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My Prison Without Bars | 
 enlarge | Author: Pete Rose With Rick Hill
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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You Save: $29.60 (99%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 1902729
Format: Large Print
Media: Board book
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 592
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0786264977
Dewey Decimal Number: 921
EAN: 9780786264971
ASIN: 0786264977
Publication Date: May 14, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: New, unread, unused and in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages, may have a remainder mark.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Pete Rose's My Prison Without Bars is written for a purpose: to make Pete Rose's case for the Hall of Fame. On paper, Rose's credentials seem unassailable. The all-time career hits leader, Rose owns seven Major League and twelve National League records from his 24 years in baseball. The controversy comes down to Major League Baseball's Rule 21: "Any... employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible." In 1989 Rose was suspended from baseball after allegations that he gambled on the sport, allegations Rose denied. Thereafter, fans and sportswriters have speculated that baseball officials would re-instate Rose if only he admitted his guilt. In the book, Rose confesses--for the first time--that he did in fact bet on Reds games while he managed the team, though he claims that he never bet against the Reds. This would seem to be the "coming clean" that baseball was looking for. Rose, however, doesn't seem ready to give up his fight. The book attacks John Dowd and Commissioner Bart Giamatti for the 1989 report which ultimately led to Rose's suspension. Rose picks apart the report showing that the evidence was either falsified or from unreliable sources. Yet, he admits that the document's conclusion--that he bet on baseball--was accurate. Rose declares guilt but still seems to believe, as he says, that gambling is a "victimless crime" and that his punishment does not fit the crime. He won't "act sorry or sad or guilty" because he is "just not built that way." Admirers of Rose the athelete will likely be disappointed by the book. After a too-short recollection of his life in baseball, Rose dwells heavily on the gamblers, bookmakers, runners, and memorabilia dealers who made up his world when he could no longer compete as a player. In the end, My Prison Without Bars is an interesting historical document in one of the greatest baseball scandals of all time, but those looking for a record of Rose's amazing baseball achievements are better off consulting The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. --Patrick O'Kelley
Product Description
A #1 New York Times Bestseller Pete Rose holds more major league baseball records than any other player in history. He is a blue-collar hero - and a lifelong gambler. For the past 13 years, he has been in exile, banned from baseball for violating MLB's rule against gambling on the game. Now he's coming back. My Prison Without Bars is Pete's full accounting of his life. No one thinks he's perfect. He has made mistakes - big ones. And he's finally ready to admit them. Available only in Americana 4 & 5.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 63 more reviews...
 Pete Rose - Narcissism Personified April 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My Prison Without Bars No one who has been involved with baseball over the last 40 years doesn't know who "Charlie Hustle" is. The unfortunate part of "Charlie Hustle" is Pete Rose himself. I came to this book with an open mind and heart, knowing rather little than most of the scandal that surrounded him when he was thrown out of baseball for gambling.
It wasn't really the gambling aspect and its aftermath that stunned me. It was, rather, the man himself who I came to thoroughly dislike when all was said and done. He comes off as the most arrogant, boorish and narcissistic fools I've ever read about. I did not have the impression that he was in any way sorry for what he did nor had he been, in any way, rehabilitated. Pete Rose is a man on a mission with the end stop being The Hall of Fame. The only hall he's fit for is The Hall of Shame! After all he has been through he's still excusing himself with the words, "that's the way I am!" The things he has missed along the way are the very things that might have re-instated him by now. His only feeling of remorse lies in the fact that he has not yet been able to parlay his arrogant behavior into a second chance...and he won't if he keeps that type of in your face behavior up.
As we all are, Pete Rose is his own worst enemy. He came from nothing but had a talent that was undeniable. His are stats that dreams are made of. Catapulted into a world of money and privilege that he enjoyed for many, many years he was able to live his life as he wished. He was a brash, foul-mouthed, egotistical bundle of power which is still his forte today. The only difference between yesterday and today is that people are no longer listening and he has lost his leverage as a baseball legend and a man. Instead of copping to his lame "that's the way I am" excuse, he should be partaking of psychotherapy every day of his life until he learns humility and true remorse for his disgusting actions. No one cares that that's the way you are Pete! We want to know what you're willing to do to change the way you are and become the man you ought to be.
If it is so, just say it is so Pete. January 18, 2008
The last twenty years should have been the best of times for baseball. Four incredible records, the all-time number of career hits, the all-time number of career home runs, the record for home runs in a season and the number of consecutive games played have all been broken. Yet, only one of these, Cal Ripken's incredible streak of games played, is untainted. The home run records are tarnished by the likely event that Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds took illegal performance enhancing substances and the record for career hits is diminished by Pete Rose's admitting he gambled on baseball.
This book is Rose's life story, his incredible drive to succeed and how it spilled over into the thrill of gambling, even to the point where he was gambling his career and stature in the game. I was a big fan of Rose when he played, every minute he was on the field he demonstrated how the game should be played. He played to win every moment; he gave everything he had in everything he did on the field. No one can take that away and he should be commended for that.
However, the integrity of the game must rise above any individual player, no matter what they have accomplished. While Rose admits to his errors and even served time in prison for them, he never seems to quite reach this realization. No player should be allowed to bet on baseball games, this rule must remain absolute and strictly and in some cases brutally enforced. My high opinion of Rose would have been restored had he said that.
This book deals primarily with Rose's life off the field, which is unfortunate. Given the length of his career and the great players he was on the field with, the book would have been improved if Rose had spent some time describing his experiences with those players. It is also sad to read how far this man fell as a consequence of his breaking the rules.
The last point I want to make is that I believe that Rose should be elected to the baseball hall of fame. The off the field conduct of some of the players in the hall was far worse that Rose's. For example, the lives of charter members Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth are horrendous. The rule is that once one pays their debts to society, they are allowed back in. Rose should be allowed back in.
 My Prison Without Bars: quite simply a fascinating story December 7, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
My Prison Without Bars provides a decent insight into the trial and tribulations of the life of Pete Rose. The book shows the reader both the good and dark side of one of the all time heroes of America's pastime. The first third of the book is dedicated to Rose's childhood, where the reader gains an understanding of how his gambling addiction first happened (his father took him to his first race track at the very young age of 12).
The second third of the book depicts the life Rose had on the baseball field. It emphasizes his love, desire and devotion to the game of baseball. The section puts into perspective how Rose's staggering desire to win, excel, and be the best that won him fame, admiration, and love from millions of people; but ultimately was the reason for his fall. The section illustrates the innocence, or better put, the ignorance, of Rose and severity of the consequences for the crimes he committed as far as baseball is concerned. In Chapter 9 "the Long Hot Summer" Rose says:
I managed my last baseball game on August 21, a night at Wrigley Field... After I shook hands with all the players, I took one last look at the ivy on that old brick wall and turned in my spikes... I figured I'd be away from the game for a least one year. But after what I'd done - one year was fitting punishment... enough time to get my life back on track.
The final third of the book deals with the prison time Pete Rose served for cheating on his taxes. Pete Rose discusses how he could empathize with the inmate who "got started in a life of crime because they came from broken homes - something I could relate to."
Rose ends the book with a very uplifting reference to his family, and how he feels that he has come to the point of redemption. The lasts words of the book are, fittingly, lyrics to the song Amazing Grace.
I highly recommend reading My Prison Without Bars. Rose's story is a very true, very tragic story of success and failure. Diehard fans of Rose will fall in love with the book. Casual fans of baseball will have apprehensions about certain parts of the book that see somewhat fictitious. One aspect of the book that I believe no one will disagree with is that Pete Rose loves the game of baseball.
Interesting read, Rose shows lack of class September 13, 2007
Pete Rose was one of the best baseball players, but obviously extremely dumb. He admits at the end of the book that he bet on baseball, but says he did not bet on his team. Betting on baseball itself, is extremely unseemely to hear, and if he lied just about this for 15 years is he still covering up the worst sin of betting on or against his team. I would say a dummy like this probably did bet on his team. I knew after I read "Say it Ain't So" about the Blacksox scandal, that if you bet on baseball you would be banned forever from the game--no excuses!!!. I would recommend to Rose to read that book and study Judge Landis Verdict in that case. I knew this when I was 14 years old and Rose still did not even mention this in his book and still doesn't seem to get it. This guy is a hustler/jailbird and should be banned for life just for being stupid enough to do something like this----- Hey, Rose you didn't mention Judge Landis
Poor Pete Rose... March 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Poor Pete Rose...
After reading Pete's book, Pete Rose, My Prison Without Bars, you just have to think it's such a shame that all those unfortunate events took place in Pete's life. I mean, the man plainly had to have a way to reduce all the stress he was forced to deal with. So Pete turned to gambling. After all, it was his money, wasn't it? Couldn't he do whatever he wanted with HIS money? And hadn't his father taken him to the racetracks and showed Pete how the "big boys bet"? Sure he did. So if Pete's father gambled, and Pete absolutely idolized his father, then the kid had to think gambling was okay...provided, of course, the gambling didn't interfere with the family's livelihood.
Then too, Pete was afflicted with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), which basically meant he was so full of crap he couldn't sit still long enough to pay attention to what an instructor was saying, though he was doing okay until they told him that Pete was too small to play sports. After that, Pete was so distraught he flunked tenth grade. I might have fallen for Pete's claim to the ADHD problem if he hadn't been so good at numbers, a bookmaker's odds, placing bets, remembering who he owed or who owed him. And we aren't talking chicken feed either. Pete may not have been so much ADHD as he was BWSW (bored with school work), and figured out a way to get around it. Then he had that other problem, ODB (Oppositional Defiant Behavior) that was probably inherited from his mother. She could literally "whup the crap out of you" if someone made her good and mad...and, in fact, often did just that. Basically, what ODB really meant was that you didn't TELL Pete what to do. You ASK him...nicely.
Pete was no quitter and definitely wasn't lazy when it came to playing baseball. He proved this to the entire world by the baseball records he set, which are to be admired. It was simply all those other rules that seemed to get in Pete's way, so he ignored them. Nobody could make me believe the man didn't know how to read, and Rule #21 was pretty self-explanatory: DON'T BET ON BASEBALL. But Pete did, and as you'd expect, he really didn't mean to do it, he simply couldn't help himself because of the stress. Admittedly, Pete wasn't a very "warm and fuzzy" type person, so relaxing at home with his family was out of the question. It was the excitement of the racetracks and the bookmakers that helped Pete to relax. Of course, the reason he wasn't a very warm and fuzzy type person was because of his childhood. He couldn't remember his parents ever saying they loved him, but he knew they did. Likewise, he never bothered with telling his children that he loved them either. Nope, not much show of affection going on in the Rose clan.
But let's face it, Rules are Rules. And even though Rules supposedly aren't made to be broken, we all know that most rules are often bent, if, in fact, not broken. Pete Rose doesn't stand alone in the rule-breaking/bending area. However, if the posted rules really don't stand for what they mean, then why have the damn things in the first place?
Pete Rose didn't do time in the Marion Penitentiary because of gambling. He was given a five-month sentence because of income tax evasion. And even though he may have avoided paying some income taxes, I'm certain he could have paid his fines and back taxes and not had to serve time in a federal prison. Most of those guys in Pete's tax bracket end up trying to beat the tax system in any manner that they can, and even when they're caught, they don't usually end up in a federal prison. Personally, I think Pete got a raw deal.
Do I think Pete should be forgiven for his betting on baseball and be inducted into the Hall of Fame? I'm not sure and I'm glad that's not my call. I do know there are a lot worse offenses committed by big name athletes today, so if betting on baseball was Pete's only offense, then it does tend to make one wonder. Pete didn't drink, do drugs, or smoke and, he was dedicated the game of baseball. The baseball records he set were earned by his physical and mental ability and done without the aid of steroids...unlike a few other big-name baseball players we know. I guess what it boils down to, is whether or not Pete should be forgiven. We know if this hadn't happened, Pete would already been in Baseball's Hall of Fame. I seriously doubt there's a baseball player out there that in all good conscience would step up to cast the first stone at Pete Rose.
Finally, I must say I think Rick Hill did a fairly decent job on putting this book together. There were a few areas that could have used a little polishing. I had to laugh at one of Pete's statements when he said, "I got anxious and SWANG right outta my jock". Considering what Hill had to work with, he did okay. This book tells a great deal about Pete Rose's life. If I hadn't read another manuscript given to me by a gentleman that actually served time with Pete Rose in Marion, and recalling the remarks he'd made about Pete, then I might have fallen for some of Pete's story. I just have to keep in mind that this book IS PETE'S STORY, as told by Pete, and not exactly what the other inmates thought of Pete Rose as a person. And if you're a Pete Rose fan, then you don't even want me to go there.
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