Jane Leavy has written a wonderful book about my boyhood hero, Mickey Mantle. This was a view shared by millions in the 1950s and 1960s, but nobody really knows why. There were other major stars in baseball, such as Willie Mays, Duke Snider, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron, but they didn't have that magical name. There was only one boyhood hero - The Mick, number 7.
This book is not your typical biography showing only stats and career highlights. These items are in the book, but the emphasis is on his real life - alcohol abuse, infidelity, late-nights out, and his strained family relations. All the facts in this book are supported by her own 500+ interviews with the Mick's family, friends, and teammates. She intertwines her 1983 weekend interview with the Mick in Atlantic City, NJ with Mantle's career years, 1951-1968. Jane! What took you so long to write this book after the 1983 interview?
The book highlights his whole life, but the following are the parts I found most interesting: his relationship with his father, Mutt Mantle; his 1951 World Series injury supposedly caused by the great Joe DiMaggio; his boyhood in Commerce, Oklahoma, especially the sexual abuse; his legendary home runs (and there were many); his stories with his friends Billy, Whitey, Yogi, Hank, and Moose; and finally, his fatal bout with liver cancer. The book even has a new Yogi Berra story (p. 358). According to Yogi's wife Carmen, they "were watching Steve McQueen in a late-night movie and Yogi said, 'He musta made that before he died'". There are many more wonderful stories and tales throughout this 456 page book.
RATING: 3 out of 5 stars
Comment: a similar book that shows the good and the bad side of a personality is Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer, published in 2000 by Simon & Schuster.
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