Customer Reviews

Bob Feller: Ace of the Greatest Generation

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best baseball biographies that I have ever read -- balanced, throroughly resaearched, very well written.

I am of Feller's generation, was a Cleveland Indians fan throughout his career, and therefore knew a great deal about him. I have read Feller's autobiographies.
Yet I learned a great deal from Sickels books and found it fascinating reading -- hard to put down. Some of it was a very pleaseant trip down memory lane.

while i am not an avid baseball fan, i thought the book told a very fascinating story for the ages about a baseball legend. honestly, i had never heard of Bob Feller until i found this book. now that i know of his tale and his conflicts with his peers, i would like to learn more about him.

Sickels starts the book out solidly, beginning with his life on the farm. as Feller continues through life, historical facts and social norms are juxtaposed against Feller's comments, choices, and career. i found this aspect of the book the most enjoyable.

there actually are tons of stats spread all over the book, but they act as punctuation to the story, never overwhelming the plot. also, Sickels mostly remains an invisible narrarator - he rarely makes judgement calls and keeps the spotlight focused on Feller.

Sickels kind of storytelling is the type i'd love to see made into a movie - maybe a Costner or Crystal flick. Sickels does a great job moving from statistician to historian.

The most outstanding facet of this book, I found, is the way that it was put together combining numerical facts with historically accurate details. The book gave lots of information without making me feel like it was only full of statistics. It's a true biography, combining both Bob Feller's private life and the public's view of his career. I would suggest this book to not just baseball fans, but any fan of history as well. Its a definite must read.

The book is written in an intersting, insightful and entertaining manner. It covers Feller's individual baseball seasons in detail. It alos presents interesting info. about his military service in WW 2. It presents an insightful analysis of his complex personality. Its weaknesses are: (1) it covers reatively little of his personal life, especially his post baseball life; and (2) it includes few, if any, recollections of Feller, based on interviews by the author with players and other people who knew Feller.

The author seems to rely entirely on synthesizing information from the various articles and books that have been writtem about Feller, plus the results of one or two interviews with Feller. Why the author chose not to contact any of Feller's former teammates or others who knew him is bewildering. Since Bob has been retired for 47 years, it would have been nice to hear more about his post-baseball life. There's a little on this in the book, but not that much.

I was given this book as a gift from a good friend. I thought it might be full of baseball statistics - I found it to be not only informative but entertaining. Many times during my reading I had a smile on my face or was laughing about a comment Mr. Sickels made. It was very enjoyable reading.

THIS IS THE STORY BOB FELLER STAR PITCHER FOR THE CLEVELAND INDIANS DURING THE 1930'S THRU THE MID 1950'S. THE BOOK TOUCHES ON HIS CHILDHOOD WHERE BOB AND HIS FATHER BUILT A PLAYING FIELD ON THEIR FARMLAND (FIELD OF DREAMS) TO HIS DAYS AS A STAR PITCHER. HIS CAREER IS COVERED IN GREAT DETAIL AND IS WELL WRITTEN. THE AUTHOR ALSO TOUCHES ON HIS STINT IN THE NAVY DURING WORLD WAR 2 AND ALSO SOME INSIGHT AND OPINIONS BY VARIOUS PEOPLE CONCERNING BOB. AMONG THESE ARE JACKIE ROBINSON, EX TEAMATES AND VARIOUS WRITERS. BOB WAS NEVER ONE TO BE TIMID IN HIS OPINIONS AND THIS STORY COVERS IN DETAIL HOW HIS CANDIDNESS GOT HIM IN TROUBLE. THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAD WAS THAT IT DID NOT COVER MUCH OF WHAT HE HAS DONE RECENTLY. OVERALL A GREAT TRIBUTE TO RAPID ROBERT. RECOMMENDED TO ALL BASEBALL FANS.