Roberto Clemente: The Great One (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One of the nicer outgrowths of the ascendancy of slugger Sammy Sosa has been the renewed spotlight on the life and career of Roberto Clemente, the player he idolized and modeled himself after. One of the great stars of the midcentury, Clemente was the first Latin to be enshrined in Cooperstown after playing 18 Major League seasons, posting a .317 career batting average, and leading Pittsburgh to two World Series. He prowled right field with amazing grace, possessing what many consider the greatest arm in the game's history. Yet his grandeur resides as much in what he accomplished by example off the field: "Any time you have an opportunity to accomplish something for somebody who comes behind you and you don't do it, you are wasting your time on earth," notes Clemente in his biography. He didn't waste his abbreviated allotment. A true humanitarian--baseball gives an annual public service award in his name--he worked tirelessly to help those in need; indeed, he died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve, 1972, on the way to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Born in poverty in Puerto Rico, Clemente rose on the strength of his magnificent talents, but never forgot his roots. His was a complex, often thrilling life; Markusen, a senior researcher in the library at the Hall of Fame, has done it justice in this comprehensive and thoughtful examination of a remarkable human being who lived on and off the field with equal passion. --Jeff Silverman

From Library Journal

No full-scale biography of Roberto Clemente has been written since shortly after his untimely death in 1972, and one is needed to place his life and achievements in perspective. Unfortunately, this is not the unbiased biography the great Pittsburgh Pirate deserves. Markusen (Baseball's Last Dynasty, LJ 5/15/98) presents a comprehensive life of the baseball superstar, making good use of published works and interviewing many of Clemente's friends and teammates. But Markusen writes like a cheerleader throughout, never including anything negative about his subject. Clemente comes across as aloof, more respected than liked by teammates and opponents. While undoubtedly a victim of 1950s and 1960s racism, Clemente had a self-confidence that could easily be mistaken for egotism in the media. Perhaps the balance of the book would have benefitted by a closer examination of Clemente's relationships with Danny Murtaugh, a manager he did not get along with, and teammates such as Elroy Face. Recommended only for comprehensive baseball collections.?William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 362 pages
• Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC (October 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571672443
• ISBN-13: 978-1571672445
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,425,712 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for Baseball fans, April 6, 1999

By A Customer

This book is a necesity for fans of the game, and fans of a truly great baseball player and humanitarian. Roberto Clemente was and still is a role model to all. Bruce Markusen does an incredible job relaying Clemente's legacy to his readers. Roberto is my favorite baseball player of all time, and he played for my favorite team. It is great to see such an accurate portrail of such a legend. To realize that athletes can be more than just a source of entertainment is hard enough to understand, let alone write an entire book on the subject. I highly recomend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about a true "legend of the game". I would also like to add that Bruce Markusen autographed my copy of this book. He is a great author and a class act.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting because of the subject, June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This biography of Roberto Clemente could have been so much better. It's easy enough to read, because Clemente himself is so interesting, but there are flaws with it. The book is not well-edited and tends to repeat itself too much; for instance, the subject of reporters quoting Clemente phonetically is mentioned several times throughout the book, as if the writer feels the need to reintroduce us to this fact over and over and over. Also, little sense of Clemente as a man emerges.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read for fans of the GREAT CLEMENTE, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

The 1971 World Series was the first one that I remember vividly. I was nine years old at the time, and I remember rooting for the Pirates. I also vividly remember how Clemente took over the series. His talents were put on the national spotlight for baseball fans in a big way.

This book in great detail displays not only Clemente's terrific skills as a baseball player, but also his wonderful work as a humanitarian and the numerous good deeds he did for men,women,and children.

The book also discusses the many struggles that Clemente and other Latinos experienced during their careers. Clemente was an extremely proud man, and was justified in his anger when certain people tried to 'Americanize' him.

It is rare for an athlete to become more popular after his death, but I believe that Clemente is a prime example of this. He never really got the national exposure he deserved until the 1971 World Series, and his death in 1972 cut short not only a tremendous playing career, but more importantly deprived the world of no doubt more humanitarian efforts to those in need.

This is the second book written by Bruce Markusen that I have had the pleasure of reading. His talents as a baseball writer are evident, this is by far the best baseball book that I have read. I look forward to the next book!!!!!

FIVE STARS for a greatly detailed book on one of the best baseball players of our time, but most important, one of the best human beings of our time.