Rating: 
Summary: For the diehard in all of us
Review: I received Chasing Steinbrenner for Christmas and, being a 40-year fan of the Red Sox, I enjoyed the read immensely. Knowing the joyous outcome of the 2004 MLB season made reading about Theo's first season as GM enjoyable. I don't think I could have read it had the Red Sox -gulp- lost to the Yankees in 2004. We know the amazing story of the 2004 season, and Bradford's entertaining and informative book gives us the inside story of the ups and downs of two franchises, the Blue Jays and Red Sox, that led to Aaron "What's the Big Deal?" Boone's 2003 ALCS Game 7 homerun. Bradford gives readers the stories-behind-the-stories of some of the deals that, in retrospect, led to the 2004 World Series championship. What if Theo had succeeded in signing Jose Contreras or did not obtain Kevin Millar? There's no Game 4 comeback in the ALCS. The details of the players' lives and the focus on certain 2003 games allow diehard fans to relive, without anguish, from whence the 2004 championship came. Bradford's chapter on Theo's first game as GM makes me believe that one day Carl Crawford will be stealing bases and hitting walk-off HRs for the Red Sox.
Juxtaposing Toronto's general manager J.P. Ricciardi, his limited resources, and Blue Jay fans with Boston's young general manager, sizable yet still somewhat limited revenue, and the Red Sox maniacal fan base allows readers access to the front office machinations about which newspapers, television, and radio shows only speculate.
For fans, Bradford opens the front office doors. He also opened my eyes that the GM's care as much if not more than many of the diehards. Read it and no longer weep!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but just too distracted
Review: As a die-hard Sox fan, I am interested by any writing about the Red Sox under Theo Epstein, especially when it involves a new and different look at the managerial goings-on of a sabermetric franchise. And there are plenty of interesting tidbits and stories about sagas such as the Jose Contreras deal and the Kevin Millar signings that many Red Sox fans remember vividly. But I felt like there was too much background for certain players, too much focus on specific games. It's worth a read for die-hard Sox fans, but I can't really recommend it for most.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining
Review: Between the behind the scenes story-telling, and the details waiting around every corner this is a great book to pick up. It delves into what some of the decision-makers in Boston and Toronto had to go through over a most extra-ordinary season, not so much why the decisions were made. It is a great summertime page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling
Review: Bradford does an amazing job telling the story of how the "underdogs" compete. This book showed me, without a doubt, that there is so much more to baseball than payroll.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous read for any knowledgable sports fan
Review: I loved "Chasing Steinbrenner.' Devoured might be a better word; I started the book on a flight from Boston to Honolulu and finished it before we touched down. From the beginning, when we are taken back to Game 7 of last year's ALCS, until the very end, when we see crazed fans waiting in line for a spring training (!) game between the Red Sox and Yankees this past spring, Bradford is able to tie together a baseball masterpiece, telling the story of two franchises, their general managers and fan bases in their almighty pursuit of Lord Steinbrenner and His Evil Minions.
Rather than the same old game-by-game retelling of a story or the new stats-obsessed baseball culture of today, Bradford sculpts each chapter in a way that makes the reader feel as if they were right there in the GM's office, or in the dugout, or on the front lines as the action was happening. Even better is the background into the many rich characters that permeate the book, stories that would never make it into your average newspaper story, but are explored in fascinating length and insight here.
So-called baseball fans who compare this book to 'Moneyball' need to stick with books on knitting or making quiches. While 'Moneyball' is a fine book in its own right, the overload of statistical information can be a bit much. 'Chasing Steinbrenner' was an idea not only conceived prior to the release of 'Moneyball', but is also infinitely more interesting to read. If you can't see the difference -- and obviously some posters can't -- you're just ignorant or not that smart.
I would enthusiastically recommend 'Chasing Steinbrenner' to anyone with a love of the sport, an interest in behind-the-scenes shop talk, and a penchant for digging deeper into the lives of people who make their lives in baseball. Well done, Mr. Bradford!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I picked this up after reading positive reviews in the Boston press, and wasn't disappointed. I was specifically interested in how baseball's youngest GM, Theo Epstein, handled the pressure of his first year. The author's unprecedented access to his subjects results in a book that brings the reader squarely into Theo and JP's worlds.
The most talked-about chapter in this book deals with the attempted Contreras signing, but while you will get the best account of that debacle here, it's only one of dozens of anecdotes that show how intense these guy's lives are. The chronology of the book makes it clear that it was being written before Moneyball was released, but you'll know after the first chapter that they're two completely different books - Moneyball is a top seller among stockbrokers and economists, while this one was clearly written for baseball fans.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the book. When I bought the book I expected to read stories of behind the door wheeling and dealing, and wasn't disappointed. The part I enjoyed the most was reading about the "real" lives of these people. Bradford does an excellent job portraying the professional and personal sides of these individuals. The whole section on Jose Contreras was intruiging. I highly recomend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: I'm a huge Red Sox fan, so the idea of a behind the scenes look at the team really appealed to me. And, I read a lot of baseball books, so I'm used to tolerating mediocre writing in order to get my fix. This book, however, was just awful. Unreadable. Bradford's final product reads like a college freshman's first draft. He simply doesn't have enough ability. You'll find yourself reading a paragraph and then stopping to wonder incredulously, who writes like that, and why didn't his editor stop him? Unfortunately, the problems didn't really show up in the excerpt available here, so now I'm out twenty-five bucks.
Before you disregard this warning and buy it anyway, ask yourself a couple questions. Why would a book that should have a similar appeal to Michael Lewis's bestseller, Moneyball, end up with a tiny publisher like Brassey's? Because the other publishers wouldn't take it, that's why. Why can't you find it in the brick and mortar bookstores? Because those stores won't stock it, that's why. And finally, have a look at Dan Shaughnessy's blurb on the back cover. Talk about damned with faint praise. I ignored the signs because I really wanted to like this book, but it really isn't worth your time or money. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's better for you to hear it now.
Rating:
Summary: Biased Red Sox Fan
Review: Moneyball was a great read for me as a diehard baseball fan. Unfortunately it had little or nothing to do with the Red Sox. Luckily, now there is Chasing Steinbrenner. The half of the book that deals with the behind the scenes operations of the Toronto Blue Jays is to be forgiven since it is also interesting.Among the unforegtable stories is when Toronto GM JP Ricciardi gets a phone call from the local Worcester newspaper (JP is a Worcester native). Turns out the reporter was dying for a story about the high school basketball team that Ricciardi was several years removed from being the coach of. The exclusive with the local MLB GM would have been a bigger story, but the reporter is disappointed. This book is a must read for those with any curiosity about what goes on upstairs at Fenway with the Sox brass.
Rating:
Summary: Timely
Review: Picked this up after reading Peter Gammons' recommendation on espn.com last month, and finished it as the Sox were in the middle of the greatest comeback in sports history last week. The timing was perfect, as this postseason is partly the result of the brilliant 2003 teambuilding effort by Theo Epstein and company that is covered here. The chapter on the adventure of signing Kevin Millar alone is worth the cover price. A great look into the inner workings of what may go down in history as one of baseball's best back offices. Reading about the Jays making do with a relatively tiny payroll is interesting too, but it's the Sox that caught Steinbrenner.
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