The personal insights of more than 100 leading players of the past and present are contained in this illustrated guide to what it is like to play major-league baseball. Drawing on biographies, interviews, and newspaper and magazine articles, the author presents topics such as what Babe Ruth and Tony Gwynn considered to be the best way to hold a bat; Hank Greenberg, Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente comparing notes on overcoming prejudice; and Ty Cobb, Grover Cleveland Alexander and Mike Schmidt commenting on facing the end of their careers.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
So, how does a whole sport write an autobiography? With wit, grace, and insight--thank you--if the sport has seen as much, lived as much, and contributed as much verbiage as America's national pastime. Wallace, who also assembled the beautiful Baseball Anthology, has collected bits and pieces of obscure autobiographies and other written arcana from some of the best who ever played. This literary montage--stitched together with flowing narrative--is a remarkably clever, lively, and, at times, quite moving account of what it's like to play big-league ball, and just how hard a craft the game is. For the fan, that may be the equivalent of going yard, but it barely rounds first in the entirety of what Autobiography offers; a coffee-table volume in size, it gathers a spectacular lineup of photographs, from Cap Anson booting a grounder in the 19th century to the immediacy of Tony Gwynn's sweet swing, with baubles in between, like Lou Gehrig as a boy, Cy Young milking cows, a great catch by Roberto Clemente, and an amazing sequence capturing submarine pitcher Carl Mays's startling delivery.
The book's unique format allows players to compare notes on subjects as varied as the skills required for individual fielding positions to chasing a record to the difficulty of hanging up your spikes when it's all over. Gwynn and Babe Ruth weigh in on hitting with Hank Aaron and Jimmy Foxx; Bill Dickey and Johnny Bench trade catching tips; and Mickey Mantle, Honus Wagner, and Lou Gehrig share the nerves they experienced breaking into the show. These virtual dialogues across time form a skilled double-play combo with the photos that accompany them. They are Autobiography's strengths, but there's a weakness in the format, as well: nothing is examined too deeply. Still, that's not really the book's intent. Like any life story, it sets out to cover as much ground as it can, establish its own agenda, revel in what's good, air out some dark corners, and not dwell too long anywhere. To that end, Autobiography certainly scores. For fans who care about the game and adore its history, it should score pretty big. --Jeff Silverman
From Library Journal
With the proliferation of illustrated baseball books, it is sometimes a challenge to find photographs that have not been previously published or at least have not received wide distribution. Wallace (The Baseball Anthology, Abrams, 1994) has achieved this goal. While most of these pictures come from relatively common sources, this reviewer has seen few of them in other publications. The author has also stayed close to his theme, which is to use the words of the stars?taken from many rare or obscure sources?to describe what major league baseball is (or was) like. Too bad there aren't more of the players' recollections; more depth at the cost of a larger book would have been fine. On balance, however, the photographs are the book's outstanding feature, and the student of baseball history will find much that is surprising. The cost of the book recommends it for larger baseball collections.?William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
The best thing about being a writer is getting the chance to live inside the worlds I write about. For example, I spent so much time researching dinosaurs for my first book that I sometimes found myself looking over my shoulder for rogue Velociraptors. When I started writing about baseball history, I dreamed of sitting in the grandstands, watching old-time baseball deities in person. Finally, for my first novel, Diamond Ruby, I became immersed in New York City during one of the wildest eras in its history: the Roaring Twenties. Recreating that world allowed me to portray the great Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, and other real-life characters as I imagined them to be. Even more fun was the chance to place my teenage heroine, Ruby Lee Thomas, smack in the middle of a world bristling with gangsters, rum-runners, and hucksters. I loved following Ruby through those exciting, dangerous times--which is why I'm already writing her next adventure, set in Hollywood in 1927.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An "All-Timer" Hit,
By Ron Kaplan (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Autobiography of Baseball: The Inside Story from the Stars Who Played the Game (Hardcover)
This is a different sort of "best" book and takes the concept of oral history to a new level. Previously the players in such collections shared a common theme, like a team or time frame. But Wallace wonders what it would be like to sit down old-timers with contemporary players for a discussion of their craft. Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds . . . Bob Feller and Greg Maddux . . . brothers of the diamond shooting the breeze. Using excerpts from old interviews, Wallace seamlessly blends the generations as they regale us in tales about the pressures a rookie faces, the joy of the cheers, and the heartbreak of realizing it's time to hang 'em up. The choice of illustrations works extremely well in enhancing the stories.
5.0 out of 5 stars
over one hundred years of oral history/ amazing rare photos,
This review is from: The Autobiography of Baseball: The Inside Story from the Stars Who Played the Game (Hardcover)
This is one of the most informative(from the player perspective) books on baseball I've ever seen. Good narrative riddled with excerpts from interviews and autobiographies of the players who've made this the most beautiful sport around. Highlights include Willie Stargell's harrowing brush with Texas racism in the minors, psychological terrorism tips from Ty Cobb, playing through agony with Gary Carter and Roberto Clemente, what if's from Judy Johnson and Monte Irvin and dealing with the loneliness of language barriers in a strange land by Juan Marichal.Humor comes from a bit on illegal pitches featuring Gaylord Perry and Burleigh Grimes, as well as Joe Sewell's innovative way to deal with a bunt down the third base line...that one led to an overnight rule change. There is also an amusing debate over who threw the first curve ball and how corn cobs made Paul Waner a better hitter. There is also tragedy. The Carl Mays fastball that killed Ray Chapman is dealt with in these pages. The oral history is striking and wonderful, but the rare photos are even better. Clear photos grace nearly every page, many of which I have never had the pleasure of seeing. If you love baseball with even half the passion that I embrace it , you must own this book. It's time to see what was going on before sportscenter. Despite claims to the contrary by previous reviewers there are no stories related by Barry Bonds and this book is not in chronological order. It is, however, made to order. Slip off the dust jacket and enjoy.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book,
By PaulB "pbanik" (Saskatoon, SK Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Autobiography of Baseball: The Inside Story from the Stars Who Played the Game (Hardcover)
This book is a unique approach to examining the national pastime of the USA. It is a picture book that visits various eras of the game in chronological order, along with quotes from the era's greatest stars, many of whom are enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. You get to see the quotes of some great players. The photography alone makes the book a treasured keepsake. If you love baseball history, this book is for you. The photography mixed with comments about the game itself from those who participate in it
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