Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train

Rating:
Summary: You can't help not liking the Big Train
Review: Henry Thomas seems to have inherited the Big Train's genes. One gentleman does a big service to another (his grandfather)as Walter johnson is depicted in this well researched and written biography. If you are an avid fan of great pitchers, dead-ball era ballplayers, or just enjoy a heartwarming story of a well respected gentleman baseball player, this book will not disappoint. Walter "Barney" Johnson was more than just the second winningest major league pitcher of all time with a blazing fastball. First and foremost he was the sports main ambassador of goodwill as well as the idol of Washington Senator fans and the entire baseball community. The only matter that the book did not clear up with me was how he derived the nickname "Big Train." In other aspects, the book was extremely well done.

Rating:
Summary: If you enjoy baseball you'll LOVE this book!!!!
Review: Henry W. Thomas helps tell his grandfathers life story. It is a well reasearched book with a lot of interesting facts about the greatest pitcher of all time. I highly recommend this book to any one who enjoys the golden-age of baseball.

Rating:
Summary: If you enjoy baseball you'll LOVE this book!!!!
Review: Henry W. Thomas helps tell his grandfathers life story. It is a well reasearched book with a lot of interesting facts about the greatest pitcher of all time. I highly recommend this book to any one who enjoys the golden-age of baseball.

Rating:
Summary: too much game description
Review: I stopped after the first 300 pages or so, because the detailed game descriptions were just getting to be too much. I felt like I never got to know anything about Johnson the man, or his life, or the times that he lived in. If you like reading those expanded box scores that they usually have in USA Today during the World Series, and which tell every play in the game, then this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Big Train is a well written account of a baseball "good guy"
Review: If you have some time, and enjoy reading about one of baseball's best eras, then I strongly recommend this book.Henry Thomas has written a meticulously researched, 400 page account of the life of Walter Johnson. Not only does it expound upon his on-field brilliance, but it demonstrates the love and respect that everyone associated with baseball had for Walter. The foreword is written by longtime Washington sportswriter, Shirley Povich, and the book contains many fine photos. If you are not a baseball fan, the wordy and intricate game descriptions may be tiresome. But if you enjoy the game, you will enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: What a pitcher! What a book!
Review: One of the best baseball books I have ever read- easily on my top ten list and maybe even in my top five. I was not aware that the book was written by Johnson's great grandson until I began reading; this certainly gave the material a lot of credibility.
Walter Johnson was, without question, the greatest pitcher in baseball history. Along with Al Stump's work on Ty Cobb, Robert Creamer's work on Casey Stengel, and the recently published Cy Young biography (author's name escapes me), this book establishes a lasting legacy of Johnson on and off the field.

Rating:
Summary: Who's the best? Walter
Review: Simply stated, this is the most detailed as well as accurate baseball bio, at least of a player from pre-WWII years, we have. Yet Thomas keeps the story moving, and we get the full picture of the man and his family life as well. Jack Kavanaugh's "Ol' Pete" (Grover Alexander), and Reed Browning's "Cy Young" make excellent relievers, but here's your starting pitcher, and Big Train didn't need bailing out very often.

Rating:
Summary: A fine read about baseball;s greatest pitcher
Review: This biography, by Johnson's grandson, fills a gap in the historical literature of baseball. Though Johnson comes through as a very admirable character, by all accounts that is an accurate portrayal of man respected by all his peers. For a Washington Senator fan, the book was especially welcome, as the exploits of one of baseball's most hapless teams is rarely the subject of any publication

Rating:
Summary: A BIG BOOK ABOUT THE BIG TRAIN
Review: THIS BOOK IS ONE VERY DETAILED AND FACT FILLED BOOK. I DON'T LIKE LONG AND DETAILED BOOKS BUT THIS IS AN EXCEPTION. THE AUTHOR DOES A GREAT JOB TELLING OF HIS STORIED CAREEER. JOHNSON WAS ONE OF THE NICEST AND RESPECTED MEN THE GAME HAS EVER SEEN. HE TRULY HAD ONE OF THE GREATEST ARMS EVER. I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN FOR IT TRULY IS A MUST READ. THE STORIES ABOUT HIM PITCHING TO SUCH GREATS AS BABE RUTH AND TY COBB AS FASCINATING. FOR HISTORIANS AND ALL NOSTALGIA FANS OF THE GRAND OLD GAME.

Rating:
Summary: Overall very good with a minor complaint
Review: This is a very enjoyable book for anyone wanting to know about baseball's golden age and a different American age.The author's research and attention to detail are superb.His writing style is also quite enjoyable.A minor criticism: the number of footnotes is a little distracting(usually 60 or so per 20 page chapter).It is,after all,a book about baseball,not an academic text.On the positive side again-the "play-by-play" of the World Series games are riveting