This Gracious Season: Barry Bonds & The Greatest Year in Baseball [Hardcover]

Josh Suchon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0971872902 | ISBN-13: 978-0971872905

Just as players and coaches are hitting their stride at spring training, a new book, This Gracious Season (Winter Publications, March 2002), reminds us what a magical season 2001 was for the San Francisco Giants and their Future Hall-of-Fame slugger, Barry Bonds.

Josh Suchon, the Giants’ beat writer for the Oakland Tribune, has a unique behind-closed-door access to Bonds and the team, which inspired him to chronicle his experiences of watching, listening and discussing Bonds’ chase of the most hallowed record in all of sports -- the single season home run record. However this isn’t just a book about home runs. It's about putting Bonds’ home runs into context. What made them special as singular moments in time. What they did to fuel the anticipation of more home runs. And how, as a whole, they made 2001 one gracious season for Barry Lamar Bonds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(Bonds' record-breaking season is) brought vividly back to life in Josh Suchon's riveting account in This Gracious Season." -- Jon Miller, Voice of the Giants & ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, February 15, 2002

"Josh Suchon smashes a home run of his own in this remarkable book about Barry Bonds." -- Bob Nightengale, USA Today Baseball Weekly, February 20, 2002

"This Gracious Season is a great story." -- Ray Ratto, Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle, February 12, 2002

From the Publisher

This Gracious Season takes fans through the incredible ride of the 2001 season, from Bonds' motivation as the season begins, to his famous family and their impact on his career. Highlights include:

• The importance of Bonds hitting his record-breaking 73rd homer against all odds

• Bonds’ reaction to his historic 500th career home run and the nine Hall of Famers he passed on the all-time homer list.

• The changes he saw in the fans’ and media’s treatment of him throughout the season.

• The effect of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

• The intense pressure of a pennant race.

• The death threats hovering over his head.

• The passing of a longtime friend late in the season.

• The suspense as opponents refused to pitch to him.

• The bittersweet final weekend of the season.

• The impact his wife and three children had in showing him how to be a loving family man

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Winter Pubns (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971872902
• ISBN-13: 978-0971872905
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,463,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Editors, what were you thinking?, June 9, 2003

By 

JP (Santee, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: This Gracious Season: Barry Bonds & The Greatest Year in Baseball (Hardcover)

I am quite the Barry Bonds fan, so I looked very forward to reading This Gracious Season. Unfortunately the story was nearly impossible for me to focus on through all of the mis-punctuation, misuse of words, and failed attempts at lace. I think, that Josh Suchon, must have received, a royalty, from every, comma, used.
Yes, the story was a good one. But that has little to do with the author, being as this was a biography. I like that he threw in personal tidbits, but they were drowning in a sea of Josh Suchon's attempts at using a thesaurus, and showing off his ability to look up sports stats. One of my favorite movie lines (paraphrased) is applicable here: Sometimes more isn't better; it's just more.
Barry, I love you. Josh, stick to the papers.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, June 19, 2002

By 

Jeff (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Gracious Season: Barry Bonds & The Greatest Year in Baseball (Hardcover)

I have recently completed reading This Gracious Season, and I wish the book had no end!! It was great to find and read a sports novel that was not a statistic-laden glossary, one that included all of the elements in and behind the dugout. Not being a tremendous fan of Barry, I have now come to respect him more after knowing of all that went on during his record breaking season.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than Barry Bonds, June 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: This Gracious Season: Barry Bonds & The Greatest Year in Baseball (Hardcover)

First, I'll admit I like Barry Bonds. I think he's hounded, and then people are surprised when he lashes out. That's that.

So for the book, I don't think anyone who hates Barry should buy it (why would you?). But for those who like the man, or tolerate him, or want to learn more about him, I'd highly recommend it. I think it is well written and compelling. What I've been surprised about (pleasantly) is that there's a lot more to the book than just Barry Bonds. I've learned a lot about the other players on the team, including those who came and went during the 2001 season, I've learned things about Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and other Giants past, and about the Giants organization in general. I think this has made it a nice read and not just a Barry-Love-Fest as someone else feels. Furthermore, I think the parts about Barry aren't glowing or one-sided. I think most of the details are presented as facts, and there are certainly paragraphs describing some of Barry's more surly moments as well. The prose flows nicely, as does the art of "flashing-back" to other moments in baseball to illuminate Barry's psyche (such as the final moment of the 1991 NLCS)

So, I'd buy it. But again, if you hate the guy, why would you expect to spend [price] and enjoy reading a whole book about Barry Bonds?