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lelia_t's review against another edition
2.0
Loved learning about Branch Rickey, but the book would probably be better enjoyed by a more well-informed sports fan. Having only a rudimentary knowledge of baseball and its major players, I found many of Breslin's stories confusing and his style rather opaque.
thegoodmariner's review against another edition
2.0
Man, white people love to self-congratulate. Branch Rickey is important to baseball for dozens of reasons. But the author misses several chances to really critique the intersections of race, politics, and sport in favor of blowing Rickey's trumpet. The book was readable really through the strength of writing alone. As a historical account, it was rubbish.
charityjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
Branch Rickey is a great character to write about. Unfortunately this author (admitted) he wasn't into writing another book but was arm-twisted into it. Too bad.
books_with_style's review against another edition
Loved this book. When I started it I didn't know how short it was, but it was excellent. I like how the author intertwined the story of Rickey and Robinson as they are connected in history. Definitely makes me want to read more about Branch Rickey
libtusks's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to this via audiobook. It was short, just over 4 hours and with Dick Hill's narration it takes you back to the good ole days of baseball. I thought it was a good, short read, about Branch Rickey and unlike some of the other reviews I appreciated the focus on Jackie Robinson's experiences. I do care that Robinson wouldn't sit on the back of the bus in Fort Hood, TX. That incident was part of the times, and part of Robinson's experience. To say that the anecdote is unnecessary is overlooking the importance of history in your quest to know more about a batting cage.
sohnesorge's review against another edition
This is a delightfully funny, wry look at a remarkable man. Branch Rickey was responsible for integrating major league baseball in the US. He is the man that signed Jackie Robinson to play for the Dodgers in 1947, and who supported and encouraged Mr. Robinson through that extraordinary time. Breslin, in this short biography, reveals a man who decided he had a goal, and who did whatever it took to make it happen: he spoke to owners, commissioners, politicians, players, and never once let the word "no" stop him.
uberbutter's review
1.0
Branch Rickey by Jimmy Breslin
147 pages
★ (the rarely seen one star from me)
Brach Rickey is best known for being the first man to break the color-barrier in Major League Baseball by signing Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers. But besides that, he was the innovator of introducing many things that are still used within the sport today such as batting helmets, batting cages, sabermetrics, and “farming” aka minor league baseball teams (note: do not be confused that he was the inventor of these things, he just was the one to start implementing them).
I don’t know how I got through this book. Branch Rickey contributed so much to baseball and yet so much is missed in this book. I know it’s a short book (in comparison to some of his biographies which are over 700 pages) but I think the author could have gotten in a lot of important details if he didn’t dedicate PAGES to word-by-word testimonies on a minor situation Robinson was in when he was younger (more specifically statements from many whites when Robinson refused to move to the back of a bus. I realize it may be important to know their reaction but the author went overboard in 10 pages worth of statements). He probably could have accomplished more detail on Rickey (you know...who the book is about) if the author didn’t focus on himself so much – for instance when he talks about Rickey’s smoking habit but then goes into his own story on how he used to smoke and his reasons for quitting the habit. Really Mr. Author? I don’t care. The author also goes back and forth on past and present tense when writing the book which was annoying and unnecessary, in my opinon. The author seems to focus on Jackie Robinson but not so much on his interaction with Branch Rickey. If I were to hand you this book and told you to read it without knowing the title, I think one would easily be confused what this book is actually about. I’m not into sports but I can’t blame that for the reason for my huge distaste in this book. I wanted to give up on this book so badly but stuck with it. It’s one redeeming quality? It was short.
147 pages
★ (the rarely seen one star from me)
Brach Rickey is best known for being the first man to break the color-barrier in Major League Baseball by signing Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers. But besides that, he was the innovator of introducing many things that are still used within the sport today such as batting helmets, batting cages, sabermetrics, and “farming” aka minor league baseball teams (note: do not be confused that he was the inventor of these things, he just was the one to start implementing them).
I don’t know how I got through this book. Branch Rickey contributed so much to baseball and yet so much is missed in this book. I know it’s a short book (in comparison to some of his biographies which are over 700 pages) but I think the author could have gotten in a lot of important details if he didn’t dedicate PAGES to word-by-word testimonies on a minor situation Robinson was in when he was younger (more specifically statements from many whites when Robinson refused to move to the back of a bus. I realize it may be important to know their reaction but the author went overboard in 10 pages worth of statements). He probably could have accomplished more detail on Rickey (you know...who the book is about) if the author didn’t focus on himself so much – for instance when he talks about Rickey’s smoking habit but then goes into his own story on how he used to smoke and his reasons for quitting the habit. Really Mr. Author? I don’t care. The author also goes back and forth on past and present tense when writing the book which was annoying and unnecessary, in my opinon. The author seems to focus on Jackie Robinson but not so much on his interaction with Branch Rickey. If I were to hand you this book and told you to read it without knowing the title, I think one would easily be confused what this book is actually about. I’m not into sports but I can’t blame that for the reason for my huge distaste in this book. I wanted to give up on this book so badly but stuck with it. It’s one redeeming quality? It was short.
jakelunemann's review
2.0
Decent content (albeit short) but the audiobook reader was hard to listen to. Had a thick old timey Brooklyn accent and read super slow.
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