Rating: 
Summary: Thorough, but respectfully keeps his privacy intact
Review: It's never easy to write a thorough biography when your subject is an uncooperative recluse, but Jane Leavy does an excellent job nonetheless. Speaking with hundreds of friends and former teammates, she is able to weave a beautiful tapestry of one man's unforgettable career.Each chapter, cleverly alternating with a play-by-play account of his perfect game, paints a wonderfully realistic portrait of Koufax's ascent from a wild southpaw to one of baseball's greatest pitchers. The tale of this reluctant hero is set against the times in which he played, and this book is as much a history of baseball during the 50s and the tumultuous 60s as it is about Koufax's accomplishments. More so, Leavy succeeds at explaining this personality, this cult icon who has been a mystery to sportswriters and fans (and even his friends and teammates!) for over 50 years. While she respects his privacy and doesn't venture anywhere near his personal life (practically nothing is written about his marriages or family, and the longtime rumors surrounding his sexual orientation is respectfully never brought up), after reading this book, you get the strong sense that you understand him better. Or at least, you can appreciate better the pain he went through-both emotionally as an outsider in a very public arena who longed for normalcy when expected to be a legend, and physically as he forced his body to the uttermost limits. I would be lying if I said I didn't hope for more juicy tidbits. Maybe it's our tabloid/Hollywood Access culture, or our inexplicable sense of entitlement, but deep down we want to learn every little personal detail of our celebrities. Leavy, in a rare act of decency and self-restraint largely unknown to journalists, doesn't bow to our greedy desires and offers up only a classy, professional tribute to one of our classiest, most professional figures. For that reason, her book will feel incomplete to many, but for real fans of Sandy, a biography that preserves his mystery is the most honorable biography that he deserves.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic "sociological" biography...
Review: Jane Leavy has really transcended sports biography with this outstanding account of baseball great Sandy Koufax. Framed in a "between innings" format, the reader gets Koufax's career discussed in parallel with his monumental September, 1965 perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. At the same time, we get a sort of "social" history of the times (mid 1960's) that adds depth and immediacy to this story thats lacking in other more celebrated biographies. From early childhood to his still current adulation, Leavy attempts to myth-alize and at the same time de-myth the Koufax icon...all the time with minimal cooperation from the subject. And even with this roadblock, she has achieved a major success! With the advantage of hundreds of interviews of Koufax intimates, she has managed to succeed in portraying the "real" Koufax where many before her have failed. His legendary career is celebrated at the same time his legendary "aloofness" is picked apart, showing that Koufax ultimately achieves what he always wanted to be be: a regular guy. There is no shortage of baseball talk here though...we hear Koufax explaining the mechanics of pitching in almost doctoral detail; why these mechanics ruined his pitching elbow and ultimately led to his early retirement. We get numerous funny and informative anecdotes from the afore-mentioned interviews, as well as some darned good game coverage...Leavy obviously was (is) an excellent sports writer and her passion for the game and the subject are obvious. The undeniable thread throughout this work, however, is the decency and "down to Earth" manner in which Koufax carried himself throughout his career. Whether it was his practice of hanging out with his "lesser" teammates (as opposed to Don Drysdale, who comes across as sort of "star-seeking") or refusing to pitch on the opening game of the 1965 World Series (which occured on Yom Kippur), Koufax's humility and class are ever-present in the narrative and gives the reader that fleeting "personal" side that has been missing from many other descriptions of Koufax's career. The social climate of the mid-to-late 1960's is interspersed with the games and gives a perspective and context that's not normally found in most sports biographies...it's this feature of the book and Koufax's personal makeup that make this book so appealing. Whether looking for a sports biography or a discussion of how sports fit into the late 60's culture, "Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy" is an excellent source. Extremely readable and highly entertaining, this book should be considered a watershed in these subjects as well as a definitive account of Sandy Koufax's career and I recommend it very highly.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't Like It
Review: I don't care for the author's writing style -- a sort of smug hipness. I also got the sense that the author is overly playing the Jewish angle on this story; she cares more about his being Jewish than he does. I had to stop reading about halfway through.
Rating: 
Summary: Koufax: Hall of Famer and Gentle Man
Review: I would just like to echo the many positive reviews of Jane Leavy's biography of Sandy Koufax. The author has crafted a well-written account of the life and times of the former Dodger great. I was particularly taken by the way the book is organized, with chapters presenting a fairly straight-forward biography alternating with chapters dealing, inning by inning, with Koufax's perfect game in 1965. Koufax, in Leavy's assessment, is a very private man, but not the aloof individual that so many perceive him to be. This supposed aloofness, together with his perceived "intellectualism" (the man read books, go figure) is pointed to as reflective of the subtle antisemitism that Koufax had to deal with throughout his career (and afterwards), an argument that Leavy makes effectively. Also convincing is her interpretation of Koufax's continuing symbolic importance to the Jewish community. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Koufax, the Dodgers, and baseball and its social context in the 1950s and 1960s.
Rating:
Summary: Superb story of a unique athlete and man
Review: I was a fan of Koufax when he played, but more of a fan of him as a unique human being. Ms. Leavy tells the story of a great pitcher by using the perfect game he pitched in 1965 as the illustration of a great pitcher's skills. However alternating chapters told the story of his rise to greatness both on pitching skill level and on a human scale. Koufax was a great pitcher but more important a great person. The most revealing fact is that Sandy was not aloof, distant and enigmatic as portrayed by other wrriters. He just eschewed publicly airing his life. He was a great friend, a fair and decent person, and not one to make baseball his whole life. Ms. Leavy's book is a great read, in fact I could not put it down. I resisted reading it, seeing it as another baseball book, but it was captivating. Sandy Koufax was unique among pitchers but also unique among famous athletes; humble, caring, considerate of fans. I read Gruber's earlier work and this one is much better.
Rating:
Summary: Readable but not much more
Review: I found this book moderately interesting but it suffers from three significant shortcomings:
1)One, as stated in previous reviews, the author is overly fixated on Koufax's Jewishness. Although this is clearly an aspect of Koufax, his history and make-up, and impact on the Jewish community that should not be overlooked or downplayed, it did not need to be the overiding theme of the book, and as such it overshadowed his on-the-field accomplishments.
2)Koufax did not agree to personally contribute to the book, so many of the incidents are told from the viewpoint of other observers whose memories (reasonably) appear to be less than accurate 50 years after the fact. In several cases these third parties disagree on what actually occured and as a result you question everything in the book with the exception of the statistical reality of Koufax's career.
3)There is very little info regarding Koufax's life after baseball. Since he retired in 1966 nearly forty years have passed. Although readers may be much more interested in his baseball life, I would have liked more insight into how his post-baseball life has progressed.
Rating: 
Summary: Author Leavy hits a triple
Review: Any of us who came of baseball age during the brief years when Sandy Koufax ruled pitching will be rewarded by reading Jane Leavy's new book. As I started reading I was immediately reminded of a phrase from Simon and Garfunkel's song "Mrs. Robinson". The words are "where have you gone Joe DiMaggio" and the same could be said here.....what ever happened to Sandy Koufax? Leavy's Koufax book is less a biography, however, than a valentine. She tips her hand to the reader early in the book and it is clear that she is enamored of her subject. But after all, who wouldn't be? As Leavy points out throughout her book, Sandy Koufax represented decency, determination and talent and those of us who remember him from the 1960s always knew that he had these wonderful qualities. The author refreshingly reminds us that this is indeed the case. I liked her style of interspersing chapters of Sandy Koufax's life with an inning-by-inning account of his last no-hitter in 1965. Leavy has a good feel for drama and it was fascinating to know that there is no video of the game....just a couple of minutes of film and a taped radio account. How quickly we forget how far we've come in the world of television. There are some weak points. Chapter One is tedious and largely unconnected with the rest of the book. I'm sure more than a few readers will stop reading on when they get mired down here. Leavy's referrals to Sandy Koufax's "Jewishness" are overdone as is her weight on Koufax's pitching in pain. I think the book's largest hole is that we really don't learn much about Sandy Koufax, other than what others say about him. Yes, the former Dodger great may want to avoid publicity but when a book contains more information from friends and colleagues rather than the subject himself, something is missing. If there hadn't been references to Sandy Koufax's presence today, one might conclude that he had died. Still, Jane Leavy has resurrected a man whom many of us miss. In this regard she has done a great service not only for those whose memories of Sandy Koufax go back forty years, but for those who now come of age in baseball. And what a pitcher he was!
Rating:
Summary: Koufax from the Stone Age
Review: So there really isn't much mystery about Sandy Koufax. Shortly after he retired he married twice, each marriage being relatively long lasting, and he led a quiet life. He attended various baseball ceremonies, raised some money for charities, and coached a bit. Leavey demolishes the "recluse" nonsense. She also sets out clearly why Sandy had to retire early. He like other starting pitchers of his era were exploited by their teams. Throwing fastballs for nine or more innings per game game after game would have ruined anyone's arm. Baseball had not yet appreciated the middle reliever and the closer. Had Sandy pitched 6 or 7 innings per game, his career would have lasted another 5 years easily. I have to admire his and Drysdale's work ethic though. The book recalls the late 50's and early 60's well and makes you realize how much society and baseball has changed. It is a fun book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Wow, so much more than a biography.
Review: The man, the mystery. Sandy Koufax. You think you know some things about him, but they are bogus. Ms. Leavy cleverly paints a brilliant picture of Koufax, his life, the era, and everything in between. I can't say enough about this book. I went through it quickly. He's just a fascinating guy and the devoted followers he has proves he is well-respected man. You probably have a lot of questions about Koufax. Well, here is the definitive answer to all of them. And no, he's not gay for god's sake.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book - not just for baseball people
Review: Jane Leavy has constructed a nice book that manages to transcend the world of sports and give context to a man who is mythical for many things, some of which include baseball. Since I was born after Koufax ended his career, all that I have heard about the Dodgers pitcher was in the context of the man's greatness. I had heard how he just quit at the top of the game for no apparent reason. I had heard that he was a hero to Jewish people, but I could't understand why exactly(just because he was Jewish?). He is a storied Dodger in the midst of so many other gifted players in that storied franchise. Koufax was a mysterious person , an aptly named shooting star across the baseball pantheon. In reality, like every other sports star, Koufax played until he couldn't function anymore. His arm was giving out. His decision to retire at 30 from the Dodgers, after a run of six incredible years, was forced upon him. Koufax was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn who played for the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Leavy is wonderful in explaining why he is so revered as a figure of Jewish acceptance in America. It is not because he was Jewish, but because helped in making being Jewish a more regular part of American life. Obviously being Jewish in the period when Koufax grew up was a very different time in America (read anti-Semitic). Public discrmination against certain people was not only accepeted, but almost a birthright in some quarters. Koufax helped break down (in his own small way) some barriers by playing baseball -well. Koufax famously didn't pitch on Yom Kippur in 1965 at the start of the World Series. The Jewish high holy days were being acknowleged by a leading sports star. In the context Leavy provides, I was able to understand why this was important to the Jewish identity in America. I was able to understand how a seemingly small act of selfishlessness became a symbol for the Jewish disapora in America to feel that in a small way it was being acknowledged as part of the American tableau (rightly so!). The book is not so much a sports biography, but rather a reflection of the times Sandy Koufax inhabited, and his meaning to baseball, and to larger issues as well. Interestingly, Koufax was not a great pitcher at that start of his career. Rather, he grew to greatness after being in the league for a while (six plus years), and rose to heights never before (or rarely scaled). For example, he was the only pitcher to pitch four no-hitters in four consecutive seasons.
He had great individual statistics, but he was a great team player. He won multiple championships. He pitched through pain. However, Leavey provides a way to see Koufax as a symbol to Jewish people in effect. He grew up in Brooklyn. In mid-century America, it was a heavily Jewish enclave, with many recent Jewish dispora located there. Like many Americans would in mid-century America, he moved to the West Coast when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. Los Angeles became a center of the Jewish disapora. Sandy Koufax was a symbol of the movement west. He became more accepted for what he accomplished rather than being known solely for his religious and community beliefs. His experience became more accepted, rather than scorned. In this way, Leavy helped me to understand Koufax and his times. I though her use of Don Drysdale as a counterpoint in explaining Koufax was brilliant. Drysdale represented everything Koufax was not. Again, Leavy provides great context to the Koufax story. If you are looking for a more traditional sports biography, this is not your book. Koufax doesn't discuss how he felt about this game or that pitch (at least not in the excrutiating detail that I find boring in most sports biographies). As I mentioned, it is more of a book about a symbol ( the subtitle is "A lefty's legacy). Do I understand Koufax? Not really, but I think I understand why so many people revere him. He conducted himself with a rarely seen comportment. He was 'class.' No, I don't think Koufax is a perfect person. I get the sense that Leavy lefty out details wherein the reader may get the idea Koufax was sometimes a jerk, or self-absorbed. But, who cares, I do understand the overall charecter of the man, the myth and the legend. In each case, Koufax is certainly interesting, Koufax attained greatness, and he was one hell of a pitcher for six magical years. If a book can make me understand these things about its subject, then I think the author has done her job. If you have the slightest interest in Koufax, you won't be disappointed in reading this book.
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