Honus Wagner: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: a solid hit
Review: I apparently enjoyed this book much more than the reviewers before me. This book did contain a good bit of detail but I think a true baseball fan enjoys details of a famous player's life, even of selected ballgames. I especially enjoyed the detailed accounts of the 1903 and 1909 World Series and the 1908 pennant race. The tall tales Honus spun were fun to read about as well as the Dutchman's relationships with other players like Fred Clarke, Ty Cobb, and others. The DeValerias really did their homework in researching Wagner and wrote a thourough, balanced biography of the man including the "good, bad, and ugly." I read this book quickly and found it entertaining as well as informative. It also gives a great account of what baseball, and American culture, was like at the turn of the century. To me, this was a great baseball book. I hope the DeValerias write more.

Rating:
Summary: Flying Dutchman Grounded
Review: If took almost 100 years for us to get Wagner biograhy. Unfortunately, we're still waiting for an effort worthy of the man universally considered the greatest shortstop ever.
The main problem with the book is that it gets too bogged down in detail. It goes through tedious information, like his getting three hits in an Iron & Oil League game.
Also, there's not enough about what kind of person Wagner was. Generalities are mentioned, but few specifics.
In defense of the authors, it would be tough to paint a portrait of a man when there is almost no one left who knew him pesonally. Then again, with such a handicap, they probably shouldn't have tried it in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: Provides some insights
Review: This work is useful for the baseball fan interested in the game's history. An enjoyable read but it falls prey to a critical error in any baseball biography -- it fails to include Wagner's career statistics. Not that you can't find them elsewhere, but most folks reading baseball history (such as myself) will want to leaf through and check out the stats as they read the narrative.

Rating:
Summary: H. Wagner, the book, a sincere disappointment
Review: Well researched. Well written. It just lacked something resembling a solid base hit up the middle. I really enjoyed the history and background on the Pirates. At times I was not sure if the authors were writing a book about Tommy Leach, Fred Clarke, or Honus Wagner. Not until the end did you actually get an appreciation for Honus the man. At that, perhaps you understand why they stuck so closely to developing the story behind the Pirates rather than just Wagner. If that is all that is available about Honus, then the title of the book should have been, HONUS AND THE PIRATES. Good effort, but just another baseball history book with inconsistencies and missing information.