I Never Had It Made : An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson

Rating:
Summary: I Never Had It Made
Review: This is an inspiring book that talks about the life of a great sports figure named Jackie Robinson. Who was the man who broke the color barrier in baseball. Despite all odds he does what many people thought was impossible. He had went through many hardships but never gave up. He gave hie people hope and something to shoot for now that he did the impossibe. Jackie Robinson was a hero

Rating:
Summary: I Never Had It Made
Review: This is an inspiring book that talks about the life of a great sports figure named Jackie Robinson. Who was the man who broke the color barrier in baseball. Despite all odds he does what many people thought was impossible. He had went through many hardships but never gave up. He gave hie people hope and something to shoot for now that he did the impossibe. Jackie Robinson was a hero

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is the best book on baseball I have ever read. Robinson is extremely frank about his experiences as the first black baseball player. He spends more time chronicling his life off the diamond than on. If one wants to know the real Jackie Robinson, read this book. There are many books out there about Jackie's feats on the diamond, but this book gives us a real portrait of an American hero

Rating:
Summary: A man who lived A dream...or did he?
Review: When I think about someone like Jackie Robinson, I think of someone who had an easy life of playing baseball and making lots of money. He was first the first African-American to play in the professional Major League level and was highly respected by everyone. After having read his autobiography, I Never Had It Made, I realized that I was totally wrong. Besides the glory and the fame for having been the first African-American to play in the major leagues, Jackie had to go through many hardships to get where he got. Jackie uses this book to tell the reader of all the different trials and hardships he had to go through before, during, and after his professional career as the 1st and 2nd baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie also tells of all the other things that he did besides baseball. I didn't know it, but Jackie went to UCLA and while he was there, he did many great things. Not only was a great baseball star at UCLA, he was also a big star in football, basketball, and track. After college, he went into the Army and became a lieutenant for the U.S. Army before he signed with the Montreal Royals (a minor league baseball team) in 1945. Jackie gives a lot of the credit to Mr. Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for having the guts to bring him into the team and making the transition as easy as possible. Jackie promised to take in any insults thrown at him while he was in baseball uniform and not to respond to them for two years. This was to pave the way for other black players to be brought into the major league. I personally don't think that I can play a game while people are yelling and making fun of me. Jackie describes what he had to go through in the book. Jackie also discusses the hate mail he got and even the threats people placed on his life. He also tells of his wife and the kind of positive impact she had on him as well. Many people think of Jackie Robinson as being only a baseball player, but he did much more. After retiring from baseball, he did many things in regard to the civil rights issue. He influenced many issues and was even the political scene, helping President Nixon and President John F. Kennedy during their stay in office. He was even apart of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). In the book, you learn more about his relationships with Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and many others. Jackie Robinson accomplished many things and had endured many problems even within his own family. He talks about the drug problems that plagued his oldest son and all the hardships his children had to go through being the sons and daughter of a famous African-American figure. Jackie changed the way of life for many people and gave hope to the African-American community. After all of this, Jackie learns that no matter what his successes were in the white world, he would always remain a black man. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing about Jackie Robinson. You wouldn't expect for a baseball player to be a good enough writer to write a three hundred page autobiography, but I thought Jackie did a great job. The book flowed and it never got boring. I didn't even want to put it down, just kept turning the pages. This book gave great insight into the kind of life African American faced in the early to mid nineteen hundreds and what they had to endure. Jackie Robinson is not only a great icon in the world of professional sports, but in other aspects as well and I think that he did awesome job in writing this book.

Rating:
Summary: A man who lived A dream...or did he?
Review: When I think about someone like Jackie Robinson, I think of someone who had an easy life of playing baseball and making lots of money. He was first the first African-American to play in the professional Major League level and was highly respected by everyone. After having read his autobiography, I Never Had It Made, I realized that I was totally wrong. Besides the glory and the fame for having been the first African-American to play in the major leagues, Jackie had to go through many hardships to get where he got. Jackie uses this book to tell the reader of all the different trials and hardships he had to go through before, during, and after his professional career as the 1st and 2nd baseman of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie also tells of all the other things that he did besides baseball. I didn't know it, but Jackie went to UCLA and while he was there, he did many great things. Not only was a great baseball star at UCLA, he was also a big star in football, basketball, and track. After college, he went into the Army and became a lieutenant for the U.S. Army before he signed with the Montreal Royals (a minor league baseball team) in 1945. Jackie gives a lot of the credit to Mr. Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for having the guts to bring him into the team and making the transition as easy as possible. Jackie promised to take in any insults thrown at him while he was in baseball uniform and not to respond to them for two years. This was to pave the way for other black players to be brought into the major league. I personally don't think that I can play a game while people are yelling and making fun of me. Jackie describes what he had to go through in the book. Jackie also discusses the hate mail he got and even the threats people placed on his life. He also tells of his wife and the kind of positive impact she had on him as well. Many people think of Jackie Robinson as being only a baseball player, but he did much more. After retiring from baseball, he did many things in regard to the civil rights issue. He influenced many issues and was even the political scene, helping President Nixon and President John F. Kennedy during their stay in office. He was even apart of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). In the book, you learn more about his relationships with Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and many others. Jackie Robinson accomplished many things and had endured many problems even within his own family. He talks about the drug problems that plagued his oldest son and all the hardships his children had to go through being the sons and daughter of a famous African-American figure. Jackie changed the way of life for many people and gave hope to the African-American community. After all of this, Jackie learns that no matter what his successes were in the white world, he would always remain a black man. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing about Jackie Robinson. You wouldn't expect for a baseball player to be a good enough writer to write a three hundred page autobiography, but I thought Jackie did a great job. The book flowed and it never got boring. I didn't even want to put it down, just kept turning the pages. This book gave great insight into the kind of life African American faced in the early to mid nineteen hundreds and what they had to endure. Jackie Robinson is not only a great icon in the world of professional sports, but in other aspects as well and I think that he did awesome job in writing this book.