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Bob Feller: Ace of the Greatest Generation | 
 enlarge | Author: John Sickels
Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy Used: $5.63
You Save: $21.32 (79%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 1094610
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1
ISBN: 1574884417
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
EAN: 9781574884418
ASIN: 1574884417
Publication Date: January 15, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: A used ex-library copy. Library markings. Pages are somewhat worn. Cover worn with some creases. Worn edges and corners. Binding solid and tight. Purchasing this item supports the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.
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Product Description
Baseball is woven into American culture and history to the point where myth and reality blend, making it difficult at best to distinguish between the two. Rarely is this more apparent than in the life and times of Bob Feller, one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game.
From his childhood during the Great Depression in rural Iowa, Feller lived storybook experiences that seemed to foretell his unparalleled ascent to big league stardom. His father structured everything to help young Bob realize his potential as a baseball player, including building a farmland "field of dreams" expressly for young Bob’s diamond education.
But Feller’s professional life in baseball was far from the near-mythic quality of his childhood. Feller became a controversial figure from the moment he signed his first professional contract. Battling with owners, the press, and fellow players, Feller alienated and charmed them by turns, reflecting the complex motivations of a man aware of his own prodigious talent and opportunities. Feller was both an unabashed patriot who enlisted in the Navy the day after Pearl Harbor and a remarkably successful businessman who organized lucrative winter barnstorming tours. His unquestioned position as one of the first players to advocate integrating the game was complicated by his combative relationship with Jackie Robinson. As a result, Feller’s contribution to the game has been the subject of both positive and negative interpretation. John Sickels has produced the first balanced, historical portrait of this controversial player whose commitment and talent inspired his teammates and whose outspoken opinions just as frequently exasperated them.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 An interesting, and successful approach to biography September 14, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed how Sickels was able to blend historical information with statistics to make this biography more complete. Through this interesting approach, the reader really gets a more complete picture of Feller, not only through the eyes of his peers/contemporaries, but through placing him in his historical context.
This is a book the deserves a wider readership. Even if you are not a fan of Bob Feller or of the Cleveland Indians, you will be able to find a lot of value in this book.
 A VERY GOOD BOOK June 7, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
THIS IS THE STORY BOB FELLER STAR PITCHER FOR THE CLEVELAND INDIANS DURING THE 1930'S THRU THE MID 1950'S. THE BOOK TOUCHES ON HIS CHILDHOOD WHERE BOB AND HIS FATHER BUILT A PLAYING FIELD ON THEIR FARMLAND (FIELD OF DREAMS) TO HIS DAYS AS A STAR PITCHER. HIS CAREER IS COVERED IN GREAT DETAIL AND IS WELL WRITTEN. THE AUTHOR ALSO TOUCHES ON HIS STINT IN THE NAVY DURING WORLD WAR 2 AND ALSO SOME INSIGHT AND OPINIONS BY VARIOUS PEOPLE CONCERNING BOB. AMONG THESE ARE JACKIE ROBINSON, EX TEAMATES AND VARIOUS WRITERS. BOB WAS NEVER ONE TO BE TIMID IN HIS OPINIONS AND THIS STORY COVERS IN DETAIL HOW HIS CANDIDNESS GOT HIM IN TROUBLE. THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAD WAS THAT IT DID NOT COVER MUCH OF WHAT HE HAS DONE RECENTLY. OVERALL A GREAT TRIBUTE TO RAPID ROBERT. RECOMMENDED TO ALL BASEBALL FANS.
Pleasantly surprised February 24, 2005
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was given this book as a gift from a good friend. I thought it might be full of baseball statistics - I found it to be not only informative but entertaining. Many times during my reading I had a smile on my face or was laughing about a comment Mr. Sickels made. It was very enjoyable reading.
An excellent biography December 11, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is one of the best baseball biographies that I have ever read -- balanced, throroughly resaearched, very well written.
I am of Feller's generation, was a Cleveland Indians fan throughout his career, and therefore knew a great deal about him. I have read Feller's autobiographies.
Yet I learned a great deal from Sickels books and found it fascinating reading -- hard to put down. Some of it was a very pleaseant trip down memory lane.
 Interesting and Entertaining, but Incomplete June 12, 2004
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
The book is written in an intersting, insightful and entertaining manner. It covers Feller's individual baseball seasons in detail. It alos presents interesting info. about his military service in WW 2. It presents an insightful analysis of his complex personality. Its weaknesses are: (1) it covers reatively little of his personal life, especially his post baseball life; and (2) it includes few, if any, recollections of Feller, based on interviews by the author with players and other people who knew Feller.The author seems to rely entirely on synthesizing information from the various articles and books that have been writtem about Feller, plus the results of one or two interviews with Feller. Why the author chose not to contact any of Feller's former teammates or others who knew him is bewildering. Since Bob has been retired for 47 years, it would have been nice to hear more about his post-baseball life. There's a little on this in the book, but not that much.
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