What sports books are you reading this summer?

Recently finished Jane Leavy's book on Mantle. I know I'll get grief for this, but the book wasn't worth it. Like someone said above for another book, there was too much me, me, me. Yes, she's a great writer. Yes, she researched the heck out of this book. I wanted to read about Mickey Mantle, not her.

I also read the Al Kaline biography by Jim Hawkins - decent, but again, too much me, me, me. And, there were passages straight out of George Cantor's wonderful book about the '68 Tigers. Yes, Jim gave proper credit, but I already have that book and have read it a couple times. I didn't pay to re-read a book I already own, darn it!

And, I recently read Bob Probert's autobiography. It's a well-done book about a guy who just couldn't get his crap together, even though he was arguably the best fighter of his era and had a wonderful family - a terrific wife and four children who adored him. The passages about his final day are just riveting.

 

My thought when I read that was that, yes, there was a lot of good Mantle material in there, but no, she didn't write it particularly well.

 

Messrs Glass, Eagle

Her Koufax book was symphonic, Mantle a bit of a polka. I suspect Mantle was by far the more difficult to write simply because JL had to try to cover ground that hadn't already been stampeded by MM biographers previously. Koufax was by contrast a mystery unravelled for the reader.

YHS, etc

 

Wow, so many really good books being mentioned here, some never heard of. Going to read Probert next. Hockey fighting has always been a very alluring aspect of sports, those are some brave and courageous warriors laying it on the line night after night, especially a guy like Bob Probert. RIP.

 

All these baseball biographies being mentioned reminded me that David Maraniss' "Clemente" is outstanding, particularly in dealing with Clemente's role as a Latino sociopolitical figure.

 

Maraniss' next bad book will be his first.

 

Finally read a book I had on my shelf for awhile, Levels of the Game by the great John McPhee. For those who haven't read it, it's about a US Open match in 1968 between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner.

Currently finishing up Shawn Green's "The Way of Baseball." It's a quick, pretty fascinating look into his career and how he utilized eastern philosophy-style thinking (yoga, meditation) through his hitting.

 

Mr J,

Levels of the Game is a great lost book. McPhee's Bradley thing unfairly over-shadows it.

YHS, etc

 

Levels of the Game by McPhee is about as good as it gets.

 

I'm finally reading Bill Nack's "Secretariat." No idea why I waited so long.

 

Never read the book but his Big Red story in SI - Pure Heart - is the best thing I have ever read in that mag.

 

The Nack book on Secretariat remains the best book ever about one thoroughbred horse, and all that surrounded him. Yes, Seabiscuit is grand, and I hold Laura H. in the highest regard . . . . but she didn't grow up loving the game. And Bill did. And it matters.