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Searching... Salem Main Library | J 796.357 Lipsyte 2005 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
TY COBB. CHRISTY MATHEWSON. SHOELESS JOE JACKSON. BABE RUTH. LOU GEHRIG. JACKIE ROBINSON. JOE DIMAGGIO. MICKEY MANTLE. WILLIE MAYS. DUKE SNIDER. TED WILLIAMS. CURT FLOOD. ROBERTO CLEMENTE. HANK AARON.
Their names echo through the halls of time and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Their feats are legendary. They never quit, and they never backed down. They inspired generations of Americans to push themselves to do their very best. They were, and remain, the heroes of baseball.
Hitting monster home runs, pitching perfect games, making impossible catches, and stealing home during the World Series -- these are the kinds of feats that turn baseball players into baseball superstars . But it takes more than great feats to become a hero of the game.
Every generation needs its own heroes, and in each generation that need is answered differently. Heroes reflect the times and societies in which they live and work. The impact made by baseball's heroes affects the way our society perceives itself, as well as the goals we set for ourselves and for our nation. Award-winning sportswriter Robert Lipsyte presents his vision for who the heroes of the game are, and what they did to achieve their legendary status.
Author Notes
Robert Lipsyte is a legendary sports reporter, award-winning young adult novelist and an outspoken critic of the sports world. Lipsyte has often expressed his controversial opinion that the nation's fixation on competitive athletics is detrimental. He feels that sports should be recreational, not an industry that offers the often false hope of stardom.
As a young reporter, Lipsyte covered boxing for The New York Times. He drew on this background for his first book, "The Contender" (1967), a highly acclaimed coming-of-age story in which an orphaned teenager matures through the training discipline of boxing. In 1971, Lipsyte left the Times to concentrate on writing books. His other sports books for young people include "Free To Be Muhammad Ali" (1978) and the "Superstar Lineup" series documenting the lives of famous sports heroes.
The author's other novels for adolescents include the semi-autobiographical "Fifties Trilogy: One Fat Summer" (1977), "Summer Rules" (1981) and "Summerboy" (1982). Lipsyte has also written for adults in such books as "SportsWorld: An American Dreamland" (1975) and for television, notably "Saturday Night With Howard Cosell". He received an Emmy Award for hosting the PBS show "The Eleventh Hour"" (1990).
Robert Michael Lipsyte was born January 16, 1938 in New York City and earned an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia in 1959. He has been a radio commentator, a television news correspondent, and a journalism teacher. He successfully fought cancer in the late 1970's.
Lipsyte's career has come full circle; he once again is writing a sports column for The New York Times and books for young adults. "The Chief" (1993) is the long-awaited sequel to "The Contender".
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up-This volume has the look of a coffee-table book with its overview of baseball history and eye-catching design, with red-bordered text and numerous oversize photographs. The images, though mostly black and white, help convey the intensity of the game, such as the one of Willie Mays making a leaping catch at New York's old Polo Grounds. Chapters highlight Lipsyte's heroes: A. G. "Big Al" Spalding, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Curt Flood, and Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. The author's own opinions are perhaps what make this book notable: his arguments are lively, readable, and well documented. He remarks, for example, that in spite of Cobb's abrasive, aggressive personality, no one could imagine him gambling on or intentionally losing a game, unlike "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Pete Rose. Some may question Lipsyte's choices: Ruth over Lou Gehrig, and Mantle over Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays, for example. He reasons that he chose Mantle both for his on-field accomplishments and the fact that he became an advocate against drugs and in favor of organ donors after his career had ended. Fans of the game are likely to find the book a lively discussion starter, with its engaging anecdotes and Lipsyte's articulate perspective.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Lipsyte (The Contender) structures this lively history of the National Pastime as a collective biography of, as the subtitle states, "The Men Who Made It America's Favorite Game"-including some of its biggest stars, and a few lesser-known, but equally influential players. He begins with "Big Al" Spalding, a premier pitcher, team owner and sporting goods titan, who spearheaded the early campaign to elevate baseball from just a game into a virtuous and "uniquely American" pursuit. The author contrasts Ty Cobb's style of play ("mean") with Babe Ruth's ("larger-than-life") to chart changes in how the game is played-from "small ball" to an emphasis on Big Bats. Recent congressional hearings may lead some to quibble with his choice to include Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, but Lipsyte makes a persuasive case that their record-busting "Summer of Swat" reinvigorated fan interest in a sport that had been mired in labor turmoil for two decades. (Indeed, the best selection is on Curt Flood, the St. Louis outfielder who kicked off baseball's labor disputes with his legal challenge to the "reserve clause," which had allowed teams to trade veteran players without their consent.) Much of this material will be familiar to young baseball junkies-Mickey Mantle playing through pain, Jackie Robinson breaking the game's color barrier, Ichiro Suzuki's thrilling "rookie" year in Seattle-but Lipsyte crafts these elements into an engaging social history of 20th-century America, with bite-size sidebars about baseball cards, funny nicknames, wackiest mascots, Yogisms and a nifty timeline. Not to mention glorious, often full-page photos. Lots to pore over, and it goes down like lemonade on a hot day at the ball park. All ages. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Biographical material on sportswriter Lipsyte's favorite players is intermingled with baseball history, highlights, and arcana. Plenty of photos break up the otherwise dense text. More for the true fan than the browser or report writer, this book views such topics as racial division, labor relations, drug and alcohol addiction, and globalism through baseball's lens. Glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
From the earliest days when baseball and America were young to the modern era of player-millionaires, there have been standout personalities and talents who became national heroes. Here is a history of baseball via the heroes of each era. What makes this work unique, especially for one intended mainly for children, is that these men are not presented as gods or saints. Jackie Robinson and Curt Flood stood up for their principles at great cost to themselves. Ruth and Mantle were as flawed as they were inspirational. Ty Cobb was a vicious bully, and several current players abuse drugs. Each page grabs the eye with boldly printed, well-spaced text bordered in red with sidebars in bright blue with white print. Along with well researched and clearly written narration, there is a wealth of additional information in photographs, sidebars and timelines. A gift for baseball fans. (Nonfiction. 10+) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-7. Using as a focus some of baseball's greats--Big Al Spalding, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood (yes, Flood, who challenged the reserve rule and lost his career but won a victory for players' futures)--Lipsyte offers a strong history of the game and its place in American culture. He makes no apologies for baseball as a business; indeed, he makes clear that professional baseball has always been a business. Although much of this material, including the pictures, might be familiar to young readers already absorbed in the game, it is nicely laid out and colorfully formatted. Lipsyte has a clear, vivid style, whether explaining that Babe Ruth was the first sports celebrity to have his own agent or describing the respectful rivalry between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa during the Summer of Swat home-run contest in 1998. The endpapers display a nifty baseball time line. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2006 Booklist