43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
...I would give anything to see Babe Ruth play just once..., September 16, 2005
Although I suspect that most people who will read this book already know how BIG Babe Ruth really was to Americans, I wish those who do NOT realize his profound inlfluence on modern culture would take the time to check this out.
Creamer has fashioned an extraordinarily readable, concise yet fully detailed biography of this great ball player. There is enough journalism here to satisfy those seeking accuracy, enough analysis for those interested in perspective, and enough elegant writing to please pretty much everybody else.
Beginning at the beginning, and ending, abruptly, at the end, Ruth's life is presented within a vivid portrayal of early 20th century America. His tenacity, exuberance, lust for life is all here, including many unflattering incidents. Warts and all.
If I had to single out the best things about this book, I'd have to start with how Creamer places Ruth's achievements into context. Staggering and astonishing are the two words I keep coming up with. Winning the Home Run Crown is one thing. Winning it over and over again for nearly two decades is another. Setting a home run record is one thing. Doubling the record is entirely another thing.
It took forty years for Maris to break Ruth's record by one. When Ruth broke the record the first time, in 1919, he broke the old record by three or four, hitting 29. The next year, 1920, he hit 54. He averaged 40 a year for SEVENTEEN years.
Before Babe, the all-time home run king hit 136 homers. Ruth passed that in his first few seasons as a full-time (non-pitching) player. Every homer he hit after that extended it...when he hit 700, only 2 other players were in the 300's.
And don't get me started on his pitching. Wait till you read about how good he was. I had always known he was a pretty good pitcher...I didn't know he was THIS good.
The name Babe Ruth is synonymous with "legend", and there are hundreds of legendary tales surrounding his exploits. Creamer sorts of fact from fiction, and most of time, the fact is the legend.
For example, the "called shot" may or may not have happened. The events that we are certain that occurred during that game are still amazing.
Plus, I prefer to believe that he hit a ball so hard that it went between a pitcher's legs AND over the center fielder's head. I just love that mental image.
There is a lot of sadness in Ruth's life, from his relative abandonment as a child, to his inability to become a big league manager, to his vitality-robbing cancer...his life had ups and downs like only true epic characters can have.
The book also gets Ruth's media domination right. At least it feels right. I wasn't there. Most of us weren't. But baseball was the only entertainment for the majority of the country, along with those relatively recent upstarts, radio and film...there is nothing today that really compares. There is really no one person whose personality captivated a country like his did.
And it sounds like he loved every second of it.
After reading this book, I would give anything to see Babe Ruth play just once...
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Biography, August 6, 1999
By A Customer
An engrossing, informative biography of baseball's greatest player. Some biographers make the mistake of rattling off facts and statistics, as if to impress you with how much research they've done. Creamer wisely focuses on the story, including descriptions of important games that make you feel like you're on the field with the Babe. Comments by Ruth's contemporaries add to the realism. "Babe" gets off to a slow start--a chapter dealing with Creamer's feelings about writing the book, and more details about Ruth's childhood than you probably want to know. But once Ruth starts playing baseball, the book grabs you and won't let go. One caveat: the discussion of Ruth's womanizing, while necessary and not extensive, makes this book inappropriate for young readers. If you like baseball and want to learn more about Babe Ruth, this is the book to get.
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