Review of "Jim Murray: An Autobiography," by Jim Murray

 Review of

Jim Murray: An Autobiography, by Jim Murray, ISBN 0025881515

Five out of five stars

So much more than a sports columnist

 The title describes Jim Murray as a “Pulitzer prize winning sports columnist.” Which is true but only gives a glimpse of what he has accomplished in his career as a writer. His achievements beyond the sports arena are impressive and significant enough that even the non-sports enthusiast will find the book entertaining.

 For example, he traveled with Richard Nixon during the 1952 presidential election campaign when he was the candidate for Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower. Murray was there during those fateful days when there was doubt whether Eisenhower would keep or dump Nixon.

 The first chapter is called, “I Saw Ruth Hit a Home Run,’ a demonstration on how far back Murray’s interest and involvement in sports runs. He gives the reader an in-depth description of the Dodgers move to LA and their early years playing in the Coliseum. The machinations that led to the new stadium being built in Chavez Ravine are very entertaining.

 Murray covers the inside of golf and auto racing where he describes how deadly the sport of auto racing used to be. Men were killed in action on a regular basis, and it was just accepted as a fundamental part of the sport. His descriptions of bad boy NFL owner Al Davis and the characteristics of his teams pull no punches.

 Some of the chapters deal with the personal, his battle with the real threat of blindness and his son’s losing battle with drugs really expose his personal human side. This is a rare sports book it is one that the person with only a passing interest in sports will find engaging and entertaining.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review of "The Autumn Dead," by Ed Gorman

  Review of The Autumn Dead , by Ed Gorman, ISBN 0345356322 Four out of five stars An aging ex-cop is handed a case to retrieve a case   Jack Dwyer is an ex-cop that now works for a private security agency. Most of what he does is bust shoplifters and other petty criminals. He is a bit overweight and has few prospects to improve his situation. However, he has an interesting past that is focused on his high school years.   A woman that was a flame of his in high school and has retained her beauty suddenly pops back into his life. She offers Jack a significant amount of money to retrieve a suitcase from the house of a man she had been living with. Since she has a key and claims that the suitcase is really her property and she still has a significant sway over Jack, he agrees to take the job.   When he gets there he finds the owner unconscious from a blow on the back of the head. This is the first hint that the case is much more complex than Jack thought. Hi...
Read more

Review of "The Forty-Minute War," by Janet and Chris Morris

  Review of The Forty-Minute War , by Janet and Chris Morris, ISBN 0671559869 Three out of five stars Absurd initial premise and bad ending   This book begins with an absurd premise, not the event, but the context. A group of committed terrorists manage to acquire a nuclear weapon and a plane. The manage to fly it from Saudi Arabia to Washington D. C. where they detonate it. Distraught over the knowledge that his wife and family have been killed, the American President orders a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. They retaliate and it is all over in 40 minutes. After ordering the strike, the American President takes a gun and kills himself.   There are two reasons why this premise is absurd, one major and the other minor. The major one is that the intelligence services of the United States were aware of the nuclear weapon and had an elite anti-terrorist team on the ground ready to take out the terrorists. However, the team was given a stand-down order. Whil...
Read more

Review of "Heat," by Mike Lupica

  Review of Heat , by Mike Lupica, ISBN 9780142407578 Five out of five stars More about life than sports   Satchel Paige is arguably the all-time best baseball pitcher. One of his teammates once said, “The good lord didn’t give Satchel an arm, he gave him a whip.” Michael Arroyo was also born with what his father said was, “the arm.” Even though he is still young enough to play Little League baseball, Michael can throw an 80-mph fastball and he has excellent control. His goal is to help his team move on to the Little League World Series.   While baseball is his joy, his life is complicated. His father brought Michael and his seventeen-year-old bother Carlos with him in an escape from Cuba and they now live in New York City. Their father died suddenly of a heart attack and the boys are terrified that social services will learn of their plight and either separate them into foster care or send them back to Cuba.   With the help of some kindly neighbors, the ...
Read more