The Power and the Darkness: The Life of Josh Gibson in the Shadows of the Game [Hardcover]

Mark Ribowsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2001

The first full biography of Negro League legend Josh Gibson examines the record-breaking career and tormented personal life of the great athlete, from his dramatic baseball feats to his self-destructive drug and alcohol abuse to his death at age thirty-seven. 15,000 first printing.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hall-of-Famer Gibson (1911-1947) was to black baseball what Babe Ruth was to white baseball: a prolific home run hitter who also hit for average. He was a victim of the game's color bar and died just three months before Jackie Robinson broke it. In relating Gibson's life, Ribowski (The Complete History of the Negro Leagues, 1884-1955) is handicapped by the paucity of documentation and by the equivocation of many of the catcher's contemporaries in speaking candidly about his drinking and drug abuse. Like many Negro Leaguers of that era, Gibson changed teams several times. He also played in Latin America, where he was a beloved figure. His personal life was darkened by the death of his wife in childbirth, and although he later had a longtime common-law wife, Ribowski raises the question of whether Gibson ever had a happy domestic life. First serial to Interview.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Ribowsky, the author of a fine history of Negro League baseball (The Complete History of the Negro Leagues, LJ 6/1/95) as well as a noteworthy biography of Satchell Paige (Don't Look Back, LJ 2/1/94), presents an insightful account of Gibson's tragic life, which came to an end only months before Jackie Robinson integrated Major League ball. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 319 pages
• Publisher: Replica Books (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735100586
• ISBN-13: 978-0735100589
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,166,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great history of a great black baseball legend, August 19, 2000

By 

R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Power and the Darkness: The Life of Josh Gibson in the Shadows of the Game (Hardcover)

It's easy to see why this writer also wrote a book about Satchel Paige. Their careers are so intertwined, he already had the research. And, in fact, you could almost call this a history of the Negro Baseball League.

The negatives to the book are that it early reads somewhat like a rehash of newspaper articles. The author was forced into this because the two primary sources were the weekly black newspapers and "embellished" word of mouth. The set-up is a little long on the history of the two Pittsburgh teams that Josh played for but since this rivalry was so intertwined with Josh's history, it was almost necessary.

The positives are that this is a classic "tragic hero". Humble beginnings and tragedy, develops into a tremendous player, personal flaws erode his skills, and then he has a young, controversial death. When you overlay that with the rumors and embellishment of his accomplishments, it's easy to see how the legend has grown. The author did a good job of balancing legend with documentable evidence helping the reader draw a conclusion on the stories that may be overstated exaggerations.

This is a great story and a very good read I enjoyed. Obviously, Josh Gibson and Satch Paige paved the way for Jackie Robinson and have their place in baseball history. I STRONGLY encourage you to watch "The Soul of the Game" on HBO which takes the history of Paige, Gibson and Robinson and overlays the facts into a reconstruction. It was one of the best movies I have ever watched and never fails to draw you emotionally into the story. This book and it's careful research, allowed me to realize virtually every scene in the movie was drawn from some fact and not an overstatement.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful!!!, December 4, 1998

By 

Grissum C. Smackerson (Toronto, Ontario CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: POWER AND THE DARKNESS: The Life of Josh Gibson in the Shadows of the Game (Hardcover)

Mark Ribowsky has researched his material and subject very well. A very powerful but sad message comes from this book. Josh Gibson had tremendous and unlimited power and potential. As a victim of a racist America of that time, we will never truly know just how great he could have been. A sad epitaph exists for all Negro League Stars...Statistics are terribly lacking and wrought with inconsistencies. More often than not we are left to the colorful imaginations of those that were witness to this era. No question, they were all highly talented. No question, they were robbed and we were robbed. Josh Gibson is about as poignent a subject as anyone. Such a shame! Thank you, Mark. Thank you for at least allowing us to have a glimpse at what it was like for Josh and many others of a bygone era. It was not an easy time for them. Josh was the one that was hardest hit by the climate. The truth is known, it is ugly, but it is known.

3.0 out of 5 stars More Info, November 27, 2006

By 

Tallace Willman "Bimp5" (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: POWER AND THE DARKNESS: The Life of Josh Gibson in the Shadows of the Game (Hardcover)

Overall this book was an okay read. I would have preferred to read more about Josh Gibson and his personal/family life. This book provided more information on box scores and Negro League history than on Josh Gibson. There was information on him that I had never read about or even heard about for that matter which was Great! Not to say the information about box scores and Negro League history are not important. I think I could have gotten that information from the author's other book he wrote about the history of the Negro Leagues. I would have liked to read more about Josh Gibson personally such as what happened to his twin daughter,what happened to the other women in his life, did he have any more children or is any of his memorabilia in the hall of fame are just a few questions that I would have liked to read about.