose's family, his teammates, sportswriters, and police investigators, Hustle is the real, objective story of the life of Pete Rose.
Customer Reviews:
Charlie Hustle exposed.......2005-10-20
This book nicely represents the seedy side of Pete Rose - a man with no real friends and very few principles. Sokolove portrays Rose as being only out for himself, illustrated at its peek in his chase for Cobb's record. It was interesting to read how many of his contemporaries felt Rose looked foolish chasing the record with such diminished skills.
What may be even sadder is how the Commissioners' office looked the other way for so many years as his gambling problem grew worse. Bowie Kuhn really does not come out looking really strong in his attempt to "clean up" baseball, especially after the drug scandals of the late 70s. Unfortunately, his office's refusal to seriously confront Rose in the 70s led Rose to believe that he was beyond the rules. And, as usually occurs, this led to the crash and destruction of a supposed American hero - finally exposed for his lies and selfishness. The truth must really hurt for his fans in Cincinnati, who praised and adored him for so many years. Somewhere, Ray Fosse is smiling right now.
Depressing.......2005-08-13
Anyone who grew up a Reds fan in the 70's will find this book disturbing and depressing, to say the least.
No one should feel sorry for Pete Rose, he brought his troubles all on himself. What is depressing are the number of enablers he had around him beginning with Major League Baseball itself! Pete's problems could have been confronted as early as 1970 but since he put "fannies in the seats" both the Reds and the commisioners office chose to look the other way.
I reccomend this book not just as a biography but also a study of self destructive behavior and enabling an addict.
After you're finished find something humorous to read, you'll need it.
Pete Rose is white trash.......2004-01-08
Pete Rose is white trash, that is what is comes down to.
Pete Rose is a real jerk. The guy could play baseball, but that's it.
As a person, he is a jerk.
As least he will never get into the baseball hall of fame. If Pete Rose got into that sacred place, it would be a shame.
An Excellent Study of the Enigmatic Pete Rose.......2002-07-08
Sokolove's book is truly an excellent read. Although the title gives the connotation that the book is going to be a hatchet job on Pete Rose, the book is actually carefully researched and well written. I have been a Pete Rose fan for most of my life. I admired his determination and ability to play each game as though it were the seventh game of the World Series. (If we only had players like that today . . .) Sokolove does a great job at capturing the qualities that made him one of baseball's greatest players.
However, Pete Rose was also a shady character who loved having an entourage perform errands for him and tell him how great he was. Pete Rose, as a beloved baseball star, felt that he was above the rest of society and eventually this caught up to him in 1989-1990. Sokolove delves deeply into the character flaws of Rose that ultimately led to his exile from baseball and imprisonment for tax fraud. What is particularly interesting about Sokolove's book is how he deals with the careful way Rose constructed his own mythology by using the press to his advantage. In sum, this book is the story of a great player and flawed personality who learned (I hope) the hard way that even if you have 4256 hits in Major League Baseball, you can still end up like Oedipus in Colonus.
Very Well Balanced Informative Biography.......1997-08-15
This is a well written, thoroughly researched biography. A great many former teammates and friends of Pete Rose were interviewed for the book. He is portrayed in both his positive and negative aspects. The conclusions drawn at the end seem very solid and built on a good foundation.
I would recommend this book to any base ball fan and especially and Cincinnati Reds fan. I learned a good amount not only about Pete Rose but also about baseball during the 1960's - 1980's and the social history of the city of Cincinnati.
While the book may seem like an attack on Rose at first glance it really is probably one of the most well balanced biographys I've ever read. Probably the most realistic book about Rose available.
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