Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live by : Courage, Determination, Teamwork, Persistece, Integrity, Citizenship, Justice, Commitment, Excellence

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Summary: I seldom read a book in one sitting, ...
Review: but I also seldom read a book this good. With chapters on Courage, Determination, Teamwork, Persistence, Integrity, Citizenship, Justice, Commitment and Excellence, this book can be read in one sitting or by the chapter (as each is an individual story). Some of the writing is Sharon's and some of it is Jackie's. Others contribute, including Roger Kahn, Christopher Reeve & Jackie's wife, Rachel. Baseball fans will enjoy stories detailing Jackie's initial meeting with Branch Rickey, stealing home in the World Series and his relationship PeeWee Reese. This is a great book to read with your children or to your children.

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Summary: A Must-Read for Kids and Adults to Read with their Kids
Review: In a thoughtful, sincere, approachable tone, Sharon Robinson offers young adults wonderful examples of character-building values based on nine by which her father lived his life in baseball, business, civil rights and at home. She has compiled this anthology of writings based on her own stories, her father's writings, and also writings by and about other notable individuals who she feels also embody Jackie Robinson's values. For any young adult looking for guidelines by which to model good behavior and for any parent looking for another means of imparting values on their children, this book is a welcomed addition to the family library. I would give it to any young adult I know.

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Summary: The values by which Jackie Robinson lived his life
Review: It is Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon who first came up with "Jackie's Nine" as part of an educational program called "Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life," an in school program supported by Major League Baseball, which used baseball-themed activities as teaching tools. These nine values are the ones that Sharon Robinson sees as being instrumental in her father's life, a subject which she has written about previously in her family biography "Stealing Home: An Intimate Portrait of Jackie Robinson." She picked nine because a baseball team has nine players and a game is nine innings long.

As far as I am concerned Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth are the two most important sports figures of the 20th century from the perspective of their impact on society. My argument would be that the popularity of other athletes like Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan are separate issues from their social significance. You can claim such stars are, in a way, the Babe Ruths of their day, and while Ali and Jordan may well be more popular around the world than the Babe ever was, Jackie Robinson has a legacy that can not even be approached, let alone be equaled (I remember that Larry Doby was the first African American to play in the American League, but I could not tell you who broke the color barrier in the NBA or NFL.). We can argue about who is "best," but who is "first" is a much easier argument to make.

"Jackie's Nine" is essentially an anthology, which includes autobiographical passages from both Jackie Robinson and his daughter as well as profiles of people she sees as carrying on her father's legacy in terms of each of the nine values: (1) Courage: Elizabeth Eckford; (2) Determination: Christopher Reeve; (3) Teamwork: Pee Wee Reese and David Robinson (her brother, not the basketball player); (4) Persistence: Roberto Clemente; (5) Integrity: Muhammed Ali; (6) Citizenship: Marian Wright Edelman; (7) Justice: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; (8) Commitment: Rachel Robinson; and (9) Excellence: Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey. This book also includes the eulogy for Jackie Robinson delivered by the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

"Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By" is what I think of as a nightstand book, where you read a section each night before going to sleep because it is beneficial to mull over each of the values and how they manifested themselves in the public careers of Jackie Robinson and these others. Of course, then it becomes impossible not to consider how your own live exhibits these values (or fails to). This is not a book that preaches, but rather one that tries to makes it point by example. Do not be surprised if after reading "Jackie's Nine" you are not interested in reading all of "I Never Had It Made" by Jackie Robinson, "Stealing Home" by Sharon Robinson, "Still Me" by Christopher Reeve, " or any of the dozen books from which excerpts are drawn for this volume.

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Summary: Jackie's Nine
Review: Jackie's Nine is broken down into values rather than chapters. Each is a true value that Jackie Robinson lived by. His daughter, Sharon, also lived by them after his death. Jackie was a great baseball player of his time who fought for his rights to play ball. Sharon shares his stories and other people's stories of courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence. Sharon uses flashbacks of when Jackie first started playing Major League baseball and of her childhood days to explain some of the values. I feel this would be a good book for baseball lovers and young adults. It is a good book that helps people understand what Jackie's family went through when he started to play Major League baseball. This book is unique because it not only tells Jackie's values of life, but it demonstrates other famous people who share similar values. I enjoyed this book because I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson and other celebrities such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. Athletes of all kinds can come to enjoy Jackie's Nine.

Rating:
Summary: Jackie's Nine
Review: Jackie's Nine is broken down into values rather than chapters. Each is a true value that Jackie Robinson lived by. His daughter, Sharon, also lived by them after his death. Jackie was a great baseball player of all time who fought for his rights to play. Sharon shares his stories and many other people's stories of courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence. Sharon uses flashbacks of when Jackie first started playing ball and of her childhood days to explain some of the values. I feel this would be a good book for baseball lovers and young adults. It is a good book that helps people understand what Jackie's family went through when he started to play Major League baseball. This book is unique because it not only tells about Jackie's values, but it demonstrates other famous people who share similar values. I enjoyed this book because I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson and other celebrities such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. Athletes of all kinds can come to enjoy Jackie's Nine.