Comments on: Winners on the Field, Losers in Hardcover — Why Are So Many Books by Star Athletes So Awful? Quote of the Day (Jane Leavy) http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/winners-on-the-field-losers-in-hardcover-why-are-so-many-books-by-star-athletes-so-awful-quote-of-the-day-jane-leavy/ Janice Harayda Reviews Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry for Adults and Children Mon, 10 Jun 2013 02:28:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/winners-on-the-field-losers-in-hardcover-why-are-so-many-books-by-star-athletes-so-awful-quote-of-the-day-jane-leavy/#comment-4503 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:07:12 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/winners-on-the-field-losers-in-hardcover-why-are-so-many-books-by-star-athletes-so-awful-quote-of-the-day-jane-leavy/#comment-4503 Ron is right about the rush to print. Another problem is that even if these athletes find good ghostwriters — as they often do — because they’re at the height of their fame, they’re so in demand that they don’t have time for the interviews a substantial book requires.

]]> By: ronkaplan http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/winners-on-the-field-losers-in-hardcover-why-are-so-many-books-by-star-athletes-so-awful-quote-of-the-day-jane-leavy/#comment-4502 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:44:26 +0000 http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/winners-on-the-field-losers-in-hardcover-why-are-so-many-books-by-star-athletes-so-awful-quote-of-the-day-jane-leavy/#comment-4502 Simply put, the problem is that, for the most part, these are athletes, not scholars and/or writers. Many such books are rushed to the press to take advantage of their “flavor of the month” status. For example, autobiographies of Johnny Damon, a member of the 2004 Red Sox which won the World Series for the first time since 1918, and Lenny Dykstra, of the 1986 NY Mets, are just two ballplayers who published their “stories” hot on the heels of their teams’ accomplishments.

In addition to Leavy’s book on Sandy Koufax, another good book — coincidentally about a Jewish baseball player — is Hank Greenberg’s autobio, written with NY Times’ columnist Ira Berkow.

Ron Kaplan
http://www.rksbaseballbookshelf.wordpress.com

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