Customer Reviews

The Mick

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Mickey Mantle was my childhood baseball idol. This book was first published in the early 1980s. I am fond of this book because even as a adult with a successful career I was still awestruck by Mantle. The book cover was different from the one shown here. I was working at the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo California and went I heard that mantle was doing a book sign of this new book over in Westwood, I took a very long lunch break, went to Brentano's in Westwood bought the book and waited in a long linr to talk to Mickey and get his signature.

This is a well-written book about Mantle's life in baseball and includes a lot about his frienship and relationship with Billy Martin. All Mantle's books are well-written because he had the good esense to pick excellent sportswriters to ghost write for him. Mantle still appeared to be in good health at the time although the gray was showing in his hair. Liver cancer possibly a result of his heavy drinking and partying during his career took him out of this world too soon. The controversy over his liver transplant came much later as did his final book which was his best and had a heavy message. This book doesn't do that but it does give Mantle's side of the story on a lot of issues that were told much differently by the media. This included the famous brawl at the Copa Cabana bar that many think trigered the trade of Billy Martin to Kansas City. Casey Stengel loved Martin's heart and aggressiveness in the field, but he grew tired of Billy's antics that seemed to be corrupt his star player (Mickey Mantle).

this book reminds me of the good old days of baseball where nothing mattered but baseball, and you had stars like Mantle, Maris, DiMaggio, Aaron, Killebrew, Kaline, Drysdale, Koufax, Berra, and Whitey Ford to name a few.
the book, The Mick, talks about the entire baseball life of Mickey Charles Mantle, to hero and baseball legend.

the book begins with how Mickey's dad brought him up around baseball and how his father taught him to become a switch hitter. Mickey talks about girls, booze, and other fun stuff he did while playing ball for Joplin and the Yankees.

when you read this book, you almost feel like you're there with Mickey when this stuff is happening. you're there when he hits a 536 foot homer, or when he busted his knee in the World Series. you know how he feels when he says he hated to play against Dodger great, Sandy Koufax, and you know what his emotions were like once he retired from the game that he says was the only thing he knew how to do.

you learn about Casey Stengel and how he really cared for and pushed for Mickey to be a great player.

great book on the baseball life of Mickey Mantle. i recommened this book highly to anyone who likes baseball or to anyone who wants to read about the baseball life of The Mick.

At first, I just got this book because I had to do a book report, and since I like baseball, I thought that this book would be interesting. Although I neither liked the Yankees or really knew much about Mantle, this book had a good amount of information about his life before and with the Yankees, and turned out to be pretty good. Everything was from his point of view, of course, but that didn't make the book any less interesting. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about baseball or just Mantle and the Yankees in particular.

As a lifelong baseball fan, I am well aware of the legend of Mickey Mantle. I was born just as his career was fading, and he retired three years before my first Little League game.
But the name "Mickey Mantle" always meant something. Like DiMaggio or Musial or Ruth, he represented a certain type of baseball "hero" that doesn't exist anymore.
Mythic. Ethereal.

I decided to read this book in order to learn more about Mantle, and I have to say I learned quite a bit.
Not all of it good.
The book is written as if Mr. Mantle dictated it into a tape recorder, and was transcribed with minimal embellishment.
He comes across as a plain, simple and often humble man. Not very bright, and not terribly insightful. The language is plain and monosyllabic. Fractured sentences and unfinished thoughts are sprinkled throughout the tome.

Knowing what we know now about his alcoholism and eventual death from liver failure, it's a little embarrassing to see him downplay these problems. Shockingly, his drunk driving accident that put his wife "through the windshield" and led to his wife needing "a lot of stitches in her head" is briefly mentioned in a half a page, as really "scaring" him. That's it. There are passages where he is almost boastful about his drinking...which are a little uncomfortable.

The book is slight and short. I found myself longing for more information, more detail, more of what it must have been like to be a Yankee at that glorious time in baseball history. Twelve pennants and seven Series in fourteen years? The Yanks OWNED baseball.

There are many enjoyable anecdotes regarding his fellow ballplayers...pranks, stunts, arguments, fights...that are the clear highlight of this book. He really doesn't have a bad word to say about anybody. Except maybe George Weiss.
And that leads to the one thing I DIDN'T like about this book.

Mickey Mantle comes across as a little whiny. Especially about two things: his salary and his injuries.
And you don't ever want to think of Mickey Mantle as "whiny".

I realize the book was written in 1985. Things WERE totally different in the 50's. But to put so much emphasis on the annual salary negotiations, and to leave out so much good stuff about the actual game itself, is just plain wrong. There's no perspective.

Injury after injury gets recounted, with the same "aw-shucks" manner that infuses his less-detailed accounts of his MVP years; it's a bit numbing.

Since he's gone, we may never know what it must have been like to be Mickey Mantle. Perhaps had he involved his co-writer Herb Gluck more, or had Gluck been able to draw more out of Mantle, we'd have a better book. There's too much pity if you will and not enough glory.

Believe me, Mantle had enough "glory" in his life for half a dozen Hall of Famers. He truly is one of those legends whose reality justifies the myth. Maybe he wasn't the best person to write a book about Mickey Mantle, strangely enough.
Did he ever understand how awesome...I use that word carefully and precisely...how truly awesome he really was to a whole generation?

I consider this merely a taste, a tantalizing glimpse, into the life of Mickey Mantle. I need to read more...I HAVE to.

Mickey Mantle (1931-1995) tells his story in this readable and interesting book. Mantle was neither intellectually gifted nor particularly insightful - in these pages he comes across as plain and somewhat humble. Imagine the American League's biggest star running a family bowling alley in Dallas during off seasons in those days of modest salaries. Mantle tells of his antics with his teammates, the thrill of key games, trips overseas, etc. The superstar from Commerce Oklahoma was more responsible for the loved and hated Yankee dynasty of the 1950's thru 1964 than anybody. Mantle said he couldn't remember a single parade after another Yankee title - they were expected to win. Compare that with the 86-year championship wait in Boston, or the long pennant droughts of the White Sox, Cubs, and other teams.

This book came out in the mid-1980's and steers clear of the drinking problems that would lead to Mantle's death in 1995. This is not a great autobiography, but it is an interesting look from a surprisingly humble man.

"The Mick" is about the legendary Mickey Mantle. The best part of this book is that it's told in the first person by Mickey himself. Mick was a great guy, and he doesn't edit himself in this book. My favorite part of this book was his upbringings. Any baseball fan knows the guy was a legend on the field, but his origins are less known. It tells of how his father and his grandfather would alternate pitching left and right handed to teach him to hit switch. Or the games he played while Dad was away at the mines. His siblings would box with him, or throw balls over their house and chase them down. If you like Mickey, or even just baseball, you'll love this book.

Mickey Mantle grew up in small town in the Kansas, Oklahoma line area. As Mickey would say "Indian territory". Mickey's father had a passion for baseball and started Mickey off at an early age. This is where he learned to switch hit. As a young man he met a woman named Merlyn. They met at a friend's house one night and asked her out. "We were together ever since then", said Mickey. Mickey was brought up to the Yankees with a series of lucky events. Scouts would be looking at other players and noticed that Mickey was the one who stood out. Mickey was first suited up in 1951, he was just a kid. Mickey started a habit with drinking on the off seasons. Mickey said he never really got to know his own family. Mickey's father died a few years into his career. This was a huge blow. His 18 year career was played with many injuries. He'd be known for playing injured on most occasions. Behind his award-winning career, Mickey said that the most important award to him was the Most Valuable Player award. "This award let you know that you were the best player in baseball for that year", he had said. In 1969, Mickey said goodbye to baseball. Baseball had treated him good and it was time for him to leave. Mickey said it was the worst day of his life except for the day his dad died. His baseball was all Mickey knew. He slowly walked away from baseball, but he had a short announcing career that wasn't for Mickey even though he saw his close friends become very good at it.
Mickey would tell you many stories about the past and good times with his friends. The jokes they play with each other and late nights spent at the bars. Mickey seemed to be a person that i'd get along with. Mickey would also tell stories about the Yankee players and give you a little insight on the team. He told each person their strengths and weaknesses. He would talk about old pals and what kind of trouble they'd get themselves into and they'd find a way to get themselves out.
There wasn't much that I didn't like about the book. I thought on some subjects he wouldn't get into too much detail and it felt like he left you hanging. He also would go back in time and go ahead and confuse you.
This book was one of the best books that I ever read. I also love the game of baseball and look up to players like Mickey Mantle. You hear stories about ball players and they sound almost as good as hearing it from the man himself. I enjoyed reading about Mickey and if you're a baseball lover, like me, you'll love this book. If you like sports this is also a good book and if you're a Yankees fan, you'll be sure to like this book too.

I REALLY ENJOYED THE MICK. MICKEY DOES A VERY GOOD JOB TEELING US ABOUT HIS HARD LIFE AS A CHILD IN OKLAHOMA TO HIS GLORY DAYS WITH THE YANKEES. I FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING TO READ IN THE MICKEY'S WORDS THAT HE HAD A DRINKING PROBLEM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY HE STOPPED TOO LATE AND IT COST HIM HIS LIFE. MICKEY WAS QUITE A LADIES MAN ALSO AND HAD MANY AFFAIRS. THE MICK IS VERY HUMAN AND HAS A VERY HIGH TOLERANCE TO PAIN. MICKEY WAS MY BOYHOOD HERO, I LOVED TO WATCH HIM. HIS COMBINATION OF POWER AND SPEED WAS AWESOME. HIS ABILITY TO PLAY WITH PAIN MADE HIM A HERO WITH MANY FANS. THIS IS SAD IN MANY PLACES BUT I RECOMMEND IT FOR ALL YANKEE AND BASEBALL FANS. THE MICK IS STILL THE MAN.

If you love the great sport of baseball you will be in love with this book. The greatest ball player of all time was always out partying and going crazy. He had a wife and children that he didn't spend that much time with. But boy could he hit the baseball. He was by far the most talented ball player of all time. There is parts of the book were he went up to bat completely drunk or in a hangover, and he would still crush the ball over the wall. But will Mickey get his head screwed back on straight, or will he get too caught up with drinking and partying with Whitey Ford and Billy Martin and waste his whole career?

The Mick was a very good book. It showed a great insight of the life of Mickey Mantle, one of the best baseball players ever to live. He told about his views on life and baseball.