Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman [Paperback]

Steven Travers (Author), Charlie Sheen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2003

Barry Bonds: Baseball Superman is the biography of the game's first four-time Most Valuable Player. In 2001, Bonds broke the greatest record in sports, the all-time single-season home run record held over the years by Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Mark McGwire, and arguably had the greatest season in baseball history. There is no doubt that for most fans, Barry Bonds is a man of mystery. Author Steven Travers documents the superstar's 2001 campaign as Bonds defied the very bounds of conventional logic and perfected the art of long-ball hitting. Travers also describes Bonds's childhood in Riverside, California, the hometown of his father, Bobby; his successful high school career in the Bay Area, and his All-American career at Arizona State.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Having broken the single-season home-run record last year and gotten off to a charging start this season, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants has established his credentials as one of baseball's all-time greats. Much like his godfather, Willie Mays, Bonds has been the subject of countless articles. Many writers judge him to be incredibly talented but aloof and arrogant. In his gossipy, easy-to-read tale, Travers a former professional baseball pitcher and former sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner tries to show that Bonds is greatly misunderstood. Travers tends to write about his own experiences as much as those of Bonds as he explores the sports culture that influences this distinguished slugger. Most libraries should have at least one biography of Bonds on the shelves, and until a more authoritative book come along, this light, entertaining volume will do. Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

A fascinating book written by a man who knows his subject matter inside and out. -- IRV KAZE, KRLA RADIO, LOS ANGELES

Intriguing book, "Barry Bonds: BaseballÂ’s Superman" finally explains the phenomenon in the most thorough, interesting, revealing, concise manner ever reached. -- MAURY ALLEN, syndicated Gannett columnist

Steve Travers is a Renaissance Man...great read that is not puff piece, but not a "Bonds is Satan" book. -- JIM ROME SHOW

Travers has the credentials to craft straightforward, warts-and-all profile that remains truthful without becoming mean-spirited hatchet job. --USA TODAY Baseball Weekly --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (April 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582616825
• ISBN-13: 978-1582616827
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,867,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Falls Flat, June 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman (Paperback)

Being a great Barry Bonds fan, I wanted to like this book. I truly did. But its flaws were too glaring; it came across as one of those ?strike while the iron is hot? books. Such books rarely offer anything of lasting quality.

Author Steve Travers tries to offer readers an insightful look into Barry Bonds The Man. While the attempt is admirable, I couldn?t help but come away with the impression that the attempt failed. I came away knowing little to nothing new about what makes Barry Bonds tick. And isn?t that why Bonds fans would be drawn to this?

A good portion of the book is fleshed out with pulpish sports writing. It?s passable, but too often lacks passion. Some passages scream ?written too quickly!? Where was the editor? (...)

Bonds fans should remain patient; a definitive book on this superstar is inevitable. This ain?t it.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars SKIP, June 9, 2004

By 

Steve Thulen (CALIFORNIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman (Paperback)

Potentially the most poorly-crafted baseball book ever penned, ?Barry Bonds: Baseball?s Superman? never fails to disappoint, whether it is in analyzing Bonds? extraordinary statistics to getting inside the head of this private and elusive man. At best, this is one of those [...] books you so often see when someone is thrust into the limelight.

The book offers no insights that can?t be found in the small array of periodical reviews Bonds has done for publications like ESPN The Magazine (Dan Patrick?s three-page interview alone offered about the same amount of substance as can be found here) or Sports Illustrated, and the examination of Bonds? numbers certainly falls far short of the work guys like Bill James does. [...]

By all means, if you want a quick, painless read that scratches your Barry Bonds itch, read up. No one will be harmed by reading this book. But if you want a quality baseball book about this legendary player, look elsewhere. You won?t find it here.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars NOT what I expected, May 22, 2005

By 

Michael Julian (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman (Paperback)

I am one of the few Barry Bonds fans around, so when I decided to find a book on him, I was disappointed to find that there were surprisingly few. Noticing that "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman" was purported to be in-depth, not just another glossy biography and had good reviews on Amazon.com, I decided to make the purchase. Now, after reading it and piecing a few things together, I must say that I am thoroughly let-down. A few observations:

1) The cover and title are cheesy. I know that the book's author may not have had any say in this, but using "Baseball's Superman" as a title makes it sound like a cover story for Sports Illustrated for Kids.

2) The book is not written well. It is very choppy and author Steven Travers has a tendency to ramble off-topic for pages on end.

3) Not that I'm some avatar of morality, but what's the deal with all the sexual references? [...]

4) There are contradictions sprinkled throughout the book. For instance, on page 36, Travers quotes Bonds as saying: "My father and I were never really close when I was growing up." Then, just five pages later, he quotes Bonds as saying: "My father and I have always been very close." Sure, Bonds is the one contradicting himself, but Travers never points this out, just one example of the multiple occasions where I almost laughed out loud at the book's inconsistencies.

5) How many times are we to hear that Travers played pro ball? Big deal, you struck out 15 guys in a minor league game. There are minor-leaguers who have hit 60 homers, thrown perfect games, etc. and they are nobodies. I do not mean this as a slight, just a point that we do not need to hear incessantly about things such as "Stan Javier played with me" or how you sat in Randy Johnson's recliner, or how an interview subject calls you "Trav." The book is about Barry Bonds, not Steven Travers.

[...]

The bottom line is that Travers squandered a golden opportunity. Rolling the dice early in 2001 that Bonds would break the home run record, getting permission to do a book, and then seeing him acutally do it is akin to hitting the lottery for a sports journalist. Unfortunately, the finished product seems hastily thrown together, poorly edited, and foolishly out-of-bounds in many areas. Too often we hear about sexual hijinks that have nothing to do with Bonds, and we also get Travers's opinions on a multitude of subjects that I don't care to know his thoughts on. The fact that I'd never even heard of this book should have been enough of a red flag, but it wasn't, and therefore I got what I deserved. This book isn't terrible, but it also is not good, and therefore I would not recommend it. Fans of Barry Bonds should just wait until a comprehensive biography comes out on him when his playing days are over.