Customer Reviews

George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The author Peter Golenbock is a well known author and should be totally embarrassed with the shoddy final product presented here covering the life of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Any potential reader that is a true sports fan... and not just a dilettante... will find it hard to relax and enjoy this book, as error after glaring error is perpetrated regarding historical facts... locations... and times. As the reader wades through early blunders... even the roughest critics can cast them aside and continue. But as the pages turn and the missteps accumulate it creates a reading atmosphere akin to "a-dog-that's-been-hit-too-much". You find yourself wondering how much of the non-verifiable conversations and situations are not valid either. What makes this literary release so shameful is that in addition to the question of what type of individual proof-read this book... is that with today's infinite amount of data available at your fingertips... so much of these mistakes could be caught with a quick internet inquiry. It isn't like the old days where you would need a roomful of people reading day and night.

*A few shameful examples*

The author says George spent six weeks in basic training at Lackland Air Force base in Houston.

INCORRECT: Lackland AFB is in San Antonio. I know I served there.

The author states that "Hopalong" Cassady of Ohio State won the Heisman Trophy TWICE, in 1954 and 1955.

INCORRECT: He did NOT win the Heisman in 1954, only 1955.

The author states that a trade made that included Roger Maris and Hoyt Wilhelm resulted in both of them making the Hall Of Fame.

INCORRECT: Roger Maris is NOT in the Hall Of Fame.

The author states that Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees for $100,000.00 in cash plus other considerations.

INCORRECT: Babe Ruth was sold for $125,000.00 plus other considerations.

The author says the Yankees won the 1959 American League Pennant.

INCORRECT: The Chicago White Sox won the 1959 American League Pennant and then lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The author says Thurman Munson died in September 1979.

INCORRECT: He died in August 1979.

The author says the 1984 Detroit Tigers who started off the season 35 and 5 were led by pitcher Denny McLain.

INCORRECT: Denny McLain retired after the 1972 season.

The author says that Dallas Green as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies won a pennant and World Series in 1981.

INCORRECT: The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 1981.

This is just some of the incorrect information provided in this book. As the reader becomes apprehensive about the facts being purveyed... perhaps the two most interesting "non-George" segments of the book are the "PREFACE" in which the author details the synergistic chain of events that led him from his goal of being a lawyer... to becoming a published author... which was all started by a "punch in the face by a mugger in the deserted Rahway, New Jersey, train station, and a few days later, in the elevator of the New York University law library, I had a seizure that knocked me out and put me in the hospital." This led to a Forrest Gump like culmination to the author he is today. The second extremely interesting "non-George" character study is that of the Yankee president during the CBS ownership days.... Michael Burke who among other things "ONCE DRANK BOURBON WITH ERNEST HEMINGWAY AFTER PARACHUTING INTO PARIS TWO WEEKS AFTER D-DAY"... and also had war experience in the OSS that was so intriguing that the movie "CLOAK AND DAGGER" was made based on his exploits.

The rest of the book ranges from the expected love-hate relationship between George and his Father... the lies... to almost everyone that crossed his path... his hiring's and firings... wins and losses... his legal problems included... but not limited to... illegal campaign contributions and lying to the federal government... and more lies... but by the half-way mark of the book... there are already so many incorrect statements that you just don't care as much as you did... when you first started.

I have to say that I found the book interesting and while it did not break anything new, other than try to portray Steinbrenner as this secret Samaritan, there were so many mistakes and factual errors in this book that I found it nearly impossible to finish. So many dates were wrong or contradicted by later information I wonder if George himself was the editor so the book would be discredited.

All in all this is a great waste and if I were the author or publisher would withdraw it to finish it properly.

Just read this book ....what a disgrace...yes, after a while I kept reading it just to discover the next error the author would come up with.

It's a shame since he did such good work years ago, books that I still own such as Balls and Bronx Zoo.

I remember hearing of a fictionalized book he wrote recently regarding Mantle, and some of the crap in that book was trash.
This George book just adds the list of poor work he has done recently and especially in an age where folks can verify info via the internet, he goes ahead and releases a book full of errors, errors that any baseball fan could pick up on. Makes you question the whole damn book.

I caught a few errors in the book, but Steinbrenner is a really scary guy. Misrepresenting himself as a pro football player, betrayal, being a bully,the illegal contributions through his trembling employees -imagine he faced 55 years for the illegal contributions and got a fine. Kuhn suspends him for 2 years he is back in 15 months. I saw him as a Hall of Famer but not after reading this book. Billy,Yogi,Gabe Paul, Al Rosen, Joe Torre - what [...] he gave them. He abused his power and demanded all the credit be given to him

George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees from CBS in 1973; the franchise
today is now worth more than a billion dollars . . . he also helped build the team to a point
where it won ten pennants and six World Series.

Yet along the way, he constantly berated his players, tortured his managers
and employees and was twice suspended from baseball for actions that
nearly landed him in jail . . . all this and much more is covered in GEORGE,
Peter Gollenbock's engaging biography of the guy well-known by his
nickname of "The Boss."

Steinbrenner's father was a successful business owner, but he
was anything easy on young George:

* You could run three races in one day and get two firsts and a second,
and the only thing he wanted to talk about was, How did you get beat?
What did you do wrong? One lesson he taught me that stayed with me
more than anything is that you can learn more from your mistakes than
you can from successes.

I enjoyed reading about his childhood, as well as about his initial
foray into sports ownership with a basketball team called the
Cleveland Pipers:

* George's philosophy was "What's the point of playing unless you want
to win?" And I think that's commendable. That's why they won the
championship. He pushed them. He wanted to win even though we
weren't making any money, because he figured if we had a championship
team, why, we'd draw fans. He didn't have the money he needed, and he
still went out and got the players. The only thing was, we didn't draw fans.
In a way he was way ahead of his time. He was on the right track, wanted
to raise money, but not with that crew.

He was determined never to enter a deal without having enough money
behind it. He learned that. He was determined not to make that mistake
again. And he never did.

The book came alive for me, though, when it shared stories of the
Yankees--many of whom I had grown up rooting for . . . I got a particular
kick out of this tale involving Dock Ellis:

* Gabe Paul had made headlines for the Yankees in October the year before
when he traded talented, dependable Bobby Murcer for the exciting fan-attractor Bobby
Bonds. On the same day, he traded the quiet, dependable pitcher Doc Medich for three
Pittsburgh Pirates: Willie Randolph, a future All-Star second baseman, relief pitcher Ken
Brett, George's big brother; and Dock Ellis, who gained fame for pitching a no-hitter
for the Pirates while on LSD. Dock would later cause his teammates to crack up
when he issued the lines, "I love it when Gorge Steinbrenner flies. The more he flies,
the greater the odds his plane will crash." Dock, who was never dull, was not a Yankee
for a long time.

GEORGE also pointed out many of the good things that Steinbrenner has
done for charities and individuals that he rarely seeks credit for . . . I only
regret that he had been a nicer person to many of his players and especially
to Billy Martin, his manager on five separate occasions . . . there would have even been
sixth had Martin not died in an auto accident.

Nine pages of pictures added to my enjoyment of the book, though I do
wish there had been at least some from before 1962.

"George" by veteran sportswriter Peter Golenbock is a fascinating read. Rich in detail and anecdotes and inside scoop on many baseball greats. Intimate portrait of the young George Steinbrenner and what made him into an outrageous human being.

Overall- this is a decent read, but as listed by other people, there are simply an overwhelming number of mistakes in this book, literally dozens that I noticed- I would wait for the paperback edition

Peter Golenbock has added an important resource to the library of sports biographies on contemporary sports figures. The book is a very engaging read, a difficult book to put down. To cover comprehensively a figure as complicated as George Steinbrenner is no easy task. Just sifting through the material available on Mr. Steinbrenner must be a monumental undertaking; a man like him never avoided the spotlight and thus there is a wealth of material available. The factual errors aside (and the editors and publishers must also bear some significant responsibility for them), Mr. Golenbock has presented a very balanced, thorough view of a man who could be all too easy to condemn as all bad, or who could be easy to fall for when he turns on the charm. Instead of falling into either trap, we are able, thanks to Mr. Golenbock, to see the whole picture and draw educated conclusions. The book cuts through the Steinbrenner Mythology (both the derogatory myths and the laudatory myths). Perhaps the most valuable and enlightening insight Mr. Golenbock provides for those who closely follow baseball year by year is that the progress the Yankees made and sustained on the field was almost always the result of work the management team was able to carry out when Steinbrenner was prohibited from being involved with team operations. When he was being punished by the baseball commissioner for serious transgressions he was found guilty of by legal bodies outside baseball (such as making illegal campaign contributions and hiring a shady character to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield) the Yankees made their best personnel moves which led to several World Series victories. If you don't look at factual missteps as just an opportunity to spew venom about an author and boost your own ego, the many virtues of the book that overshadow its imperfections will make it well worth your time.

Anyone who read "Amazin'!" (Golenbock's alleged oral history of the Mets) knows that the author, at least in his later work, seems to have developed a habit for producing error-filled, shoddy hack work. Read some of the reader reviews for that book and it's amazing how much the complaints foreshadow those posted for "George." I'll never read another Golenbock book again. There are too many good sports books out there.

Peter Golenbock continues to deliver what he has a well earned reputation for, a book loaded with factual inaccuracies and mistakes. It's very hard to enjoy a book when you really can't believe much of the alleged 'facts' within. Gee, isn't there someone who edits his nonsense. Peter you write great fiction, stop pretending to be a reputable sports writer. This book, like most of his work, is crap. Buyer beware.