7: The Mickey Mantle Novel

I enjoyed this book immensely. It was a roller coaster of emotions and the the fact Mick was a tortured soul with addictions made it easier to overlook the graphic nature of the stories, which I beleive the author found necessary to drive home Mick's many personal flaws. It was how he lived. I believe that Mick finished his life strong in soberity trying to make amends by telling the world "Don't be like me"

I am an avid baseball fan who has read many biographies on Mickey Mantle. While most of these biographies gave me a glimpse into Mantle's life, 7 made me feel like I actually got to know him. There were times while I was reading this book where I felt as if I were sitting in a room listening to Mantle tell his story. His real story, unhindered by the fear of tarnishing his image. The fact that Golenbock was able to capture Mantle's mannerisms and vernacular so well in the pages of this book is a credit to the author's writing ability that could have been matched by few others. He succeeds in bringing Mickey back to life. In reading some of the other reviews on this book, it became apparent that those who rated the book low were more disappointed that their hero wasn't perfect than they were with the book itself. The book is wildly entertaining and brilliantly written. It is as funny as it is revealing. While Golenbock needed to use his imagination to fill in some blanks, I have no doubt that the stories are accurate. If you want to learn what Mickey Mantle was really like, then you should not miss this book.

If you like good writing and you like sports, you have to be disappointed that good books about sports are very rare. The gee-whiz and poorly integrated as-told-to syndromes dominate. It is unusual when the reader gets an insightful look into an athlete or a team. However, prolific author Peter Golenbock is an exception to this rule, and his new book on Mantle is another worthy contribution. If one imagines Mantle merely as a simple country boy who could only hit a baseball, Golenbock, who knew Mantle, offers some fascinating insights into the slugger's very human and complex character. Some reviewers have focused too narrowly on the sex in this book, but even in that aspect Golenbock does a masterful job of presenting Mantle looking within himself, amid and after his sexual escapades. Although this work is a novel, its depictions seem highly believable and they certainly provide an enjoyable read.

In our politically-correct times the truth with the bark off is harder and harder to find. With the contested publication of Peter Golenbock's novel about Mickey Mantle, a work squarely in the tradition of Rabelais comes into our pallid literature. Beneath the boozy days and the hormone-soaked nights, Mantle himself struggles to hold on, to deal with a level of celebrity and expectation by the adoring mob he cannot begin to handle. This crazy ride transcends baseball and scares us into thinking about what we are all at daily risk of becoming.

I spent several weekends with Mick and several of his illustrious teammates. Mick was an American Original. Peter Golenbock has captured the essence of the naive personna. Mick never really understood what all the fuss was about. He schemed the best practical jokes of his times. He lived the high life without ever seeking it out or extracting the fame and fortune. He tipped like it was George's money. He treated rookies like old timers. He was protective of his personal space, seemingly distant and surly in public. In a room with friends, there wasn't a more relaxed guy. The narrative of Mick's career through Peter's eyes lets us into those back rooms and into the "real life" events. Any sports fan will love this reenactment of the glory days of baseball.