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Summary
Summary
Babe Ruth is still regarded as perhaps the greatest baseball player ever to step on a diamond. Born into a poor family in Baltimore, George Herman Ruth Jr. was sent to a Catholic reform school at age seven, where he learned how to play baseball. Initially a talented southpaw, the Babe went on to shatter every home-run record on the books'and when fewer games were played in a season and a heavier ball was used. In this engaging and fast-paced biography, award-winning author Wilborn Hampton shares with readers The Babe was also a man of big heart, temper, and appetite.
Author Notes
Wilborn Hampton has been an editor and book and theater critic for the New York Times. He is also the award-winning author of Up Close: Elvis Presley (Viking) and Kennedy Assassinated! . He lives in New York City.
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate, Middle School) Babe Ruth may have been the Sultan of Swat and "the idol of every kid in America," but the legendary long-ball hitter had a very short fuse (to name but one of his flaws), as Hampton's plain-dealing biography reveals. Right off the bat, Hampton shows he's done his homework, pointing out variations and discrepancies in stories told about George Herman Ruth's rough-and-tumble childhood. The future Bronx Bomber was, in fact, a troublemaker-skipping school, drinking beer, stealing-and when he was only seven his parents sent him to a home for orphans and juvenile delinquents. Ruth's talent for baseball proved to be his ticket out: at nineteen he signed a contract with the minor-league Orioles. Later chapters chronicle Ruth's triumphs at the plate (and on the mound) for the Red Sox and Yankees. Hampton recounts the homerun hitter's notorious off-field behavior, too: his all-night carousing, lavish spending habits, and numerous extramarital affairs. But the Bambino always had a soft spot for kids, especially those in orphanages and hospitals. To his credit, Hampton doesn't throw readers a meatball (an easy pitch). He delivers a candid portrait of a glorious athlete and an imperfect man whose "very name is synonymous with greatness." Source notes and an index are appended. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Hampton announces early in this biography of Babe Ruth that his emphasis is on separating fact from legend, and he is not afraid to dig up some of the more tawdry aspects of the slugger's life. Unlike the approach in other books about Ruth, the focus here is on Ruth's sad early life and his career as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. Throughout, an attempt is made to give some sense of the grace, power, and skill of Ruth on the field. Of course, nearly all biographies of Ruth for young people inevitably end up discussing Ruth's outside appetites for food and drink, and this biography also mentions his many extramarital affairs and his illegitimate child, who was officially passed off as a sudden adoption. Most libraries already have a full lineup of Ruth biographies. This title, part of the UpClose series and illustrated with a nice selection of photos, has the advantage of telling the complete, unvarnished story in a snappy, concise style.--Morning, Todd Copyright 2009 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-This book offers readers a fascinating look at the life of the man who, at the age of seven, was taken by his father to a Roman Catholic institution for homeless and troubled boys for "incorrigible" behavior. The teachers and students at St. Mary's became his family, and Brother Matthias, the athletic director, instilled in him his love of baseball and became a lifelong mentor. In 1914, when Babe was 18, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles offered him a contract. So began his tumultuous career in baseball, which lasted more than 20 years, most of which were spent with the New York Yankees. Hampton's narrative gives baseball lovers plenty of detailed statistical facts, but as a whole, the biography is more a weaving together of the various elements of Babe's personality that made him the larger-than-life legend. His generosity, his inability to control his excessive appetites, his quick temper, and his fondness for practical jokes all come through in this recounting that is more accessible than Leigh Montville's The Big Bam (Doubleday, 2006). Carefully chosen photographs enhance the presentation, and the author is meticulous in listing his sources. His extensive research and engaging conversational tone combine to produce a chronicle of Ruth's life that both fans and novices will find hard to put down.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Celebrating his subject as "the greatest player ever to step on a baseball diamond," Hampton ably reports the "comic opera [and] grand drama" that was the career of George Herman Ruth. Though never an orphan, as baseball legend often has it, Ruth was a bad kid from a bad part of Baltimore. He was sent to a Catholic reform school and he did grow up to be "the idol of every kid in America." Without mythologizing Ruth, this volume tells a no-holds-barred tale of the Babe's playing-field heroics, womanizing, publicity stunts, the legendary "called-shot," ten World Series, 22 seasons and 54 records. The writing is more encyclopedic than dramatic, but it does portray Ruth as a flawed hero, a likable athlete who would sign baseballs and visit orphanages and hospitals but who was always ready to react to criticism by punching someone in the nose. The "big, moon-shaped, snub-nosed face" of Babe Ruth will forever be a part of baseball lore, and this work does credit to the player of legend. (foreword, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.