What Time Is It? You Mean Now? : Advice for Life from the Zennest Master of Them All

Rating:
Summary: I only like books I'm going to like
Review: I still dont know what inspired me to buy this book, but after every page, I was glad I did. This book was a very unique combination of philosophy, self-help, humor, historical sports and general good writing. I had never been familiar with Yogi Berra other than some of his more famous quote but I understand his way of thinking now and I believe some of the secrets to life lie between the covers of this book.

The book never gets dry, points arent beaten to death and he doesn't try to cram his personal way of thinking down your throat. I like that and really was able to take more out of this book because it approaches everything in a very level-headed and laid back way. There were a lot of interesting stories that presented a nice way to explain a situation. I also appreciated the fact that there were references to very recent happenings as of 2002. There were also some comical and cartoonish illustrations that started off or ended each chapter and the chapter names were "Yogi-isms" which was also a nice touch.

The only problem I had with this book was that I ended up reading it too fast because I couldn't put the thing down. I was very impressed with Yogi Berra, he is truly the man, the myth, the legend that people have made him out to be and I believe that meeting him one day has just been put on my to-do list. As far as the book goes, I highly recommend it. It is a smooth reading book that you will enjoy and recall upon in the future. As I stated, I only like books I'm going to like, and this was one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Yogi's thoughts on many topics . . . including life
Review: Read and enjoyed Yogi Berra's WHAT TIME IS IT? YOU MEAN
NOW? . . . the book, written with Dave Kaplan, is subtitled
ADVICE FOR LIFE FROM THE ZENNEST MASTER OF THEM
ALL . . . it contains 26 chapters, one for each letter from A
to Z, that has me believing that Berra was not only a great
baseball player--he's also quite a guy.

Although I have my doubts as to what he wrote vs. what
Kaplan did, I nevertheless enjoyed the thoughts on such
varied topics as family, competition and living in New York City.

Naturally, I also chuckled at a bunch of quotes that have
been attributed to Berra--although he admits that he did not
say them all . . . among them:
Little League is good because it keeps parents off the
streets and the kids out of the house.

It's so crowded nobody goes there.

If you ask me questions I don't know, I'm not going to answer.

You saw DR. ZHIVARGO? Why? Aren't you feeling well?

There were several other parts of the book that I liked; most notably:

I'm Lucky that Carm is a very upbeat, positive person and doesn't dwell on this stuff either. One time, though she did ask me where I should be buried. Our families are from St. Louis, where I grew up; my career was in New York; we live in New Jersey. I told Carm, "I don't know, just surprise me."

If I'm buying a car, I'll leave my wallet home the first time and just ask questions. What are the payments? What kind of warranty? What's the downside of the car? The right questions can help you make the right decisions.

It's no big secret-winning makes you feel better about everything, and losing doesn't. Everybody wants to win, who doesn't? Winning is important, that's why you keep score, but I think maybe overall it's gotten too much so, especially in kids' sports where there's too much stress on winning and not enough fun. I guess that's what's happened as sports have gotten so big in our country. Instead of asking their kids after a soccer or a Little League game, "Did you win?"
maybe the parents should ask, "Did you give it your best?" or
"Did you have fun?"

Rating:
Summary: Yogi takes time out from life to explain it all for you
Review: When it comes to the wit and wisdom of Yogi Berra you have to realize that are two types of Berraisms that you have to keep separate. First there are his classic examples of logic, where they sound wrong but they make sense, such as "Ninety percent of this game is mental and the other half is physical" and "It ain't over `till its over." For example, the latter works because "over" has two different meanings in that sentence, which reflects the fact that baseball does not have a clock. Second there are those that are simply the man misspeaking, such as "I want to thank everybody for making this night necessary" and "You saw Dr. Zhivago? Why? Aren't you feeling well?" Do not mistake the two forms because there is a major difference. The first category is the important one because it proves that while he was uneducated Lawrence Peter Berra was one of the smartest people to ever walk on a baseball diamond. You be sure to distinguish between the two types of sayings that serve as the basis for this book "What Time Is it? You Mean Now?: Advice for Life from the Zennest Master of Them All." (The title would fall in the second category for my money.)

All of this, of course, assumes that Yogi actually did say any particular comment in the first place (we give the man the benefit of the doubt although he admits he did not say everything he has said). There are twenty-six of these sayings, arranged in alphabetical order using the most liberal of standards¸ each with a black and white illustration by Alan Dingman. We are then provided with several pages of reflections and commentary by Yogi, which work in stories from his family life and baseball career. I wonder whether Yogi was actually given these sayings and then proceeded to hold forth on this thoughts or whether Dave Kaplan interviewed the Hall of Fame catcher and then cut and pasted them into this volume. Not that it makes much of a difference, but I am curious. The main thing here is not the recycled sayings, most of which I have heard before in my consumption of all things Yogi (in the fourth grade there were three of us with the same name and I had a catcher's mitt so I was actually called "Yogi" for a year), but to hear what he has to say about the mysteries of time, the meaning of community, and the omnipresence of hope in the direst circumstances (and you thought this would just be light reading). Smart move of Yao Ming in one of his first commercial to team up with Yogi, the most loved and loveable sports figure in the United States today.

Rating:
Summary: Yogi takes time out from life to explain it all for you
Review: When it comes to the wit and wisdom of Yogi Berra you have to realize that are two types of Berraisms that you have to keep separate. First there are his classic examples of logic, where they sound wrong but they make sense, such as "Ninety percent of this game is mental and the other half is physical" and "It ain't over 'till its over." For example, the latter works because "over" has two different meanings in that sentence, which reflects the fact that baseball does not have a clock. Second there are those that are simply the man misspeaking, such as "I want to thank everybody for making this night necessary" and "You saw Dr. Zhivago? Why? Aren't you feeling well?" Do not mistake the two forms because there is a major difference. The first category is the important one because it proves that while he was uneducated Lawrence Peter Berra was one of the smartest people to ever walk on a baseball diamond. You be sure to distinguish between the two types of sayings that serve as the basis for this book "What Time Is it? You Mean Now?: Advice for Life from the Zennest Master of Them All." (The title would fall in the second category for my money.)

All of this, of course, assumes that Yogi actually did say any particular comment in the first place (we give the man the benefit of the doubt although he admits he did not say everything he has said). There are twenty-six of these sayings, arranged in alphabetical order using the most liberal of standards¸ each with a black and white illustration by Alan Dingman. We are then provided with several pages of reflections and commentary by Yogi, which work in stories from his family life and baseball career. I wonder whether Yogi was actually given these sayings and then proceeded to hold forth on this thoughts or whether Dave Kaplan interviewed the Hall of Fame catcher and then cut and pasted them into this volume. Not that it makes much of a difference, but I am curious. The main thing here is not the recycled sayings, most of which I have heard before in my consumption of all things Yogi (in the fourth grade there were three of us with the same name and I had a catcher's mitt so I was actually called "Yogi" for a year), but to hear what he has to say about the mysteries of time, the meaning of community, and the omnipresence of hope in the direst circumstances (and you thought this would just be light reading). Smart move of Yao Ming in one of his first commercial to team up with Yogi, the most loved and loveable sports figure in the United States today.