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Rating: 
Summary: If you only read one book about Joe, this is the one to read
Review: As web master of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Virtual Hall of Fame (http://www.blackbetsy.com/), the Official web site of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Society, I highly recommend this book. I have been to every town and city that Joe played ball in and have read most, if not all newspaper accounts of the day and every book on Joe Jackson. Unlike the other books on Joe Jackson, this one is written by someone that actually knew Joe and it shows in this great work. Joe Thompson grew up in the forties in the Brandon Mill community where Joe Jackson ran a liquor store. Jackson would take Joe and his friends to the school yard and teach them how to play baseball. Jackson also taught them lessons about life of which Joe Thompson speaks about in this book. This book is more than just about Joe Jackson the ballplayer, it about Joe Jackson the man. This book will give you insight into the man, to let you know that he held no grudge against baseball. It will show you that he would go out of his way to help his fellow man and he gave of himself to help young kids grow up and lead a productive life. This is a must read for Jackson fans, as well as baseball fans in general.......get the real story about Joe Jackson!!!!!
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Summary: A true testament to Joe Jackson the Man!
Review: In baseball there are some memorable moments, Carlton Fisk hitting the game winning home run in the 1975 World Series for example. In baseball there are also some darker moments, The Black Sox Scandal is probably the most notable of these.In the book Growing Up with Shoeless Joe, author Joe Thompson takes you inside baseball's past and gives you a first rate look at the Greatest Natural Hitter baseball has ever seen. Thompson's book is the first I have ever read that is more than the typical slander on Joe Jackson. Thompson takes a look into the man, more than the ball player, and allows you to see a side of Jackson never before revealed. What Thompson gives the reader is by far the best accounting of a true hero in the game of baseball. This book is so much more than a story about a World Series in 1919; it's so much more than a story about baseball. This book is about the man Joe Jackson and the side of him most of us have never seen. I am extremely proud to be allowed to review this book
Rating:
Summary: Read the book for research, now an admirer of the man
Review: Last September I painted a mural of "Shoeless " Joe Jackson in his home town---Greenville, South Carolina. His name meant nothing to me until I went to the library to do research for the painting. There I discovered I might be the only person in the world who was unaware of "Shoeless." Never interested in sports, I thought I was reading about the legendary hero only to acquaint myself with the visual particulars of the man and the game of baseball in the early 1900's. Before I finished the first book I was hooked----not by the sport, but by the deeply moving life story of Joe himself. Further research led me to read Joe Thompson's GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, The Greatest Natural Player In Baseball History. Here was an account, written in the personal first person that makes one feel the intimacy of a hometown boy's acquaintance, and love for the subject. There was no turning back then. I became an ardent fan of "Shoeless" Joe. Thompson has written in the voice of the South Carolina native he is. Unpretentiously he tells, not only the history of Jackson's baseball career, but of the man as a child of impoverished mill worker parents. He speaks of a small boy who was never sent to school, and who was sweeping the floors of Brandon Mill when only seven years old. He makes you hear the taunts "Shoeless" endured because he never learned to read or write. He makes you proud of the little mill kid who, in spite of everything, made it to the major leagues. And he makes you weep for the wretched debacle which cost an innocent "Shoeless" his brilliant career. In 1996 the Brandon Mill Baseball Field in West Greenville was finally named for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Thompson's vivid fury that publicity and general media coverage was as lackluster as the bitterly cold day of the dedication, fairly sizzles on the pages of his book. Thompson's infectious outrage that "Shoeless" has been slighted by his own hometown has persuaded me to become involved in the renewal of the once thriving business district of the mill village. Many more murals depicting "Shoeless'" career, and the textile history of the area, are on the drawing boards. Buddy Hunt, who commissioned the original mural, is opening a coffee shop, Cuppa Joe, so fans will have a place to stop and chat when visiting. Hunt owns a number of large empty buildings across the street from where "Shoeless" Joe owned a liquor store. His hope is to attract investors, restaurateurs and shop keepers---all with sports, or related themes---to the long neglected area. I have met the author of GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, and am proud that he not only approves of the renewal project, but is helping to bring it about. Whether or not you are a sports fan, this book will tug at your heartstrings, for it is a rich and poignant history written by a hometown boy who tells it like it is. Polly Hunt Neal
Rating:
Summary: Read the book for research, now an admirer of the man
Review: Last September I painted a mural of "Shoeless " Joe Jackson in his home town---Greenville, South Carolina. His name meant nothing to me until I went to the library to do research for the painting. There I discovered I might be the only person in the world who was unaware of "Shoeless." Never interested in sports, I thought I was reading about the legendary hero only to acquaint myself with the visual particulars of the man and the game of baseball in the early 1900's. Before I finished the first book I was hooked----not by the sport, but by the deeply moving life story of Joe himself. Further research led me to read Joe Thompson's GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, The Greatest Natural Player In Baseball History. Here was an account, written in the personal first person that makes one feel the intimacy of a hometown boy's acquaintance, and love for the subject. There was no turning back then. I became an ardent fan of "Shoeless" Joe. Thompson has written in the voice of the South Carolina native he is. Unpretentiously he tells, not only the history of Jackson's baseball career, but of the man as a child of impoverished mill worker parents. He speaks of a small boy who was never sent to school, and who was sweeping the floors of Brandon Mill when only seven years old. He makes you hear the taunts "Shoeless" endured because he never learned to read or write. He makes you proud of the little mill kid who, in spite of everything, made it to the major leagues. And he makes you weep for the wretched debacle which cost an innocent "Shoeless" his brilliant career. In 1996 the Brandon Mill Baseball Field in West Greenville was finally named for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Thompson's vivid fury that publicity and general media coverage was as lackluster as the bitterly cold day of the dedication, fairly sizzles on the pages of his book. Thompson's infectious outrage that "Shoeless" has been slighted by his own hometown has persuaded me to become involved in the renewal of the once thriving business district of the mill village. Many more murals depicting "Shoeless'" career, and the textile history of the area, are on the drawing boards. Buddy Hunt, who commissioned the original mural, is opening a coffee shop, Cuppa Joe, so fans will have a place to stop and chat when visiting. Hunt owns a number of large empty buildings across the street from where "Shoeless" Joe owned a liquor store. His hope is to attract investors, restaurateurs and shop keepers---all with sports, or related themes---to the long neglected area. I have met the author of GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, and am proud that he not only approves of the renewal project, but is helping to bring it about. Whether or not you are a sports fan, this book will tug at your heartstrings, for it is a rich and poignant history written by a hometown boy who tells it like it is. Polly Hunt Neal
Rating: 
Summary: Growing Up With Shoeless Joe
Review: This book is very unusual. When I received it and began reading it, I felt as though I'd been duped. The font is abnormally large making it look initially like a book meant for young adults or children. As I read I was completely shocked to see many misspelled words, subject verb disagreements, problems with modifiers, incomplete sentences, you name it. I considered sending it back, but I'm a serious fan of Shoeless Joe, so I kept on reading and discovered something very interesting. This book isn't the product of a huge publishing conglomerate, in fact, it's a truly home-spun effort. I examined the credits and realized the author published it himself much the same way an underground band would market it's own music. Members of his family provided the photos. It looks like he may have had friends proofread and edit it. It seems to have been printed locally as well. The upside is that it has a "down home" charm that a true fan of Joe Jackson can appreciate. I'm sure Joe would considerate it a literary masterpiece. I'm currently writing a one-man-play about Joe, and I've found things in this book that I haven't read before. After allowing myself to digest its differences, and accept what it really is, I can honestly say I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Thanks very much Mr Thompson.
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