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Summary: "We'll Eat This Cake Any Day!" screamed the classmates.
Review: I think the main attraction of a book like this is by far its most appealing aspect. This book is filled with several pages, including 'notes' by Yogi Berra in which he describes everything about everything. There's even a picture on the front. If you wanted to, you could eat almost anything - but bring the food processor! Recommended for trolls and fans of the sport "tigger-tagger."
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Summary: Straight talk from Yogi
Review: This collection of short snippets of wisdom from Yogi Berra is an enjoyable and ,yes, profitable read. Yogi is a man of great integrity and dignity and those qualities shine through on every page of this simple and relatively quick read. Pick it up and read it on your next long flight.
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Summary: "He's Learning Me All His Experience"
Review: This famous Yogi-ism not only is the subject of one of the chapters in this very entertaining book, but it could just as well be the title of the book itself. Reading this gem reminded me of getting to spend an afternoon discussing life and its simple lessons with a favorite uncle or a grandfather who wants to pass on the wisdom he's accumulated over the course of a long and interesting lifetime.The extent to which many of Yogi's malaprops have become ingrained in the American lexicon ("it ain't over til it's over," and "it's deja vu all over again") is testament to just how clearly and simply Yogi sees life. This book expands on that view with short 2-3 page chapters, each of which is titled by one of his famous sayings. Each chapter discusses how that particular malaprop can be applied to life in general. For example, in the chapter entitled, "It Gets Late Early Out Here," Yogi discusses how growing old happens to most people before they're ready for it and how so much can still be gained from life, even as the body begins to slow down. The humor in the book is not limited to the 30+ Yogi-isms that title the chapters. Real zingers are buried in the text throughout and make for a thoroughly enjoyable way to "learn all his experience." Even non-baseball fans or those with lifelong allegiance to a Yankee rival will find this book to be a wonderful, simple, humorous look at life.
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Summary: Wit and Wisdom from the one and only Yogi Berra
Review: Whether you call them Yogisms or Berraisms, the witty wisdom of Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is part of our national heritage. "When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!" (a reference to part of Yogi's instructions on how to get to his home in Montclair, New Jersey) collects 40 of his famous sayings with commentary from the Hall of Fame catcher on their meaning, which is related to not only baseball but family life as well. Growing up on Dago Hill in St. Louis, Yogi was always more interested in baseball than in education, so while the man is certainly unschooled he is no dummy. His sayings, such as "Ninety percent of baseball is mental and the other half is physical," are amusing not because they are stupid but because they make perfect sense in a new and delightful way. I mean, come on: there are two parts to baseball, mental and physical, so if you talk about 1 out of 2 that's half, so what's your problem? The joy here is not just revisiting his famous sayings ("It ain't over, 'till its over," etc.), the ones he actually says he said anyway, but Yogi talking about what they mean to him. In the age of computers the folksy wisdom of Yogi is refreshing and brings us back to the basics. It is certainly great to know that when it comes to the literary career of Mr. Berra, it ain't anywhere near being over yet.
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Summary: It Ain't Over 'Til The Fat Lady Takes The Spoon In The Road
Review: Yes, the loveable crazy anecdote king is back, and he holds nothing back in this book. Yogi Berra guarantees that you will like this book that is 60% intellectual and 50% inspirational. Confused by my weird sayings yet? You would truly have to appreciate Yogi to get the significant meaning behind them. In this wonderful book, you get to know him just a little bit better. Berra has such an intuitive mind for the game of baseball, and he has certainly played for or coached his fair share of championship teams. He let's us in to the secrets of the sport, not to mention his amazing pearls of wisdom. With each gem of a story, there is a certain hidden life lesson to be learned. He hides nothing and tells it like it is in a true, matter-of-fact type literary voice. There are also some truly wonderful pictures in the book. Overall, it flows very smoothly, and thanks to his bits of humor added here and there, the book winds up being a really quick, yet enjoyable read. This book has a lot to offer everyone, not just fans of the game.
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Summary: Come for the Wisdom, Stay for the Photos
Review: Yogi Berra has learned that when someone offers to publish your book, take it. Make the most of living, it can get late early out there. Better make your book forty chapters, the public may not be hungry for fifty.
More of a look into the thoughts, values and beliefs of the baseball legend than a biography, Yogi keeps things pretty straight. Unapologetic and proud of his life, Yogi is not above owning up to a character flaw or two. If he seems to occasionally contradict himself, he comes across as all the more human. This is certainly preferable to the self-service approach others have taken in this type of book, making it a cut above the "self-help from athletes" genre. Every chapter is titled with a piece of philosophical advice, virtually all from Yogisms or in one case a Dimaggioism. Sometimes the content of a chapter is shoehorned to fit the title, but most of the time they mesh.
The best part of the book are the photos that appear at the beginning of each chapter. Rarely seen family and career photos are incorporated with such gems as Yogi and Phil Rizzuto working during the off season at a men's clothing store. These photos tell more about the Yogi that you didn't know than the text does.
If this review doesn't make you want to read this book, I'm not going to try and stop you. Then again, if these type of books get too popular, no one's going to want to read them anymore.
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Summary: We can all learn a lot from Yogi Berra
Review: Yogi Berra is an American treasure, epitomizing many of the things that make America great. As a legend in life as well as a legend in baseball, the common-sense pearls of wisdom that drop from his lips are as instructive as they are humorous. I consider Yogi the common man's philosopher. This book offers forty chapters, each containing helpful advice, based upon a famous Yogi-ism, as well as inspiration to the reader. Most of us already know most of these lessons, but we need to be reminded of them periodically. Yogi is the perfect teacher. He is humble and honest, perfectly willing to use his own failures as well as his successes as object lessons for the rest of us; he also speaks from the heart in plain language. I love the unpretentious nature of this book; maybe it breaks a few rules of proper grammar, but it comes across in such a way that you half believe Yogi is sitting in the room with you and just talking. Yogi does offer up a number of parallels between baseball and business, stressing the importance of true teamwork, loyalty, and the personal involvement and commitment of all involved, but most of the lessons he imparts here are lessons about life and the proper way to live it. All the inspiration and wisdom aside, though, I have to admit that what I enjoy the most is Yogi's baseball stories. Baseball was a different game back when Yogi was playing, and I'm sure I'm not the only fan whose love of the game has faded as the game has turned into an impersonal industry. Yogi represents baseball at its best. I also enjoyed learning a little more about Yogi's personal life - heck, I didn't even know how he got the name Yogi before I read this book. Here's a kid born in St. Louis to first-generation immigrants who quit school after eighth grade and pursued a dream that many people said he would never attain. All he did was play on ten World Series championship teams, earn three MVP awards, and become one of the most-loved baseball heroes of all time - heck, I bet there are even some Red Sox fans who love Yogi. He is also a war hero, having fought in the D-Day landing at Normandy. (He also played a brain surgeon on an episode of General Hospital back in the early 1960s, as I was quite shocked to learn.) With all of his success, though, he has always been remarkably humble and quick to thank those who made his good fortune possible. He is a great role model for kids as well as adults, and we all can learn a great deal about life by heeding his practical advice.
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Summary: We can all learn a lot from Yogi Berra
Review: Yogi Berra is an American treasure, epitomizing many of the things that make America great. As a legend in life as well as a legend in baseball, the common-sense pearls of wisdom that drop from his lips are as instructive as they are humorous. I consider Yogi the common man's philosopher. This book offers forty chapters, each containing helpful advice, based upon a famous Yogi-ism, as well as inspiration to the reader. Most of us already know most of these lessons, but we need to be reminded of them periodically. Yogi is the perfect teacher. He is humble and honest, perfectly willing to use his own failures as well as his successes as object lessons for the rest of us; he also speaks from the heart in plain language. I love the unpretentious nature of this book; maybe it breaks a few rules of proper grammar, but it comes across in such a way that you half believe Yogi is sitting in the room with you and just talking. Yogi does offer up a number of parallels between baseball and business, stressing the importance of true teamwork, loyalty, and the personal involvement and commitment of all involved, but most of the lessons he imparts here are lessons about life and the proper way to live it. All the inspiration and wisdom aside, though, I have to admit that what I enjoy the most is Yogi's baseball stories. Baseball was a different game back when Yogi was playing, and I'm sure I'm not the only fan whose love of the game has faded as the game has turned into an impersonal industry. Yogi represents baseball at its best. I also enjoyed learning a little more about Yogi's personal life - heck, I didn't even know how he got the name Yogi before I read this book. Here's a kid born in St. Louis to first-generation immigrants who quit school after eighth grade and pursued a dream that many people said he would never attain. All he did was play on ten World Series championship teams, earn three MVP awards, and become one of the most-loved baseball heroes of all time - heck, I bet there are even some Red Sox fans who love Yogi. He is also a war hero, having fought in the D-Day landing at Normandy. (He also played a brain surgeon on an episode of General Hospital back in the early 1960s, as I was quite shocked to learn.) With all of his success, though, he has always been remarkably humble and quick to thank those who made his good fortune possible. He is a great role model for kids as well as adults, and we all can learn a great deal about life by heeding his practical advice.
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Summary: When Taking the Bull by the Horns, You'll See the Point!
Review: Yogi Berra is our modern day version of Will Rogers. He talks about life and what he sees, and captures a fundamental truth and humor that tickle our fancy and our sense of what's right. This book contains many of Yogi's most famous aphorisms, followed by essays that explain what he means . . . in other words. Here are some of my favorites among his aphorisms in this book (which double as titles for the essays): "We Have a Good Time Together, Even When We're Not Together." "If People Don't Want to Come Out to the Park, Nobody's Going to Stop Them." "Ninety Percent of the Game Is Half Mental." "You Observe a Lot by Watching." "It's Deja Vu All Over Again." "We Made Too Many Wrong Mistakes." "It Gets Late Early Out Here." "Nobody Goes There Any More, It's Too Crowded." "I Love Movies When I Like Them." "If the World Were Perfect, It Wouldn't Be." "Always Go to Other People's Funerals, Otherwise They Won't Go to Yours." "Ninety Percent of Short Putts Don't Go In." The beauty of Yogi's aphorisms is that we know exactly what he means, which we don't always appreciate about what more learned types have to say. The unusual content also jolts us into paying attention, instead of putting us into a mild doze. About the aphorisms themselves, Yogi says this, "I don't think I ever said anything intentionally humorous in my life." You could sum up his philosophy as "I really have no regrets." Yogi basically suggests that you take life as it comes, make the best of what it offers, and move on. His most beautiful aphorism is here also, "There Is Always Some Kid Who May Be Seeing Me for the First or Last Time. I Owe Him My Best." The essay describes how Joe DiMaggio always played the hero's role in public, and how much Yogi admired him for it. The book also contains the famous story of how Yogi refused to reenter Yankee Stadium for 14 years after being summarily fired as manager in mid-season in 1985 (after being told this would not happen). George Steinbrenner finally met with Yogi and apologized. Yogi began coming to Yankee Stadium again. That struck me as very consistent with his sense of what's right and wrong. Yogi chose to leave school at a very young age. He thought he didn't have much of a future there, and he felt he liked and could do a lot of other things better. That's the story behind the book's title. But Yogi reminds us, "People shouldn't forget where they came from." In fact, the essays double as an autobiography of Yogi. I enjoyed his stories about the glory days of the five straight World Championships, and how he improved as a catcher while being lambasted by the sportswriters. Having listened to Don Larsen's perfect game against the Dodgers, it was fun to read what Yogi had to say about catching the game. I didn't know he called Larsen "Gooney Bird." His essay about talking to players, pitchers and umps is also a classic. Anyone would benefit from his advice about losing. "If [you]lose . . . , shake their hand and try harder next time." He also maintains that it's not true he was ever in a hitting slump. He just wasn't getting many hits. That's an extension of his focus on keeping a positive outlook. Each essay is preceded by a small black-and-white photograph. These add a nice personal touch to the essays. After you read this book, think about where you need to take a fork in the road with courage and enthusiasm. Think of Yogi when you take that fork. He'll be pulling for you. If the stick in your eye is hurting you, there's no law that says you have to keep holding it in there!
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Summary: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A BASEBALL FAN TO GET THE MESSAGE!
Review: Yogi Berra was not your "fit in the mold" average academic student. As a matter of fact, he left at an early age, but the wisdom learned did not end with his scholastic studies; many of his lessons came from the school of hard knocks. With that in mind, Yogi has earned his degree. He has rolled with the punches, learned from his trials and tribulations and obviously has no regrets. His super-phenominal success aside, he is your typical, honest, humble Mr. Nice Guy. He has the innate ability to earn your trust, warm your heart and inspire one to reach for the stars, reminding us they are but a fraction away from our finger-tips.
The Yogi-isms are ones you will find yourself repeating many times over in a variety of situations. Some are quite humourous, others rather thought provoking. Yogi has a way of making us see the importance of remembering who we are and where we came from; clearly, he has not forgotten. One does not need to be a die-hard baseball fan to enjoy this book or understand the wisdom contained among the pages. Yogi certainly hit a home-run with this one!
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