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Summary: JOLTIN JOE
Review: THE BOOK WAS A HATCHET JOB. THE RESEARCH WAS LOUSY. WHERE WERE THE 1960'S AND 1970'S AND 1980'S IN JOE'S LIFE? NOT IN THIS BOOK. THERE WAS NO FOLLOW-UP WITH OTHER IMPORTANT CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE FIRST WIFE, DOROTHY ARNOLD? I ONLY BOUGHT IT WHEN IT WAS IN THE BINS--WHERE IT BELONGS. THIS WAS GARBAGE.
Rating: 
Summary: Say It Ain't So Joe ...
Review: Cramer has done an admirable job of chronicling this American hero's life from his fishy Sicilian roots to his Mister Coffee days (with all that baseball stuff inbetween -- until the very last days ... mm ...). Unfortunately, Cramer may have left out one "puny" detail ... (... "yeah, you did do it Joe ... but say it ain't so ... heaven holds a place for those who pray" ...). No matter. Cramer retells the life of Joltin' Joe with the creative artistry of a gifted storyteller ... not only does he reveal what the ordinarily close-mouthed DiMag is feeling a good bit of the time, he's nice enough to relate to us what the great Yankee Clipper was thinking as climatic events unfolded during his legendary lifetime ... This book is definitely a worthwhile read (... and I'll tell all my Italian friends to read it ... and believe me, the pleasure is definitely all mine ... I'm sure ...).-- Doug Bonanomi
North Wales, Pa..
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Summary: The Yankee Clipped
Review: I recommend this book highly. It exposes and explains one of America's mid-twentieth century icons in a more complete way than any other book to date. The book is divided into 4 "books" in chronological order (It skips his first 15 years and also the post Marilyn period 1962-89!). The meat of the book comes in "books" 2 and 3 which cover the Yankee years followed by the Marilyn years. His failed first marriage, his "relationships" with his teammates and managers, and lots of questionable characters and lackeys pop up throughout these sections. The last "book" which begins in 1989 involves all his baseball memorabilia business dealings and wasn't as interesting as the 2 previous "books". In the end, the essential portrait of Dimaggio is of a one dimensional man who was great at baseball and being "Joe Dimaggio" and not much else.
Rating: 
Summary: A true picture of Joe Dimaggio
Review: Since I'm a big baseball nut, I wanted to learn more about this baseball player who has been revered for so long BUT I didn't want all the fluff. Here, Cramer writes a book that breaks the shiny surface of Dimaggio's life and he does some real investigating. Really this book does not totally stain Dimaggio's name, but it does lessen his stardom by a notch. We learn things about Dimaggio that are surprising, but not shocking. This is a very entertaining book to read. I was only bored with the last 100 or so pages where he talks about Dimaggio's merchandising and signing deals where only he wins. If you want to learn about who the Yankee Clipper really was, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: An Honest Biography
Review: If you're a big fan of DiMaggio and don't want to read anything critical of him, then stay away from this book. Cramer does an excellent job of writing about DiMaggio the player and the man. He also does an excellent job of briging back to life the feats that DiMaggio accomplished on the field, the grace and power as well as DiMaggio's commitment to excellence once he stepped on the playing field. It is once DiMaggio is off the field that we see a different side of him. Peter Golenbock wrote a book called Dynasty, about the New York Yankees in the 1950's and I read about how DiMaggio was sullen and morose at times so I wasn't suprised by some of the things I read in this book. Cramer points ot how DiMaggio used the hero game to his advantage. The country need one at the time and DiMaggio was happy to oblige. People who were in DiMaggio's circle would do anything for him, including driving him around at all hours and cooking for him and making sure they were there for him if he needed them, no matter what time of day it was. Cramer has a style of writing that at times comes accross as flippant or sarcastic. This might turn a lot of people off, but I enjoyed this style of writing very much. That being said, there are a few things that I was disappointed in. The relationship between DiMaggio and his son Joe Jr., wasn't researched nearly enough. We only get a few facts on their relationship but a lot of questions are left unanswered. Such as what went wrong with their relationship? Why weren't they speaking to each other? What caused Joe Jr. to go down the path he did? Not much was answered in this book about the father-son split-up. There was too much on Marilyn Monroe also. She was such an important person in his life and should have been included, but there were many pages that dealt with only Monroe and her personal problems. There have been a look of books and television specials that have dealt Monroe's personal life already. On a lot of pages, DiMaggio isn't even mentioned. DiMaggo's relationship with his brother Dom, also should have been explored more. Near the end of the book, Cramer writes that "Joe and Dom haven't spoke in years", but doesn't elaborate on why they weren't speaking. For content, I give the book three stars,but I give five stars for Cramer's writing style, so it comes out as a four-star review.
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Summary: This book is not about BASEBALL, it's about TABLOID GOSSIP
Review: I'm not really sure what I expected from this book, but what I got was glitzy tabloid gossip about Marilyn Monroe, Toots Shor, Frank Sinatra ad nauseum. This book was not written by someone who cared about baseball at all, rather by someone who obsessively wishes they were part of the papparazzi crowd 40-50 years ago. Richard Ben Cramer gets off on gangsters, gambling, drinking, womanizing, and celebrity worship and splays this sick addiction out for the reader. In a 500+ page book about Joe Dimaggio, there's maybe 1 page about Mickey Mantle. Maybe 2 or 3 about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Yet there is page after page about Marilyn Monroe, her affairs, her addictions, and her problems. It's sick, and has little to do with Joe Dimaggio. Joseph Pulitzer should be turning in his grave.
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Summary: Character Assasination
Review: It is hard to believe that Cramer did not start this book with some preconceived ideas on what would sell. I was offended by his incessant use of the term "dago" where it serves no purpose whatever in describing the personage or life of DiMaggio. It is also hard for me to believe that Cramer would escape with his reputation and livelihood intact if he used similar slurs in writing about Hank Greenberg or Jackie Robinson. An objective, thoughtful biography this book is not. It is not factual, there are no reference notes to guide readers to his sources, he makes gross accusations that would have subject him to an open and shut libel action if DiMaggio was alive. For instance, he claims that when DiMaggio retired, the "Mafia" had provided him with a tidy nest egg of an undisclosed amount in an account at the Bowery Savings Bank. Enough to carry DiMaggio very nicely in retirement in the style to which he was accustomed, or so says Cramer. What garbage!
Maybe DiMaggio was not the nicest guy in the world, maybe! But he was a class act and was admired by many notables during his playing days and long thereafter none of whom would have touched him had there been even a scintilla of impropriety in his life.
Yes, I found it irksome that DiMaggio insisted on being announced last at old timers games and functions and insisting on being introduced as the "world's greatest living player." But you know what, he was the best all around player of his generation and maybe even his century. Even Cramer acknowledges that he excelled in every facet of the game; he could hit, hit with power, run, field and throw; all with grace. He was a winner and a leader. The statistic he was most proud of was 10 pennants and 9 world championships in 13 full seasons. The Yankee players revered him because he played hurt and played hard all the time and was money in the bank for them. DiMaggio had the second highest per game ratio of runs scored and runs batted of any player in this century including Ruth, Williams, Musual, Mantle, Mays, Snider, Aaron, and Greenberg bested only by Gehrig. He struck out only 369 times in 1,736 games for the lowest ratio of any power hitter this century; only once nearly every 5 games . He hit 361 home runs playing in the toughest ballpark in baseball for a right handed hitter. The book did do one thing for me. It did cause me to reflect on DiMaggio's records and numerous feats of victory and to conclude, once more, that he was truly the best ever. I had forgotten how good he really was. He was all of 21 years old when he came to the Yankees in 1936 and from the get go led the team for the next 13 seasons.
Rating:
Summary: Agree with the others, almost
Review: This is indeed an epic retelling of the 20th Century, the tale of a man who, 40 years after his retirement, was still the most important person in every toom he was in. The story is powerful and depresing; the smiling DiMaggio hid a venal, petty, avaricious and cowardly man who demanded total, absolute allegaince from underlings and gave his presence in return. A real crumb bum.
But the book is fascinating in its development of the myth. I'm still a little hazy as to how Joe managed to become the God. Right guy, right place doesn't seem to be enough. The minor thug of adolescence becomes, withn just a few years, a magisterial person whose aura intimidates all. How did he do this? The reporters helped, but somehow, he managed to create this from inauspicious beginnings.
But it is a scintillating (if a bit smarmy at times) read. I'm currently reading He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope--what an amazing parallel. A jealous man who could not appreciate what he had and yet could never let go. The one thing he could not successfully walk away from. A tragically sad tale. And worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A tour de force of reporting
Review: "A Hero's Life," tells the full story of Joe DiMaggio. He feels real through these pages, not altogether admirable, but real. The scuttlebutt about this book, at least for me, had been that it was overwhelmingly negative and highly critical. I did not find it so. Instead, Cramer writes sometimes with awe, sometimes with disappointment, sometimes with disgust, at DiMaggio and the sycophantic nature of his so-called friends. I would give 5 stars if it were a little clearer on just how DiMaggio's athletic talents were developed. That, I admit, is a wee bit of nitpicking.
Rating: 
Summary: DiMaggio Uncovered
Review: Joe DiMaggio, who certainly was one of the most graceful and publicly admired athletes ever, had a dark and less publicized side. Imagine that, a celebrity who had something to hide--this is no surprise and is a poor way to market this book. While Cramer does include some seamy details about DiMaggio's personal life, most of the story is about the creation of his myth. Cramer obviously admires his subject and thought very highly of him, but I suppose in a tabloid era, gossip sells. This biography is very well written and extensively researched, so if you do not know much about Joltin' Joe, this is an excellent place to learn and I am sure it will leave you in awe of his presence on the field. There was a lot of relatively unsubstantiated claims about DiMaggio and many of his associates which detract from the story and make the author seem less than professional, but all in all this is a wonderful book and I would highly recommend it to any sports fan or someone interested in DiMaggio.
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