I Never Had It Made: The Autobiography of Jackie Robinson [Paperback]

Jackie Robinson (Author), Hank Aaron (Author), Alfred Duckett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997 | Series: Dark Tower Series

I Never Had It Made celebrates the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking into the major leagues. "A disturbing and enlightening self-portrait by one of America's genuine heroes."--Publisher's Weekly (starred review). photo insert.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This autobiography, which was originally published in 1972, the year Robinson died, is not about baseball: it's about the deep commitment that Robinson made to achieve justice for himself and all Americans. He recalls his years at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete and met his future wife, Rachel. With the advent of WWII he was drafted into the army, became a lieutenant and was court-martialed for refusing to move to the back of a bus. He was honorably discharged. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues until he was recruited by Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1947 Robinson broke the color line in the major leagues and suffered terrible abuse for doing so. He discusses his relationships with the sports figures he admired, like Rickey and teammate Pee Wee Reese, and also recalls his run-ins with those he did not like, such as Dodger owner Walter O'Malley, who was "viciously antagonistic," and sportswriter Dick Young, a "racial bigot." Much of the book, written with freelancer Duckett, focuses on Robinson's political involvements after his career ended in 1956 and his friendships with such diverse characters as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, William Buckley and Nelson Rockefeller. The most wrenching episodes in the book deal with Jackie Jr., who overcame his heroin addiction only to be killed in an automobile accident at age 24 in 1971. A disturbing and enlightening self-portrait by one of America's genuine heroes. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

This book essentially enlarges upon matters Duckett had covered with Robinson in an earlier work, Breakthrough to the Big League (1965). Included are introductions by Hank Aaron and Cornel West that provide fresh perspectives on the significance of the legendary star's breaking of major league baseball's color barrier. With each retelling, it is clear that Robinson's story has become less a baseball story than a major cultural milestone in the nation's history. As George Will is quoted as saying, it was "one of the great achievements not only in the annals of sport, but of the human drama anywhere, anytime." Appropriate for both adult and young adult collections.?William H. Hoffman, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Ecco Press (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880015446
• ISBN-13: 978-0880015448
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Robinson, Jackie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than a story of a Baseball player, July 23, 2000

By 

Ernest Boehm (Des Plaines, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Never Had It Made: The Autobiography of Jackie Robinson (Paperback)

Jakie Robinson was a man among men. His example shows the ubsurdity of judging a man by the color of his skin. His life was a struggle and this book goes into great personal trials of the man. The book is more about Jackie's family and professional life after baseball than baseball. Yet this does not distract the reader this adds to the story of a honest, passionate and intellegent man. His autobiography with personal honesty goes into Robison's strengths and weaknesses.

The story of Robinson and Branch Ricky is well detailed. It may be the greatest story that ever happend in baseball. If you want to read a book that tells a great baseball story than read this. If you want to read a story of a man whose courage has been rarly equaled than read this book. Jackie Robinson was more than the first black man to play baseball, he was a man who refused to be ashamed of who he was, a great man.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A man who lived A dream...or did he?, January 18, 2001

By 

Joshua Mallipudi (Anaheim, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Never Had It Made: The Autobiography of Jackie Robinson (Paperback)

When I think about someone like Jackie Robinson, I think of someone who had an easy life of playing baseball and making lots of money. He was first the first African-American to play in the professional Major League level and was highly respected by everyone. After having read his autobiography, I Never Had It Made, I realized that I was totally wrong. Besides the glory and the fame for having been the first African-American to play in the major leagues, Jackie had to go through many hardships to get where he got. Jackie uses this book to tell the reader of all the different trials and hardships he had to go through before, during, and after his professional career as the 1st and 2nd baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie also tells of all the other things that he did besides baseball. I didn't know it, but Jackie went to UCLA and while he was there, he did many great things. Not only was a great baseball star at UCLA, he was also a big star in football, basketball, and track. After college, he went into the Army and became a lieutenant for the U.S. Army before he signed with the Montreal Royals (a minor league baseball team) in 1945. Jackie gives a lot of the credit to Mr. Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for having the guts to bring him into the team and making the transition as easy as possible. Jackie promised to take in any insults thrown at him while he was in baseball uniform and not to respond to them for two years. This was to pave the way for other black players to be brought into the major league. I personally don't think that I can play a game while people are yelling and making fun of me. Jackie describes what he had to go through in the book. Jackie also discusses the hate mail he got and even the threats people placed on his life. He also tells of his wife and the kind of positive impact she had on him as well. Many people think of Jackie Robinson as being only a baseball player, but he did much more. After retiring from baseball, he did many things in regard to the civil rights issue. He influenced many issues and was even the political scene, helping President Nixon and President John F. Kennedy during their stay in office. He was even apart of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). In the book, you learn more about his relationships with Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and many others. Jackie Robinson accomplished many things and had endured many problems even within his own family. He talks about the drug problems that plagued his oldest son and all the hardships his children had to go through being the sons and daughter of a famous African-American figure. Jackie changed the way of life for many people and gave hope to the African-American community. After all of this, Jackie learns that no matter what his successes were in the white world, he would always remain a black man. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing about Jackie Robinson. You wouldn't expect for a baseball player to be a good enough writer to write a three hundred page autobiography, but I thought Jackie did a great job. The book flowed and it never got boring. I didn't even want to put it down, just kept turning the pages. This book gave great insight into the kind of life African American faced in the early to mid nineteen hundreds and what they had to endure. Jackie Robinson is not only a great icon in the world of professional sports, but in other aspects as well and I think that he did awesome job in writing this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Never Had It Made, March 4, 2004

By 

matt (berwick,ME) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson (Paperback)

This book tells of the struggles Jackie Robinson faced as he made a name for himself in the game of baseball. This is a wonderfully writen autobiography that tells the emotion and physical hardships he faced not only in the major and minor leagues while playing baseball but also in his everyday life as well.While perservering through all this, he succeeded to a degree of breaking the color barrier in the United States. As a child he witnessed constant racism from neighbors, children, and many others that came into contact with him. His mother brought him up to be very strong and independent because when Jackie was about one or two his father went to the city and never returned. He left her with nothing but thier five children who were all too young to work and support the family. Eventually after being forced to move, they went to live with Jacies uncle in California.
This book really showed me how hard he had it. Not only did he have the pressures of playing in the major leagues but also have to worry about prejudist on the field and in the stands. You will see how he didnt have a friend to talk to unless his wife, Rachel Robinson, would travel with him during the season. There was no one who even dreamed of having a black man in baseball until the dodgers took on Jackie. Baseball has never been the same because of the influence this one man has had on the sport itself and many if not all other sports indirectly.
"I Never Had It Made" tells Robinson's early years and influences such as his college experience at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete;World War II , playing with the Negro Leagues; and when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers asked Jackie Robinson to play, which was known as the "Noble Experiment".The league itself recieved a lot of critism from fans during the timethis "experiment" was unvealed.Jackie Robinson expesses his deppest feelings in this book and writes of his relationship's with individual player's and managers. He also talked of the few he had arguments and different views in many areas. There is many accounts of important games such as the 1955 World Series, when jackie Robinson and the Dodgers won against thier rivals.
This book is a great story of one man's determination and detication to a sport he loved to play through thick and thin. He did this in the faces of all those people who said it could never happen,.it would never happen, and blacks will never say in major league baseball in the United States.Jackie Robinson was a true hero