barbie16's review against another edition
4.0
In "The Last Boy" Jane Leavy gives us a lively and yet harrowing narrative of the life of Mickey Mantle. What I love about this book is that she didn't try to fit everything in but instead chose a few set dates to branch out the story from along with her own experience of meeting Mantle. I thought this was a good way for the reader to get a clear sense of who Mantle was without getting completely lost in what could have been an extensive character study.
While I wouldn't call this book a "tell all" she does get to the heart of the problem with Mantle which is unavoidable: his dangerous drinking habits. She had a lot of direct quotes from the Mantle family which for me made this account that much more real and true. She also was able to get many stories from his fellow players and friends another highlight while reading this bio.
What did I take away from this bio? Honestly Mickey Mantle sounds like a horrible human being. Leavy didn't shy away from the scandalous details of his very active sex life and his best relationship: with the bottle. It's clear the man had many demons that are not fully explained and I'm sure most of that is because Mickey never really confided in anyone. Clearly the rocky relationship with his father was a catayst for Mickey's issues his whole life and Leavy strings that through the whole book. There is also talk of molestation at a young age which may have led to his complete disrespect for women and complete distrust for everyone. There were sparks of goodness in the man. He seemed like a very generous person who was always willing to help a friend. However he was a terrible husband and father. His wife and his children had a lot of pain which I think can be directly linked back to Mantle. I did like what one of his sons said though: "I don't blame my father for my choices. I chose to drink and do drugs, it's on me."
As for Mantle the baseball player, he clearly had a god given talent that he mostly squandered away and he knew it. But the numbers don't lie and neither does the extensive kinematic diagrams and films that Leavy presents both in the book's index and on her website. Very interesting stuff. What I take away from it is this: Mantle had larger than life talent but if he didn't get hurt so early in his career and he didn't put his body through hell, he would possibly have been the greatest ballplayer ever.
I appreciate Mantle (I love the Yankees) but he wouldn't be one of my sports idols partly because through this bio I've come to find I don't like his behavior and partly because I am well beyond the generation that got to experience him and his talent. But he tried to redeem himself during the last year of his life and I respect that. This bio clearly shows a man who wanted to be the greatest but just couldn't handle the pressure. I don't doubt it was hard to be a living legend. And what a face! RIP Mickey I hope you found more peace in heaven than you did during your lifetime.
While I wouldn't call this book a "tell all" she does get to the heart of the problem with Mantle which is unavoidable: his dangerous drinking habits. She had a lot of direct quotes from the Mantle family which for me made this account that much more real and true. She also was able to get many stories from his fellow players and friends another highlight while reading this bio.
What did I take away from this bio? Honestly Mickey Mantle sounds like a horrible human being. Leavy didn't shy away from the scandalous details of his very active sex life and his best relationship: with the bottle. It's clear the man had many demons that are not fully explained and I'm sure most of that is because Mickey never really confided in anyone. Clearly the rocky relationship with his father was a catayst for Mickey's issues his whole life and Leavy strings that through the whole book. There is also talk of molestation at a young age which may have led to his complete disrespect for women and complete distrust for everyone. There were sparks of goodness in the man. He seemed like a very generous person who was always willing to help a friend. However he was a terrible husband and father. His wife and his children had a lot of pain which I think can be directly linked back to Mantle. I did like what one of his sons said though: "I don't blame my father for my choices. I chose to drink and do drugs, it's on me."
As for Mantle the baseball player, he clearly had a god given talent that he mostly squandered away and he knew it. But the numbers don't lie and neither does the extensive kinematic diagrams and films that Leavy presents both in the book's index and on her website. Very interesting stuff. What I take away from it is this: Mantle had larger than life talent but if he didn't get hurt so early in his career and he didn't put his body through hell, he would possibly have been the greatest ballplayer ever.
I appreciate Mantle (I love the Yankees) but he wouldn't be one of my sports idols partly because through this bio I've come to find I don't like his behavior and partly because I am well beyond the generation that got to experience him and his talent. But he tried to redeem himself during the last year of his life and I respect that. This bio clearly shows a man who wanted to be the greatest but just couldn't handle the pressure. I don't doubt it was hard to be a living legend. And what a face! RIP Mickey I hope you found more peace in heaven than you did during your lifetime.
mscoutj's review against another edition
2.0
Really disappointing read. Too scattered, it could have really benefited from a more narrative style. Leavy's voice didn't seem to come through for most of the work, as it was just page after page of direct quotes.
cpa85's review against another edition
4.0
Comprehensive and uncompromising look at the life and career of Mantle. It's clear that the author left no stone unturned in her work and research. However, some of the writing decisions were tedious and frustrating in my opinion. Aside from just being a bit over-written at times, I felt like she frequently used some strange and confusing quotes to garnish or punctuate various anecdotes and passages. But moving beyond my whining, this is still an excellent read for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject matter.
audraelizabeth's review against another edition
3.0
I'll admit I knew almost nothing about Mickey Mantle except he was a great baseball player.
michaelnlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This is reading in the time of a pandemic - what can I find when I browse a topic such as baseball in the public libraray online catalog that is available to read as an ebook _right now_? This was what I found a few weeks ago.
I went into this with some doubt. I was not and am not a fan of the NY Yankees, and in certain ways of course a celebration of Mantle is a celebration of the Yankees. But then again, this the Yankees of a very different time. I mean, Mantle starting playing baseball before I was born! That's old baseball. Aside from that, it was clear enough that while this book was about Mantle the NY Yankee baseball star it was about more than that. But was I interested in more than that?
I read books about baseball in part because I seem to find at least some of them engaging and fun to read and also because I figure it might help me be a more informed baseball fan (of the Washington Nationals). As noted above, this book is about more than baseball - it is a biography of Mickey Mantle that includes his baseball career but all the rest of it - much of it less than savory.
The book is well written. It is compelling and drew me in. But I am not at all sure what I think about Mickey Mantle, or having spent so much time reading about his life.
I went into this with some doubt. I was not and am not a fan of the NY Yankees, and in certain ways of course a celebration of Mantle is a celebration of the Yankees. But then again, this the Yankees of a very different time. I mean, Mantle starting playing baseball before I was born! That's old baseball. Aside from that, it was clear enough that while this book was about Mantle the NY Yankee baseball star it was about more than that. But was I interested in more than that?
I read books about baseball in part because I seem to find at least some of them engaging and fun to read and also because I figure it might help me be a more informed baseball fan (of the Washington Nationals). As noted above, this book is about more than baseball - it is a biography of Mickey Mantle that includes his baseball career but all the rest of it - much of it less than savory.
The book is well written. It is compelling and drew me in. But I am not at all sure what I think about Mickey Mantle, or having spent so much time reading about his life.
seano's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't very good. My friend Heather wrote a review that was exactly my opinion. Just read hers.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2541360583
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2541360583
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