 "Baseball's Greatest Hitter?" | 2009-10-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3FHSO1SKHU378 |
Leigh Montville has compiled a wonderful biography of one of baseball's most enigmatic players, and perhaps the game's greatest hitter of all-time---Ted Williams. Clearly, the author has a great deal of respect for Williams' hitting prowess; however, he gives a balanced perspective on the human side of the player; a man with a short temper and generally sullen attitude towards his teammates, fans, and sportswriters. Certainly, this attitude probably cost him the MVP Award on at least a couple of occasions, most notably in 1941, when all he did was hit .406 that year.
Williams was driven by a passion to be the greatest hitter to play the game, and amassed an impressive .344 lifetime batting average, with a tremendous amount of raw power; his productivity as a hitter was nothing short of incredible. Unlike a guy like Ty Cobb, who hit for a higher average, but used his blazing speed to beat out many hits; Williams hit slashing lines drives with startling consistency throughout his career, which was shortened substantially by his frequent stints as a Navy fighter pilot. This was a true war hero and a man's man.
Certainly, Ted Williams could be an unpleasant guy to deal with, especially when anyone questioned his character or his desire to play hard. He was frequently at odds with the fans, especially during his tumultuous early years, and his gruff personality didn't endear himself to the sportswriters covering the team.
But to the people who were close to this man, Ted Williams was a man of strong character; possessing a level of honesty & integrity seldom seen in anyone. He simply lacked tact; not good moral values. Anyone who didn't see that, didn't matter, as far as Williams was concerned.
Whether or not you liked him as a person, it's clear this man was driven with a passion for excellence and had a moral fiber that few men possessed; the sad truth is, few truly understood that fact.
Montville's biography sheds some light on the true character of this baseball legend, who played the game at a level very few have accomplished; and who truly was a good man, down to his core; and a true American hero.
|
| |
 "Good book, but it's long, and has a bit of filler" | 2009-07-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: A25X4F1TS2SW27 |
There's no doubt this is probably THE comprehensive book about Ted Williams. For what it's worth, I "read" the audio version, which was unabridged and consisted of around 15 discs. The author did a bang-up job of really getting relatives' and friends' views of Ted Williams. I think what surprised me the most was that while the title states that this is the "Biography of an American Hero", he was less of a hero than I realized. I knew that Ted lost his prime baseball years to fighting in WWII and the Korean War, but I didn't realize that while other ballplayers were volunteering for WWII, he was really dragging his feet. In fact, according to the author, Ted could have cared less about leaving the minors and heading to the majors. Much, much later, the book talks about many positives at the end of Ted's career, especially when it came to visiting sick kids. Still, he's painted as an absentee father with his own kids (not present at any of their births, and beyond), an uncaring husband, and he expressed great disdain for nearly every sportswriter and had a love-hate relationship with the fans who pestered him from their seats near his left field.
The book was still good, but it didn't paint a portrait of the hero that I had hoped it would. About 10% of the beginning of the book and 10% of the end of the book are less interesting, especially as they dive into rather boring fishing trips that Ted took or basic aspects of his youth that don't relate to anything later in his life.
|
| |
| "A Well Written Biography" | 2009-07-17 |
| - Reviewed By tansley6 |
| I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Montville's book. It's a flawlessly written biography of a flawed but uniquely talented baseball icon. If The Splendid Splinter wanted the title of "the greatest hitter who ever lived" he certainly accomplished that mission. A great read and highly recommended regardless of your team affiliation. |
| |
| "Many hours of enjoyment" | 2009-03-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: ANDN93RM7G7OC |
| "The Biography of An American Hero" is excellent. I purchased the audio book for my Dad. Due to his health conditions, he isn't able to read. I remember him telling me stories about going to watch Williams play when he was a kid. I'm not much of a baseball fan myself, but I thought listening to the biography would bring my Dad some happiness. Turns out I've enjoyed it myself. This is a great story about a true American hero. My Dad and I have gotten many hours of enjoyment listening to Ted's life story together. I would highly recommend it to anyone, whether baseball fan or not. |
| |
 "WILLIAMS IS NOT A GOD" | 2009-02-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1QWEUEM90LL9D |
| I always loved Ted Williams more than any other athlete. He truly was an American hero. However, some of his comments about Jesus Christ in this book are disturbing to me, and while I will always admire him, I admire him less because of what he said. |
| |
Expedited Available
