Rating: 
Summary: I Never Had it Made
Review: "I Never Had It Made" by Jackie Robinson is an amazing biography of one of the most remarkable figures in the history of baseball. There is much more to Robinson than just baseball. From his fight for respect in the US Army to his support of Rockefeller, Robinson deserves much respect for this and is probably one of the best symbols of everything this country should represent. Much of the baseball critics doubted that he could even hit a big league pitch. Tom Candiotti said major league pitchers would "knock the bat right out of his hands." Robinson's critics claimed he couldn't hit because "he was all tied up at the shoulders and could never get around on the pitches inside." Jackie Robinson gave all of us, not only athletes, but every person in this country, a sense of our own strength. However, because I am an athlete, I looked at Jackie a little differently. This is not all about baseball; it's about the deep commitment that Robinson made to achieve justice for himself and all Americans. In 1947 Robinson broke the color line in the major leagues and suffered terrible abuse for doing so. He discusses his relationships with the sports figures he admired, and also recalls his run-ins with those he did not like. It is later about political involvements after his career ended in 1956 and his friendships with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, William Buckley, and Nelson Rockefeller.
Rating: 
Summary: A frank account of Jackie Robinson's struggle for equality
Review: I have always been intrigued by the legendary Jackie Robinson. He made it big during a time when such opportunities did not exist for blacks. His account of his being an "experiment" for major league baseball, the humilities he and his family faced, and his constant struggle for equality during his life are true testiment to his statement (and title) that "he never had it made." A must read for all interested in an important account of this time in America's past. It should be a "must read" for all high school students, as it is an eye-opening book, especially for those who did not live through the civil rights movement. It made me aware of Jackie Robinson's involvement and accomplishments beyond the baseball stuff, which we already know about!
Rating:
Summary: touching
Review: If you want to read this book to get an in-dept story of his baseball career, this may not be the book for you. The 55 world series only takes up half a page. However the point of the book is well made. Robinson tells a dramatic story of the problems blacks face living in a white world. He also show his ablility to acknowledge great people whether black or white.
Rating:
Summary: A frank account of Jackie Robinson's struggle for equality
Review: Jackie Robinson's autobiography is good, yes, but I expected much more from it. A person like Robinson has a great story and should have been able to produce a book that would knock you out of your chair. Unfortunately, Robinson spends more than half the book talking about what he did after his career was over. He should have spent at least 3/4 of the book on his playing days. Instead, he'd rather tell you about running a bank in Harlem. This isn't a bad read, but it should have been better.
Rating: 
Summary: A Solid Book, But Disappointing Nonetheless
Review: Jackie Robinson's autobiography is good, yes, but I expected much more from it. A person like Robinson has a great story and should have been able to produce a book that would knock you out of your chair. Unfortunately, Robinson spends more than half the book talking about what he did after his career was over. He should have spent at least 3/4 of the book on his playing days. Instead, he'd rather tell you about running a bank in Harlem. This isn't a bad read, but it should have been better.
Rating:
Summary: More than a story of a Baseball player
Review: Jakie Robinson was a man among men. His example shows the ubsurdity of judging a man by the color of his skin. His life was a struggle and this book goes into great personal trials of the man. The book is more about Jackie's family and professional life after baseball than baseball. Yet this does not distract the reader this adds to the story of a honest, passionate and intellegent man. His autobiography with personal honesty goes into Robison's strengths and weaknesses. The story of Robinson and Branch Ricky is well detailed. It may be the greatest story that ever happend in baseball. If you want to read a book that tells a great baseball story than read this. If you want to read a story of a man whose courage has been rarly equaled than read this book. Jackie Robinson was more than the first black man to play baseball, he was a man who refused to be ashamed of who he was, a great man.
Rating:
Summary: More than a story of a Baseball player
Review: Jakie Robinson was a man among men. His example shows the ubsurdity of judging a man by the color of his skin. His life was a struggle and this book goes into great personal trials of the man. The book is more about Jackie's family and professional life after baseball than baseball. Yet this does not distract the reader this adds to the story of a honest, passionate and intellegent man. His autobiography with personal honesty goes into Robison's strengths and weaknesses. The story of Robinson and Branch Ricky is well detailed. It may be the greatest story that ever happend in baseball. If you want to read a book that tells a great baseball story than read this. If you want to read a story of a man whose courage has been rarly equaled than read this book. Jackie Robinson was more than the first black man to play baseball, he was a man who refused to be ashamed of who he was, a great man.
Rating:
Summary: #42
Review: The accomplishments of Jackie Robinson epitomize courage. Dr. Martin Luther King was once quoted as saying the he could not have done what he did , if Jackie had not done what he did. With this set up from the greatest Civil Rights leader, I was anxious to read Robinson's autobiography. However, I found myself a little disappointed in the book.
I Never Had it Made devotes only about one-third of its text to Jackie's baseball career. While I was disappointed in this, I realize Jackie was more than a baseball player. My greater disappointment came in the bitter tone in which much of his post-baseball career is told. It seemed as if Jackie felt the need to apologize for any mistakes he felt that he made. I know Jackie did not want to be remembered as being bitter so this tone surprises me. While Jackie did make some questionable choices for example about which political candidate to support, I do not think anybody held it against him. The most revealing chapters discuss his son, Jackie Jr. The story behind his oldest son's life and death show what a thoughtful man Robinson was. More than any of the other chapters, I think chapters about his family and son demonstrate the character of Jackie Robinson.
While I enjoyed the book, I am not certain Jackie knew what he wanted to say in this book. A lot of the book is composed of stories of his life. In other portions of the book, he seems to be defending himself. Since Robinson died shortly after the publication of this book, I must wonder if it was rushed.
Rating:
Summary: I Never Had It Made
Review: This book tells of the struggles Jackie Robinson faced as he made a name for himself in the game of baseball. This is a wonderfully writen autobiography that tells the emotion and physical hardships he faced not only in the major and minor leagues while playing baseball but also in his everyday life as well.While perservering through all this, he succeeded to a degree of breaking the color barrier in the United States. As a child he witnessed constant racism from neighbors, children, and many others that came into contact with him. His mother brought him up to be very strong and independent because when Jackie was about one or two his father went to the city and never returned. He left her with nothing but thier five children who were all too young to work and support the family. Eventually after being forced to move, they went to live with Jacies uncle in California.
This book really showed me how hard he had it. Not only did he have the pressures of playing in the major leagues but also have to worry about prejudist on the field and in the stands. You will see how he didnt have a friend to talk to unless his wife, Rachel Robinson, would travel with him during the season. There was no one who even dreamed of having a black man in baseball until the dodgers took on Jackie. Baseball has never been the same because of the influence this one man has had on the sport itself and many if not all other sports indirectly.
"I Never Had It Made" tells Robinson's early years and influences such as his college experience at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete;World War II , playing with the Negro Leagues; and when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers asked Jackie Robinson to play, which was known as the "Noble Experiment".The league itself recieved a lot of critism from fans during the timethis "experiment" was unvealed.Jackie Robinson expesses his deppest feelings in this book and writes of his relationship's with individual player's and managers. He also talked of the few he had arguments and different views in many areas. There is many accounts of important games such as the 1955 World Series, when jackie Robinson and the Dodgers won against thier rivals.
This book is a great story of one man's determination and detication to a sport he loved to play through thick and thin. He did this in the faces of all those people who said it could never happen,.it would never happen, and blacks will never say in major league baseball in the United States.Jackie Robinson was a true hero
Rating:
Summary: Everyone in America should read this book
Review: This is a very important book. It documents one man's struggle against terrible odds. It should be assigned reading in every junior high school in America. I know that I'll be giving a copy to my kids so that can read the story of a man who said what he believed & fought for his ideals.
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