Jimmie Foxx: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hall of Famer, 1907-1967

Rating:
Summary: Excellent "just the facts" biography one of baseball's best
Review: I realy enjoyed this book about baseball's forgotten hero. One of baseball's best hitters, Jimmie Foxx life after baseball was tragic. The author uses extensive research throughout to present the basic facts of the career of Jimmie Foxx--from the young farmboy from Easton, Maryland to his superb career with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies. The one weakness in the book, though understandable, was the lack of development of the relationship between Foxx and his Hall of Fame teammates such as Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, and Lefty Grove. Writing a book about a man who was forgotten from the world of baseball fifty years after his career ended was no easy feat. It is truly unfortunate that this book wasn't written in the 1960's when Foxx was still alive and most of his peers were still around to lend insight and develop the relationships that he had between teammates and opponent

Rating:
Summary: A VERY GOOD READ
Review: THIS BOOK IS A WELL WRITTEN STORY ABOUT THE MARK MCGWIRE OF HIS TIME. AN INTERESTING AND SAD STORY ABOUT AN INCREDIBLY STRONG MAN, PHYSICALLY BUT NOT EMOTIONALLY. THE AUTHOR DOES A GOOD JOB DESCRIBING HIS GREAT CAREER AND HIS VERY SAD LIFE OUTSIDE OF BASEBALL. JIMMIE FOXX WAS A VERY MODEST MAN. ALCOHOL TOOK ALOT OF HIS GOODNESS AWAY AND COST HIM JOB AFTER JOB. JIMMIE FOXX IS A HERO TO ME. THE AUTHOR DOES A GREAT JOB OF SHOWING HOW HUMAN THIS MAN WAS. A BOOK THAT MUST BE READ.

Rating:
Summary: Enigmatic Slugger...Enigmatic Read
Review: Well, I read the book. That is all that I can honestly say. The book just never had imagination or anything that one would expect from a superstar of Foxx's stature and lore. This was like reading a Grade 8 assignment. Structure and content are terribly lacking. A subject loaded with plenty of history and ammunition, yet it looks as though the book was put together piece by piece with not a clue where to begin or end. The only break for the author is that Foxx had a historical abstract that indicated beginning and end to his career. At least the author stayed in that timeframe. Too good a subject for such a poor and lacadasical effort. Two stars is too generous, but the statistics carry the book. Such a shame!

Rating:
Summary: Enigmatic Slugger...Enigmatic Read
Review: Well, I read the book. That is all that I can honestly say. The book just never had imagination or anything that one would expect from a superstar of Foxx's stature and lore. This was like reading a Grade 8 assignment. Structure and content are terribly lacking. A subject loaded with plenty of history and ammunition, yet it looks as though the book was put together piece by piece with not a clue where to begin or end. The only break for the author is that Foxx had a historical abstract that indicated beginning and end to his career. At least the author stayed in that timeframe. Too good a subject for such a poor and lacadasical effort. Two stars is too generous, but the statistics carry the book. Such a shame!