Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant writing of a troubled but talented man
Review: There is no stone unturned as the author delves in to the life of the unstable but brilliant Ty Cobb. The book not only gives a fascinating history of baseball's greatest all time hitter, but also a look into the history of America, and what is and is not tolerated. It is amazing that Cobb was not inprisoned over the long run, as today he would be an obvious parrallel to Mike Tyson. Such a pleasure to read, and reread again. This book ranks up there with many of Roger Kahn's finest moments.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps Baseball's Most Disliked Player
Review: This book documents the life and times of one of the most complex, violent, angry, and racist men to ever play the game of baseball. It takes the reader from his growing up in rural Georgia to going to Detroit to play for the Tigers and finally to his later years in California and his death of prostate cancer in 1959. But along with these personality defects, Cobb had incredible talent to go with his competitiveness----and he was competitive both on and off the field. Anyone interested in baseball's history would undoubtedly enjoy reading this biography of one of the game's most colorful characters.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps Baseball's Most Disliked Player
Review: This book documents the life and times of one of the most complex, violent, angry, and racist men to ever play the game of baseball. It takes the reader from his growing up in rural Georgia to going to Detroit to play for the Tigers and finally to his later years in California and his death of prostate cancer in 1959. But along with these personality defects, Cobb had incredible talent to go with his competitiveness----and he was competitive both on and off the field. Anyone interested in baseball's history would undoubtedly enjoy reading this biography of one of the game's most colorful characters.
Rating:
Summary: Al Stump does injustice to his subject matter.
Review: This book does the same as the magazine article, Stump wrote too many years ago after Cobb's death and the completion of the book he wrote with Cobb.This book does the same as the magazine article, Stump wrote too many years ago after Cobb's death and the completion of the book he wrote with Cobb. In Charles Alexander's recent introduction of Cobb's autobiography, he wrote this of Al Stump: "Stump recounted his experiences with Cobb in an article "Ty Cobb's Wild Ten-Month Fight to Live," published in True, a male-oriented monthly magazine specializing in risqué adventure...Much of the article reads like a gothic horror story...For those who preferred to remember Cobb's good qualities and let his faults be buried with his physical remains, Stump's article was at best an exercise in poor taste, and at worst a severe injustice to a man who had done much for his hometown and substantial good otherwise. (Stump mislead readers in implying that he had been Cobb's companion nearly all the time, when in fact he had seen him only a few times during that "wild" ten-month period.")...Stump...made no efforts to check facts. Thus the book included a number of mistaken dates, places, people, and situations...Unable to do much sustained work with Cobb, Stump relied considerably on a seven-part biographical sketch published in 1950 in the Sporting News by H.G. Salsinger, longtime Detroit Baseball writer and one of Cobb's few real friends, as well as Cobb's 1952 Life articles and a book put together three years later by Cobb and John D. McCallum, combining reminiscences with tips on how to play the game."
Rating:
Summary: A great account of Ty Cobb's life
Review: This book is a great insight into the life and mind of one of the greatest and nastiest baseball players who ever lived. Stump's account of Cobb's childhood and his years in the minor leagues up to his glory years and eventual death. By spending so much time with Cobb, Stump could fully understand Cobb's mentality and what made him the way he was. A must for any true baseball fan.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly eye-opening
Review: This book is a quick read for baseball fans, and an interesting look at the psychosis of an American icon for non-baseball fans. Al Stump went through a living hell while writing Ty Cobb's ghost-written autobiography and thirty years later he tells Cobb's true story. The story of Cobb's obnoxious, cruel behavior is told in detail, with Stump's vicious pen tearing at the soul of the legend. It is rare in biographies to see a writer tear at the subject, but Stump does it as a reconciliation with his soul. In between the lines, Stump comes to terms with his own demons, and it brings the book to life. Every one of Cobb's misgivings and psychotic rampages is shown, and his one truly great asset, that of being the greatest baseball player of all time, is also given full credit. An amazing work for its balance between the two worlds of writing the truth and writing what our legends want us to see is covered. Al Stump wrote the story of an American legend in everyday life in Cobb, and leaves the reader one possible conclusion, Cobb isn't the man we want our children to emulate.
Rating:
Summary: Ty Cobb, the ballplayer
Review: This is an incredible book. It's a great read for anyone who wants to know what it feels like to know someone so hated, yet a gem on the field, a genius at the plate, and a demon on the basepaths. Al Stump portrays this sports figure as legendary on the diamond, but a menace everywhere else. No one liked him, but he was better than everyone else of his day, or any day, for that matter. Some highlights are his 'restraining order' from the entire state of Ohio, his several run-ins with owner Frank Navin, and even baseball's only fatality is described(and how Cobb used it to his advantage). A good book, you come away with the feeling that you almost knew Cobb, but you're glad you didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Ty Cobb, the ballplayer
Review: This is an incredible book. It's a great read for anyone who wants to know what it feels like to know someone so hated, yet a gem on the field, a genius at the plate, and a demon on the basepaths. Al Stump portrays this sports figure as legendary on the diamond, but a menace everywhere else. No one liked him, but he was better than everyone else of his day, or any day, for that matter. Some highlights are his 'restraining order' from the entire state of Ohio, his several run-ins with owner Frank Navin, and even baseball's only fatality is described(and how Cobb used it to his advantage). A good book, you come away with the feeling that you almost knew Cobb, but you're glad you didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book About the Most Interesting Player Ever
Review: Ty Cobb wasn't the best player who ever lived -- that honor goes to Babe Ruth -- but he was the most interesting player and arguably the most frightening man who ever set foot on a ballfield. Because their eras overlapped, Cobb and Ruth are often compared to each other. Writer Paul Gallico, though, felt it was unreasonable to compare the two great players, saying in a quote that appears in the prologue of Stump's Cobb, "Fans and the sporting press are always trying to compare Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. This is absurd since they are incomparable, like trying to draw a comparison between an elephant and a wolf. Beloved Babe was a man of simple makeup, savage Cobb was a mass of paradoxes with a life that reads like a Gothic horror tale." Gallico may have oversimplified the characteristics of the Babe, but he hit the nail on the head with Cobb. Ruth was a slightly better hitter and probably would have made the Hall of Fame as a pitcher if his bat hadn't made it necessary to play him everyday in the outfield. Ruth also had a better arm obviously, but Cobb was a much better baserunner, had more speed on defense, and probably caused opponents more anxiety, despite his lack of power, than even the dangerous bat of Ruth. Both men dominated their eras and could singlehandedly conquer other teams. Ruth often won his battles by sheer strength (homeruns) while Cobb often triumphed through the adept use of psychology (scaring the hell out of his opponents). Although I would probably rather have Ruth on my team (but not by much), I prefer Cobb's style of playing because it is more scientific and far more disciplined. Both men were memorable characters both on and off the field. Whereas Ruth's flaws (binge drinking and eating, carousing, etc.) are often overlooked, the shortcomings of Cobb (selfishness, racism, an extreme tendency towards violence, etc.) are always mentioned when people discuss his career and life away from baseball. Many people believe that he was insane and the evidence seems to show that he at least had severe mental problems. The amazing thing about Cobb is that he probably had to put up with as much trouble as he caused -- sometimes due to his own awful behavior -- and still managed to have what is either the second or third best baseball career of all time. It would be hard to argue that this man wasn't a genius. He understood psychology and how to use it on a ballfield better than any other player who ever lived and he had the foresight to buy into Coca-Cola and General Motors before either company had begun to flourish. As a result of his brilliant stock purchases, his worth at the time of his death was estimated to be 12 million dollars. Though his life was far from the idealistic fairy tales that are often told about the so-called "golden ages" of baseball, Ty Cobb makes for an incredibly intriguing biographical subject. Because author Stump knew Cobb personally, he writes a revealing account of Cobb's finest moments and his darkest hours. This is certainly not a feel-good story, but it is one that nobody should miss.
Rating:
Summary: Cobb the legend
Review: Was Tyrus Cobb as good as you imagined? Better. Did Tyrus Cobb innovate the game? Absolutely. Did a worse human being play the game? Maybe not. Al Stump focused on the first and especially the third question above. Being a sports writer, Stump knows that a healthy legend and juicy scandel sells books. In this book Stump gives excellent descriptions of some of the most famous incidents in baseball- mostly from the mouth of Cobb with whom Stump spent parts of a year interviewing. Perhaps that time tainted Stump. For example, Stump repeatedly mentions the 'extreme cruelty' Charlotte Cobb used as grounds for divorce. He fails to mention that Mrs. Cobb stressed that it was mental and never physical abuse. Why? Perhaps Stump intended to paint Cobb as completly vile. Perhaps Cobb deserved it. But this important information for a book of nearly 500 pages to fail to mention. Stump keeps a highly negative focus on Cobb the man while building up Cobb the player. I finished this book disliking Cobb the man, convinced Cobb the player would have dominated ANY era, and wanting to know more- so I read Alexander's book. Charles Alexander's "Ty Cobb" provides a more complete, less biased view of Cobb in about half the pages. The Stump book is more colorful however.
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