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Rating: 
Summary: A non-baseball basebal bio
Review: The author himself explains on this Amazon page that he wrote the book as a non-baseball fan who wanted a subject for his writing fellowship, and had met Jackie's widow. This book is for people who admired Jackie, his quiet heroics, his battle with his inner pains. The sources the author says he used are apparent- they are Jackie's youthful and off-season coaches, friends and business associates, as well as his second wife. They are not primarily baseball players. The account of any given year is strong on Jackie's off-season activities and weak on Jackie's baseball season, or anecdotes relating to it. An unintentionally humorous error stemming from the author's lack of baseball knowledge occurs in the wrap-up of Jackie's stats for the season prior to his first retirement. Mr. Martin mentally transposed the numbers in two columns in his own appendix, and credits Jackie with 67 stolen bases in 1959! Maybe Luis Aparicio was overrated! (Jackie actually had 20 SBs and 67 SOs in 1959.)As one might expect from such a source, the book is better-written by far than the standard baseball bio. But the choice of a subject famous for an activity that does not captivate the author creates a certain monstrous gap in the purpose, and a real loss in describing Jackie's climactic voluntary retirement from the game at his peak, a mere one year after winning the MVP. If Mr. Martin was half the baseball fan he is a writer, the book could have soared to something like a Greek tragedy. As is, it will appeal to those interested in the man, in the personal foibles and flaws inherent in all humans, and in the efforts of spirited people to overcome them. These efforts better grip the reader when made by one, like Jackie, who has attained greatness in one of life's pathways.
Rating: 
Summary: A GOOD READ
Review: THIS IS A WELL WRITTEN BOOK ABOUT A VERY INTERESTING MAN. JACKIE WAS TRULY A VERY GIFTED ATHLETE. HE HAD A LOT TO OVERCOME IN HIS PRIVATE LIFE. I REALLY ENJOYED HIS STORY. THE AUTHOR DOES A FINE JOB RETELLING JACKIE'S CAREER AND LIFE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TO ALL BASEBALL FANS.
Rating: 
Summary: A great read that will make you look at athletes differently
Review: What makes this book so great is that after reading it you have a new found respect for professional athletes and people who are thrust into the public spotlight. Jackie's life was not only interesting, but very demanding and trying for him and his family. This book dispelled my notion that people in Jackie's position were just part of the glitz and glamor of this nation and not so much a citizen like the rest of us. I wish everyone could read this not only because it's a great story of a man's life and all the historical events that took place around him, but also because it made me realize just how human and vulnerable even the seemingly 'mighty' are.
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