The Road to Cooperstown: A Father, Two Sons, and the Journey of a Lifetime (Thomas Dunne Books) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Tom Stanton (Author) "My father, Joseph Stankiewicz, was born in 1920, the same year Carl Mays accidentally killed Cleveland infielder Ray Chapman by beaning him with a fastball..." (more)
Key Phrases: baseball encyclopedia, tank plant, white porches, Babe Ruth, New York, World Series (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this heartfelt effort, journalist and author Stanton examines family, fatherhood, life and, of course, baseball while on a road trip that was a lifetime in the making. As a boy, the baseball-obsessed Stanton dreamed of visiting the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.-a dream that was continually deferred while his mother suffered through a series of brain surgeries. Nearly 30 years later, the dream is realized when Stanton (The Final Season) is invited to speak at the Hall of Fame. Sensing the magnitude of the invitation, the 40-year-old author gathers his 81-year-old father and 47-year-old brother, and the three embark upon a sentimental journey to baseball mecca. Unfortunately, Stanton's road to Cooperstown is littered with so many reverential, saccharine moments that it becomes nearly impassable at times. Alongside the voluminous backdrop of baseball history in Cooperstown, from Ty Cobb's diaries to Doubleday Stadium, flows an unending deluge of personal recollections, all tied to key baseball memories. Stanton does succeed in rendering a loving homage to his father for a childhood "empty of horrors," even comparing his father to one of his favorite Detroit Tigers, Mickey Lolich: "dependable, consistent, capable, seldom flashy, successful more often than not." But such touching observations sometimes drown amid the ceaseless baseball-as-life theme. Nevertheless, given the millions of fathers and sons who've bonded over baseball and visit the Baseball Hall of Fame (and its gift shop) every year, this book should find an eager audience.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A beautiful gem of a book: tender, perceptive, compassionate, funny, and wise."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312331185
• ISBN-13: 978-0312331184
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #673,749 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another emotional baseball saga from Tom Stanton, August 31, 2004

By	R. Vosik "vosmo" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Road to Cooperstown: A Father, Two Sons, and the Journey of a Lifetime (Hardcover)

Like Tom Stanton's first book about Tiger Stadium's final season, this book combines great baseball stories into a family pilgramage. We learn not only about Cooperstown, but what it means to Stanton and his family. We get to know the Stantons in the same intimate way we come to know Cooperstown.

You will very much enjoy this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stanton in the Running for a 2nd CASEY Award, January 15, 2004

By	mike shannon (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Road to Cooperstown: A Father, Two Sons, and the Journey of a Lifetime (Hardcover)

Great subject and wonderful execution. Even veteran Cooperstown-goers will learn things about the town and the Hall of Fame. No one has ever repeated as a CASEY Award winner. Will Stanton be the first?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Family's Journey To Baseball's Shrine, June 7, 2003

By	W. C HALL (Newport, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Road to Cooperstown: A Father, Two Sons, and the Journey of a Lifetime (Hardcover)

I loved this book, and I think most baseball fans will, too. If "Field of Dreams" is your favorite baseball film, if you believe in baseball as poetry, baseball as religion, baseball as the glue binding fathers to sons, then this book is definitely for you.

The dream of visiting Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame first took hold of author Tom Stanton in the summer of 1972. His mother's illness prevented the trip from happening then, but an invitation to speak at the shrine after publication of his first book ("The Final Season") finally made it happen. He asked his father and older brother to join him, the men who first awakened in him the love of the game.

Chapters about their trip and the hall itself are interspersed with chapters looking back to 1972. Baseball memories, and the theme of the game as a metaphor for life, provide the interconnecting thread. It's a journey across the miles for the Stantons, but also a journey through the years. I'm glad to have been able to share it with them, and I hope you will, too.