Josh Gibson: THE POWER AND THE DARKNESS (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Hard by Highway 41 in rural southwest Georgia and some twenty miles east of the Chattahoochee River, there is a jerry-built bar and grill in..." (more)
Key Phrases: trouble ball, black game, colored baseball, Josh Gibson, Cum Posey, Satchel Paige (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

It is said that Josh Gibson is the only man ever to have hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. Some claim he hit as many as seventy-five home runs in a season. All agreed that he was a frightening hitter to face. What Satchel Paige was to pitching in the Negro leagues, Gibson was to hitting: their greatest star, biggest gate attraction, and most important symbol. Though Gibson is best remembered as "the black Babe Ruth," Ruth became a beloved symbol of the national pastime, while Gibson lived a life veiled in the darkness that came both from the shadow world of the Negro leagues and from within his own tortured soul. Mark Ribowsky, the widely acclaimed biographer of Satchel Paige, pulls no punches in his portrait of this magnificent, troubled athlete. Ribowsky shows us Gibson's dark side, but he also enhances Gibson's historical status even as he separates fact from fiction by examining the truth behind his legendary performances. "Josh Gibson" is the most complete, thorough, and authoritative account of the life of black ball's greatest hitter, and one of its most important stars.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (October 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252072243
• ISBN-13: 978-0252072246
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,247,918 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Totally agree with the above reviewer, January 6, 2009

By	Taylor M. Green - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a big Ribowsky fan after reading his bio on Satchel. But this effort on Josh Gibson seems diluted. Agreed that he digresses too often about Satchel in this book on Gibson.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is It About Josh Or Satchel?, August 17, 2006

By	Mr. Richard D. Coreno "Mr. C" (Berea, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The 2004 paperback edition leads off with author Mark Ribowsky taking Barry Bonds to task for comments the controversial slugger made concerning the slugging prowess of Josh Gibson.

He chides the future hall of famer for falling prey to the myth surrounding the total number of official homers Gibson smacked in regular-season Negro League games. Barry bashing at its finest!

Ribowsky then pens a very uneven biography that often relies on too much game commentary and material from his outstanding biography of Satchel Paige. While the pair certainly were superstars in baseball, Ribowsky losses focus too often on the title of his book.

There are sections where Ribowsky yanks the reader from Gibson, goes into long commentary about Paige and then attempts to draw the chapter back to Gibson. It simply doesn't work.

As a dual biography, the book deserves at least one more star. Ribowsky simply needed to be more honest with himself and the reader about the direction he took with his research and writing.