2 comments about Puck! Kirby Puckett: Baseball's Last Warrior.

1. If baseball star Kirby Puckett were a biblical figure, he would be a cross between David, of David and Goliath and Samson, of Samson and Delilah. Unfortunaely Puck: Baseball's Last Warior doesn't approach the telling of the whole story. It is too much of an abreviation of his life and efforts. It may be that the public will have to wait for Kirby Puckett to publish his own more autobiogrphical life story for us to know what makes the man so generous, likable and thus so tragic to have had to leave baseball playing in his prime. Until such a book is published Puck will have to do for those interested in an abreviated look into the life of Kirby Puckett.



2. The book is a very basic story of Kirby Puckett that leads much to be desired by the more mature fan. The book while a good read, seems to be written more for kids. As the other reviewer mentioned, a good read but for a better biography we will have to wait for Puckett to come out with his own later in life.

   The story of the man before his image was permanently tarnished. Brings you back to his simpler days when people smiled when you mentioned his name.

4 comments about Matty, An American Hero: Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants.

1. This is the best effort by Ray Robinson to date. The book starts off slowly but eventually picks up steam. Robinson effectively captures the era but really does not give you an awful lot more. Christy Mathewson was one of the best pitchers ever in my opinion (based on my research). I just wish that Ray Robinson could have confirmed it with the decisiveness one would come to expect from a seasoned author. Instead, I was left to wonder why certain facts were omitted and why he did not do more to make Matty an American Hero. A few more efforts like this and Christy Mathewson and others of his era will emulate his trademark pitch...Fadeaway! Anthony DeMedeiros, Toronto, Ontario



2. Ray Robinson does a fine job depicting one of baseball's greatest pitchers from Christy's grand beginnings to his unfortunate plight in the end. The book gives a fair amount of detail about the game's first national idol but lacks punch because of the mostly serene nature of "BIG 6's" life. To the extent that the book is kind of fluffy for its depiction of a man who is nearly perfect-save for incidences like his punching a vendor during a melee-it is almost Rockyesque in that one cannot help but wish they were a personal friend of Christy.It is currently the best I've read on the perfector of the fadeaway.



3. Ray Robinson is a sports journalist and editor, and this book is very much in the genre of many other conventional sports biographies. It is a good, serviceable biography; but it is far from great. In it, we learn about one of the earliest stars of major league baseball. Christy Mathewson had been born in 1880, attended Bucknell University and gained fame there as both a football and baseball player. He signed with the New York Giants and played sixteen seasons with them; arguably the most dominant pitcher in major league baseball during his time in the Majors. While with the Giants, Mathewson won 20 games thirteen times and 30 games four times. During that same period, he won at least 20 games twelve consecutive years (1903-1914). A power pitcher, Mathewson had the most wins in Giant franchise history (372), and had more than 2,500 strikeouts. Perhaps his most dominant performance came in the 1905 World Series when he pitched a record three shutouts in six days against the Philadelphia Athletics, leading the Giants to the championship.
   
   Robinson does a credible job telling the story of Mathewson's remarkable career. He expends considerable effort narrating the dramatic events of his various pitching performances. He also delves into the story of Mathewson's close relationship with his Giants manager, the legendary John McGraw, who is credited with working effectively with a sensitive and talented player to make him more dominant than he might have been otherwise. Robinson also explores the role Mathewson plays in helping to remake the image of major league baseball from one of rowdy hooliganism into one of the "national pastime." Mathewson served as a model of clean living when the sport was known for its hard-living, hard-drinking players. He became a role model for young boys, and MLB exploited his lifestyle to remake its image. He enthusiastically aided this process, and even wrote a series of boy's books advocating a moral, strenuous lifestyle.
   
   Of course, Mathewson served as the perfect example of "clean living" for MLB because of his dominance on the mound. Accordingly, in 1936 he joined four other MLB legends--Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, and Walter Johnson, none of whom exemplified "clean living"--as the first class of baseball players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It was a posthumous induction because Mathewson had died in 1925, at age 45, of tuberculosis.
   
   Ray Robinson has written a solid, readable biography of Matty. I give it three stars because it fails to go beyond the basics of what we already know about him, and has no references or even a bibliography with other works to read on the subject.



4. It is a historical anomaly that at the end of the nineteenth century the violent game of football was a sport for the privileged gentleman yet baseball was the game of the uneducated, profane and in essence the masses. Football was confined to the college campuses, which at that time, meant it was restricted to the wealthy. Baseball was a popular sport, yet the players were often little more than thugs. Nearly all of the players were from the lower classes, which meant they came from working class backgrounds such as the steel mills or coal mines. Professional baseball players were generally denigrated in society, at that time it was not an occupation that was looked upon as a stellar career.
   Christy Mathewson entered the major leagues from college, one of the first players who attended college before playing. He was one of the most intelligent men ever to play the game; he was capable of playing championship caliber checkers against several players simultaneously. Mathewson was also an excellent card player; he regularly accepted challenges from others as he moved from place to place. In his role as a gentleman baseball player, he did a great deal to transform the image of the baseball player from that of an uneducated brute to someone to be emulated. He served as a positive role model for children interested in pursuing a sports career and was idolized by the sports media of the time. Mathewson was also a very good and durable pitcher, his 373 career wins ranks him second all time behind Cy Young and Walter Johnson.
   In this book, Robinson captures Mathewson as he was, considered standoffish by some, yet a consummate professional on the mound. His relationship with his manager, the volatile John McGraw, was an unusual one as Mathewson, McGraw and their wives once shared an apartment. Given McGraw's temperament, this would truly be another example of "The Odd Couple." Robinson never apologizes for some of the negative comments made about Mathewson, merely pointing out that many of those instances can be explained by the context of the times. In general the country was uneducated with racial and personal slurs being part of daily speech. Babe and Rube were common nicknames of professional baseball players, being synonyms for naïve and ignorant. A deaf man was given the nickname "Dummy" and a Native American was usually called "Chief."
   Mathewson's time was also one of great transition in major league baseball, the American league was formed and considered inferior by the older National league. Players were very poorly paid, a consequence of the reserve clause which bound a player to a team and which allowed him to be traded against his will. Robinson points out that one of the reasons why the World Series was continued is because it was a significant financial windfall for the players. Groups of players also regularly barnstormed around the country and even overseas, in many cases to earn enough money to live.
   Mathewson was a charter member of baseball's hall of fame and it is unfortunate that he did not live long enough to be there in person. His health failed him very quickly after he retired from baseball, there is some evidence that the tuberculosis that took his life was brought on by his being gassed during World War I. While he had his faults, compared to those around him, they were few and far between. It has been said that Base Ruth did the most to help make modern baseball what it is today. I agree with that, but also firmly believe that Christy Mathewson occupies second place on that list. His approach to the game and the example he set in life did a great deal to elevate professional baseball players in the mind of the public. His life was an interesting and productive one, you can honor his memory be reading this book and learning all about him.

1 comments about Pepper Martin: A Baseball Biography.

1. This is an excellent biography of one of baseball's truly remarkable characters. Although names like Dizzy Dean, Frankie Frisch and Leo Durocher are more reknowned, Pepper Martin was the true heart and soul of the legendary "Gashouse Gang" Cardinals team of the 1930's and Barthel leaves no stone unturned in detailing the life of this unique and talented ballplayer from yesteryear. News article references chronicling his World Series exploits are included and serve as a glimpse back to a time when a signing bonus consisted of a couple of hunting dogs and a Winchester rifle.

   Also included are numerous AP and never before seen photographs and illustrations.

   Pepper Martin was truly one of a kind and this book captures the essence of his life and character.

5 comments about A Clever Base-Ballist: The Life and Times of John Montgomery Ward.

1. Bryan Di Salvatore has captured the early history of baseball with his fascinating biography of baseball's early days. His profile of John Montgomery Ward, a pitcher and later an infielder, provides a detailed look at the evolution of baseball in its formative years. This was a time of numerous rules changes from underhand pitching, walks counting as hits, absence of a fixed pitching rubber, changing rules on how many balls it took to walk. The author meticulously but always in interesting prose tells us about the many battles between owners and players, the reserve clause, poor playing conditions. Ball players were lazy, overpaid, carousing drinkers(sound familiar) said the owners. Owners were greedy, interested in squeezing players for every nickel(sound familiar) said the players. Clearly the era evoked has many parallels to today except the average player salaries were clearly more in line with real wages. The average ball player made 3-5X the salary of the average working man. Generally the players were more accessible to the public although in one scene John Ward complains about the annoying fan groupies. For the baseball fan this book will clearly be educational and is well worth reading. Very few books describe the pre-1900 era and this book is a rare and thorough glimpse on the emerging popularity of baseball.



2. Although it's not easy to criticize a book which the author says took four years of his life, and I believe him, shoppers should know that at times this book would be better titled "The Late 19th Century Including a Few Vignettes From the Life of John Montgomery Ward." Yes, this book is symptomatic of the modern trend to make them at least 25% longer than they need to be. The author thinks nothing of spending page after page describing oddities of Ward's hometown which really tells us nothing more about him than the single line "he grew up in the middle class of a small town in Pennsylvania" would have. The entire first chapter is devoted exclusively to speculations on various pictures of Ward without even putting the pictures next to them. There is at least one chapter which fails to mention Ward at all. The narrative wanders off the path often, even in the early going when the reader's attention is most at risk, and stays off for long periods of time. I would have much preferred it if this book had been one of those tall affairs with a great, wide margins and little info boxes along the side. Then one could read or not read the boxes at one's option. Or, it could have been a hypertext document and then if one wanted to read more on some of these topics, click and read more, but no reader should be forced to wade through some of this material, especially as some important details are buried in the middle of it, risking the skimming reader missing it. I suppose the fault is with the editor, but it's difficult to say as words like "faro" and "turnverein" are included without explanation -- maybe originally that wasn't the case. Please note that there are 32 pages of footnotes as well. On the other hand, entirely at the author's door are some very big questions left completely unfielded. Why is there no speculation, for example, about why Ward never participated in that most common of human activities, creating children? Also, in this connection, I am surprised that the possibility that he was tricked into his first marriage by a possible false pregnancy is never considered. His wife was after all an actress and must have been familiar with the trick from the Dramatic tradition. Another important issue: who was Ward actually? What were his politics? He seems a very unlikely revolutionary. Rather, like Aristophanes and W.S. Gilbert, he seems to criticize the system from the right, not because he fails to believe in it, but because he finds those in charge to be no-talent hacks and, significantly, because he can. His "revolution" seems to have been accomplished more by cleverness and opportunism than by principle and reality so naturally it was only a matter of time before the cards came crashing down. A little more of the author's or others' judgement on this would have been welcome, or even just a more inside look at how Ward went about his recruiting and alliance building, but all we get are two sentences. Other than these issues, I did enjoy the book quite a lot and although I cannot recommend it as highly as some others, I feel no doubt that on a research basis at least no stone has been left unturned. Certainly its topic is both rare and enjoyable.



3. A Clever Base-Ballist: The Life And Times Of John Montgomery Ward is the riveting tale of John Montgomery Ward's life and historical baseball career, from his expulsion from Penn State University for stealing chickens, to pitching baseball's second perfect game in 1880, to becoming a member of the New York Giants. More than just a biography for baseball history buffs, A Clever Base-Ballist also paints a bright, engaging picture of American life at the turn of the century. For baseball enthusiasts and millennium enthusiasts alike, A Clever Base-Ballist does not disappoint!



4. Between 1878 and 1894 John Ward Montgomery amazed major league baseball fans on the field and exasperated owners off of it. As a pitcher for Providence, he won 87 games in the two seasons of 1879 and 1880. He also pitched only the second perfect game in National League history. He later moved to shortstop and led the New York Giants to pennants in 1888-1889. His natural leadership skills ensured he had a future as team captain and manager.
   
   But Ward infuriated the owners by bucking their system of control over the players. The National League had established a "reserve clause" binding a player to his team for life by "reserving" his services for the next season even without a signed contract. While the contract and hence the player could be traded, a player could not unilaterally choose to play for another team. The manner in which owners erected this legal means of controlling players amounts to some of the most interesting sections of this book.
   
   This infuriated Ward, who was also a lawyer; he believed players should be allowed to ply their trade wherever someone was willing to pay them. Accordingly, he organized the Brotherhood of National League Players in 1885 as a fraternal order not unlike the Grange and other secret societies of the Gilded Age. In effect, this was the first union of professional baseball players. When Ward learned in 1889 that the owners had established a fixed scale of salaries, setting the upper limit at $2,500 for each season, he led a walkout and established the Player's League controlled by ballplayers. It was a good idea but it failed after only a year because the competition ensured a financial disaster for both leagues.
   
   Bryan Di Salvatore's fine book is largely the story of Ward's efforts to overcome the "plantation-style" rule of baseball owners. He was never able to do so, and he finally retired at age 34 after a 17 year career to lead a lucrative law practice. This is very much a "life and times" biography and one will learn much about the milieu of the latter nineteenth century as well as about Ward and his baseball career. Broadening the story helps significantly, as it places in context the larger owner/labor dynamics that have shaped Major League Baseball to the present.



5. I love 19th Century Baseball and this book is 19th Century. Mr. Salvatore makes this book wildly enjoyable to any fan of baseball history. At times the book shows a little "subject jumping," but all in all this book is fantastic.

3 comments about Harry Agganis, " the Golden Greek": An All-American Story.

1. A great look at the life of an exceptional young man who's legacy should be passed on.



2. Arguably New England's finest all-around athlete, Harry Agganis' life represents the ultimate greek tragedy. Blessed with unprecedented athletic talent, Agganis was struck down in the prime of his life. His love of sports was equalled only by his love of family. Nick Tsiotos and Andy Dabilis capture the true essence of Agganis. This is must read for all sports fans.



3. The Greek-American community owe Dabilis and Tsiotis a great debt of gratitude for the service they have provided by publishing the stories of Agganis and Kyriakides.

2 comments about Baseball's Good Guys: The Real Heroes of the Game.

1. I think Jack Walsh, and Marshall Cook have captured the heart and soul of Baseball's greatest players. Baseball Good Guys is a book that will inspire the reader to learn more of the Character and Integrity of these players. The statistics are there, but their ability to overcome adversity, personal problems, prejudice and more, will inform the readers of the real skills of these players.

   Be forewarned, some of the pages come to life, in such a way that splinters (possibly from the bats) seem to leap into your eyes.

   Good book, should be a must read for school athletes and those of us who lived during some of those years.




2. The writers do an excellent job of reminding the reader of why we like sports. In this Post-Mitchell Report Era, it's nice to see examples of heros who aren't so driven by personal glory at the expense of others. Overall, a nice read.

5 comments about Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures.

1. I found the above negative review of this book far more disturbing than anything about the book itself.

   What's the writer's problem with "ghostwriting"? It's no secret. It's not as if David Pietrusza (the co-author) isn't listed. It's obviously a book of pictures with comments from Ted, edited into decent copy by Pietrusza. That's what a co-author on a celebrity book does.

   It's very much Ted Williams in the comments -- maybe even to an uncomfortable extent. He rambles on about the press, about politics, and about hunting and fishing, and none of his views are what could even be possibly construed as "politically correct." But I find it interesting that after all this time, he's still his own man -- frustrating and inspiring at the same time.

   The photos are largely terrific. The layout is good. The text is interesting. And it's the best photo book on Ted Williams out there. That sounds like a recommendation to me.




2. This book will be ideal for those who know relatively little about Ted Williams, yet are Red Sox fans. The combination of over 250 photographs and recent reminiscences make you feel like you are sitting around the kitchen table with Mr. Williams swapping stories about his life while you enjoy a cool beverage. The anecdotes have a crisp conversational tone that seems to have often emerged with little editing from a tape recorder. That makes the book more spontaneous than if it were dressed up to be a formal autobiography.

   Some of my favorite stories in the book include:

   Choosing not to sit out the doubleheader at the end of the 1941 season when he already had batted .400. He went 6 for 8 that day, and increased his average to the league-leading .407.

   His frequent heroics in All-Star games (including hitting the eephus pitch for a home run while going 4/4 in 1946).

   Crash landing his plane after being hit by small arms fire and starting to burn while flying a mission over North Korea during the Korean War.

   His many accidents and injuries.

   His batting performance after other teams began using the shift on him.

   Hitting a home run in his last at-bat in Fenway Park.

   The strength of the book comes in the photographs. Surprisingly, many of these are very blurred and don't quite meet the standard that you will expect in a pictoral autobiography. The first photograph with Bobby Doerr when both were just starting with the Red Sox is an example.

   People who are interested in his swing will enjoy the sequence with his shirt off that appeared in Life magazine. "The key was the right swing, studying the pitchers, studying the situations, waiting to get your pitch, and just plain working like hell at it."

   The book isn't only about baseball. You will also learn about his mother's hard work on behalf of the Salvation Army, his hunting and fishing, and meeting sports and political celebrities.

   Mr. Williams had a reputation as a player for being uncooperative with the press and the fans. To his credit, he shares his side of these events pretty candidly. The famous spitting incident is well covered.

   One of the most telling exhibits is an advertisement for cigarettes. Mr. Williams was not a smoker, and clearly admits to having done it for the money. He always intended to make a donation for cancer research to return the money, but indicates that he never did. I admired him for including this event, which he clearly now views as a mistake.

   He also is candid about not being excited about serving in both World War II and the Korean War. This service cost him 5 major league seasons during his prime years. He was only one of two major leaguers to do this.

   After you finish enjoying this book, think about how Mr. Williams turned his talent to other areas outside of baseball. Have you turned your hand to as many other areas as you would benefit from trying? After all, we only have so many days on Earth to make our contribution. Make the most of them!




3. I am co-author (with Jim Prime) of TED WILLIAMS: A TRIBUTE (1997), which was another large-format book on Ted with a lot of photographs. There are quite a few books on Ted. When I heard this book was in the works, I wondered what more there was to show and what more there was to say.

   I was pleased to be able to proofread this book in its advance state and I hope I helped correct a very few minor errors. I hadn't seen the photographs or layout at that stage. When I saw the final book, I was blown away.

   This is a wonderful new addition, and Ted's voice comes through loud and clear here. David Pietrusza has done a wonderful job here and this is a book I will myself treasure.

   --Bill Nowlin, Cambridge MA




4. Best Book written to date on my Father.



5. The definitive book on the complete life of Ted Williams. This is not simply a re-hashing of every picture of Ted that you see time after time. It's a fresh look through his own words and some magnificent photos that must have been sitting in his attic. You really get the feeling that you are sitting around Ted's kitchen table going through an old photo album as he comments on everything from the biggest fish he caught to what a "[bad] haircut" he had.

5 comments about Ernie Harwell: My 60 Years in Baseball (Honoring a Detroit Legend).

1. As a young boy growing up in a Detroit suburb, I often fell asleep at night with a transistor radio and an earphone, listening to Ernie Harwell and George Kell broadcasting Tigers' games. I've been a fan since. This book brought back a lot of those memories. It was well written and a fitting tribute to a man who has meant so much to the game. Well done.



2. Ernie Harwell has the ability to articulate his thoughts and possesses a vast reservoir of anecdotes and observations based on his lengthy career. The combination made this into one of the more enjoyable baseball books I've read in recent years.



3. Ernie Harwell popped up in a lot of unexpected places in the year 2001. On October 3rd, he broadcast the official recreation of the 1951 Miracle at Coogan's Bluff game for Major League Baseball's official website; later on, he broadcast the final game of a World Series for an all-time-greats fantasy league also run by MLB. Not bad, for a man who was fired by his longtime Detroit Tigers employees over a decade ago for being "too old".

   "My 60 Years in Baseball" has a very unusual title for an autobiography. That's because it's not an autobiography -- it's a standard bio, written by columnist Tom Keegan. Presumably this was done with Ernie Harwell's full cooperation, and reprints of several Harwell newspaper columns highlight the book. I'm just a little confused by the use of the word "My".

   I know Tom Keegan's columns from the New York Post, and "My 60 Years" reads very much like a 275-page human interest story. It's a puff piece, but in the best way possible. Keegan tracks down interviews with athletes, writers and friends who have known Harwell at various points along his 60-plus-year career, and the stories related are mostly heart-warming. The best chapter in the book is an interview with Denny McLain, one-time Tiger pitching ace, from his cell in federal prison. Even repeat convicts love the voice of Ernie Harwell.

   Don't read "Ernie Harwell" because it's the best sports bio of all time, but read it to become more familiar with one of the last of the original (and now "old school") announcers. I listened to Ernie for the brief time I lived in the Detroit metro area, and I'm glad I had the chance. It's a specific style of broadcast, heavy on imagery and game detail, that's no longer in vogue and will be dearly missed when the last of its practictioners hangs up their microphones. Read the stories Keegan finds, and read again the reprinted Harwell columns, which are a delight of word choice, firm opinion, and humor.




4. If we could only have more time to get to know people like Ernie Harwell, there would be a much greater appreciation for life in this world. Despite all of the many changes in his life, the opportunity to be around baseball for so many years, get paid to do it and enjoy it thoroughly...he has remained humble and human.

   He is quick to tell you that he is "just a turtle on fence post", noting that we all know that turtle didn't get there by himself. He credits so many people for the opportunities that he has experienced...yet he has spent so many years positively influencing our lives, about life as seen through the many stories he tells via baseball.

   Although I have only lived in the Detroit metro area for two years which limits my exposure to hearing Harwell call games all my life, I could immediately feel the respect and warmth of his broadcasts. Seeing him at several baseball and community events, I am always impressed with the attention that the sports stars give him when they are around him. Not only professional baseball players but professionals from other sports seem to delight in being around him and hearing the stories he tells with his charming southern drawl.

   Whether you have the opportunity to hear him or you value hearing baseball stories that have something interesting to learn from in each story, you will enjoy this book.

   If you are a person that enjoys learning from people that have shared their life with others and brought a positive influence to the world, you will enjoy this biography of a hall of famer.

   Thanks Ernie!




5. If we could only have more time to get to know people like Ernie Harwell, there would be a much greater appreciation for life in this world. Despite all of the many changes in his life, the opportunity to be around baseball for so many years, get paid to do it and enjoy it thoroughly...he has remained humble and human.

   He is quick to tell you that he is "just a turtle on fence post", noting that we all know that turtle didn't get there by himself. He credits so many people for the opportunities that he has experienced...yet he has spent so many years positively influencing our lives, about life as seen through the many stories he tells via baseball.

   Although I have only lived in the Detroit metro area for two years which limits my exposure to hearing Harwell call games all my life, I could immediately feel the respect and warmth of his broadcasts. Seeing him at several baseball and community events, I am always impressed with the attention that the sports stars give him when they are around him. Not only professional baseball players but professionals from other sports seem to delight in being around him and hearing the stories he tells with his charming southern drawl.

   Whether you have the opportunity to hear him or you value hearing baseball stories that have something interesting to learn from in each story, you will enjoy this book.

   If you are a person that enjoys learning from people that have shared their life with others and brought a positive influence to the world, you will enjoy this biography of a hall of famer.

   Thanks Ernie!

2 comments about Hello Everybody, I'm George Kell.

1. That George's book turned out to be a long, tall, cold drink of water on a hot summer day came as no surprise to me. We in Michigan, who watched George throughout his years as the premier Tiger TV announcer and as one of the great players of his time, have long known of his commitment to to all that is good and right about America's pastime. But he also served as a prophet concerning the aspects of the modern game which led to a slow decay not only in the quality of the game, but in the character of some of the game's players and management. Even so, how can a baseball aficionado not feel the warm sunshine of yesteryear as we read of a living Hall of Famer's account of playing under Manager Connie Mack, alongside and against Ted Williams...Joe DiMaggio...even Minnie Minoso! George's book is special. I can virtually guarantee you will not read the likes of "Hello everybody, I'm George Kell" ever again. It is an easy-reading account of baseball's glory days, when a nation came out of a war against the forces of evil, and after looking in the mirror, realized the color line must be obliterated in what was then the undisputed King of American sport. George's decency shines through the entire book, just as his light has shined his entire life. Bravo!



2. I know...I know...Ernie Harwell is a legend in Detroit and a Man of God. I would never take anything away from Mr.Harwell.
   
   But, having listened to them both for years growing up, I can tell you that George Kell DEFINED baseball for many more Detroiters than you might think.
   
   And this book helps resurrect the feeling he brought to the game for those who still miss him.
   
   He had so many great lines. Every Tiger fan knows what kind of play he was describing when he said "...And it's a dandy."
   
   And what about "...that helps." Maybe too obscure of a reference for some but Kell's voice uttering those words pop into my head almost everytime a fortuitious circumstance occurs in my life.
   
   A little old fashioned, maybe even uptight by the standards of the 1990's when he hung it up, George would be PERFECT as the ultimate retro announcer in today's baseball climate where fans, so jaded by one disillusionment after another, would relish a rock-solid influence like the GREAT George Kell...

1 comments about Survive To Win.

1. THIS IS A BOOK BY BOB WATSON FORMER MAJOR LEAGUER AND FIRST BLACK GENERAL MANAGER. HE DISCUSSES HIS LIFE AND CAREER A BIT BUT MOSTLY TELLS OF HIS EXPERIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND WORK ETHIC ABOUT THE GAME. I FOUND THE MOST INTERESTING PART WAS HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH A HIGHER POWER. BOB WATSON IS VERY HUMBLE AND SEEMS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD GUY. HE DOES A GOOD JOB DESCRIBING WHAT HE DOES AS A GM AND HOW THE TEAM WAS PUT TOGETHER. RECOMMENDED.