The Golden Boy: A Biography of Jackie Jensen [Paperback]

George I. Martin (Author, Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000

A biography of a gentleman jock.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

6 x 9 trim. 57 photos.

About the Author

GEORGE I. MARTIN is an assistant professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He has written professional journal articles and has directed writing consortiums and conferences in addition to teaching graduate writing classes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 303 pages
• Publisher: Peter E. Randall Publisher (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914339869
• ISBN-13: 978-0914339861
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,750,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A non-baseball basebal bio, February 6, 2002

By 

Jonathan Brookner (Fairfield, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Boy: A Biography of Jackie Jensen (Paperback)

The author himself explains on this Amazon page that he wrote the book as a non-baseball fan who wanted a subject for his writing fellowship, and had met Jackie's widow. This book is for people who admired Jackie, his quiet heroics, his battle with his inner pains. The sources the author says he used are apparent- they are Jackie's youthful and off-season coaches, friends and business associates, as well as his second wife. They are not primarily baseball players. The account of any given year is strong on Jackie's off-season activities and weak on Jackie's baseball season, or anecdotes relating to it. An unintentionally humorous error stemming from the author's lack of baseball knowledge occurs in the wrap-up of Jackie's stats for the season prior to his first retirement. Mr. Martin mentally transposed the numbers in two columns in his own appendix, and credits Jackie with 67 stolen bases in 1959! Maybe Luis Aparicio was overrated! (Jackie actually had 20 SBs and 67 SOs in 1959.)

As one might expect from such a source, the book is better-written by far than the standard baseball bio. But the choice of a subject famous for an activity that does not captivate the author creates a certain monstrous gap in the purpose, and a real loss in describing Jackie's climactic voluntary retirement from the game at his peak, a mere one year after winning the MVP. If Mr. Martin was half the baseball fan he is a writer, the book could have soared to something like a Greek tragedy. As is, it will appeal to those interested in the man, in the personal foibles and flaws inherent in all humans, and in the efforts of spirited people to overcome them. These efforts better grip the reader when made by one, like Jackie, who has attained greatness in one of life's pathways.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read that will make you look at athletes differently, November 19, 2000

By 

Ethan - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Boy: A Biography of Jackie Jensen (Paperback)

What makes this book so great is that after reading it you have a new found respect for professional athletes and people who are thrust into the public spotlight. Jackie's life was not only interesting, but very demanding and trying for him and his family. This book dispelled my notion that people in Jackie's position were just part of the glitz and glamor of this nation and not so much a citizen like the rest of us. I wish everyone could read this not only because it's a great story of a man's life and all the historical events that took place around him, but also because it made me realize just how human and vulnerable even the seemingly 'mighty' are.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A great companion to the Red Sox Hall of Fame induction., June 1, 2000

By 

Barbette Jensen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Boy: A Biography of Jackie Jensen (Paperback)

Although the book reads like a laundry list of quotes and anecdotes gathered over the last 12 - 15 years, the book reveals a goodly amount of information. The writer does a hard job at not being biased against any one person or event in the life of Jackie Jensen. Though the union of Jackie Jensen and Zoe Ann Olsen did not produce another pro or Olympic athlete, the children have gone on to be happy and successful in their lives in their own ways with the future of their grandchildren still wide open. I would have liked to have seen this documented by the writer. The story reads as if it was a failed generation. Not at all like the reality.