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My Prison Without Bars

My Prison Without Bars

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $9.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Entertaining But Rather Self-Indulgent, Too....
Review: I write this review as an ex-Pete Rose fan who saw Pete play in person in 1979. I also saw him sign a lifetime ban in 1989.

As far as readability, the book is just fine. But it seems to me to symbolize the Jason Giambi apology or the Bill Clinton clever ruse - confess to as little as possible and get out of the way.

And here's the unfortunate part: Pete Rose actually did bet on baseball. That may be as surprising as the headline saying "Sun Rises In The East," but the admission is a big one. The problem, however, is that Pete not only took 15 years to admit he did it - which is bad enough - but he also waited to release his book and go on 20/20 the day the new Hall of Fame inductees were announced (Eckersley and Molitor in 2004). Given that Pete gets two basic shots before the Vets Committee has to decide on him, it seems Pete is hoping a sympathy backlash will get him in the Hall. After all, that's all this is really about.

He also spent time justifying his different behaviors by claiming to be a compulsive gambler, suffer from ADHD, and to suffer from anti-social personality disorder. Why not just say you did it?

Well, Pete doesn't have that option. He wrote a book in 1990 that claimed he didn't - so I'm guessing that one should go to the fiction section, right?

The fact is that Pete had 15 years to come clean and made a lot of people look foolish who took up for him. The only thing in Pete's favor I can say is that the current steroid scandal is making him look far more appealing.



Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A very flawed man
Review: If Pete Rose was hoping this book would help his case for reinstatement, he has made yet another error. "My Prison Without Bars" provides insight into Rose's self delusion. I was ambivalent until reading this book, but Rose convinced me that baseball should never allow him back. Read it for yourself and I'm certain you will agree.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Book!
Review: If there is one book you read this year, make this it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If it makes a difference to you
Review: If your a Baseball fan, read this book. The book takes you through the ups and downs of this once great ball player. Pete, if you ever saw him play (I did) gave everything he had in any game he played. The records he holds will bear this out. The only mistake he made was lying about what he did. Sports heros, famous people even Presidents did things thay say they are sorry for. In my opinion they are only sorry because they got caught. I think if Pete admitted what he did when this all came out, things may have turned out better for him. The Baseball Hall of Fame is for Great players, not just for players with integrity, if it were, some great players would NOT be there. Buy the book and you decide.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great book
Review: in sum cases he deserves to be in the hall of fame his on field he should off field should not his typo errors arnt errors there how he talks sumbitchs . He may lied he still deserves to be in the hall of fame even though he blames everyone but him self he still a great player

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A fine case of whine
Review: In the book, Rose seems to be able to find ways to blame nearly everyone else for his failures. When he finally admits to having gambled on baseball while actively participating in it, it feels like a confession without realling confessing. He simply wants to be in the Hall of Fame and will say anything to make it happen.

Now, I believe that Pete deserves the honor of being in the Hall. During the 70s, nobody played baseball like he did. He is truly one of the greats of the game. Had he admitted 14 years ago that he did bet on baseball, he probably would be in the Hall today but his own stubborness along with his ability to shift the blame for his problems to anything and everything but himself now probally make this a moot point.

Overall, this is an interesting book about a talented ballplayer but a flawed human being. Don't expect, however, to learn what makes Pete tick.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Let Him Who Is Without Sin
Review: Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. He's come clean. It's a good read. Put him in the hall. Return him to baseball as a manager. Nobody played harder. Nobody will manage harder. He's a proven winner who made a mistake. Interesting information in the book. Baseball offerred Pete a mutliple year suspension if he admitted he bet on baseball. He turned it down. Baseball offerred him a lifetime ban with a chance to seek reinstatement within one year. He accepted if baseball made no finding that he bet on baseball. Giamatti immediately went public with the statement that he believed Pete bet on baseball. Why doesn't anybody complain about Giamatti and baseball being liars for breaking the agreement?
Pete has done more for baseball than Giamatti and that big mouth Fay Vincent. Could Vincent please try to get a life? The Dowd Report is real sketchy. Dowd is quite a lawyer when he is unopposed. I don't think he could have proved half of what he alleged if there was level playing field. Give Pete a break. He's paid enough.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Review: Let's break this down mathematically...
First, lie about a crime for > 10 years.
Second, "sell" the truth.
Third, complain to anyone who will listen that you're not being fairly treated.
Yep, that's Pete Rose for you. No one loves baseball more than I, but when I heard Pete complain about the pitcher who shut him down to end his bid to break Joe D's hitting streak, I lost all respect for the man.
Mr. Rose, do you think any one of Joe D's hits was "given" to him?
Do you think Mr. Cobb was "given" any of his hits?
I heard Mr. Rose complain about statements made regarding the timing of the book's release. Here's one suspicion I have yet to see mentioned: I suspect Mr. Rose's gambling debts have gotten to the point where he (& his agent) felt he had to sell the only thing left in his possession. I see his agent saying, "Pete, no one believes you. No one will buy your tired, re-hashed version of events. You have to say something unexpected. That's the only way we'll make money. Here's an idea: how about the truth?" To which Mr. Rose replies, "How much do you think we can soak 'em for?"
Remember this: his "Prison Without Bars" was of his own making.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Shoeless Joe And Shameless Pete
Review: Many are the comparisons that are drawn between Shoeless Joe Jackson and Shameless Pete Rose. Both have numbers that more than qualify them for the Hall of Fame and both will never be enshrined there because of their gambling taint. Jackson took money to help gamblers fix the 1919 World Series. Please don't point to his high batting average during that series; a few well-placed intentional gaffes would have helped his team lose quite nicely. Jackson may have been a bumpkin and may have been taken advantage of by certain teammates but the bottom line remains-he took money. Rose bet on the game. Many games, probably games he was both playing in and managing in. Rose had money, fame, the adulation of millions and he chucked it all for the cheap rush that gambling provides. In so doing he exposed baseball, make that Baseball, The Game That Binds Us All, to all the evils that almost destroyed it in 1919. Rose and Jackson earned their exile and exiled they should remain.

In "My Prison Without Bars" Rose has (shamelessly) sold his last, threadbare secret in a blatant attempt to curry favor with the baseball hierarchy so that he can return home. Sorry Pete, you're outta here.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This is the stone Pete Rose cast at US!
Review: Much of the public seems to have been persuaded by Johnny Cochran, this time in what was fortunately only an ESPN mock trial, to believe another man whom the glove no longer fits. My Prison Without Bars is the capper to a campaign to desensitize baseball fans to Pete's transgressions. Some reviewers have rationalized Pete's crimes away, saying that he's only human, and since we've all sinned, no fan is in a position to judge him. They also say that the book is interesting and well written, and should be judged on its literary merits. I think that a lie is a lie regardless the sins of the reader. I also think this book is worthless as an autobiography because it doesn't accurately represent what went on in Pete's mind throughout his life.

If Pete were a real hero, he'd do the following:

1) Insist that he doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame now or ever
2) Urge Hall of Fame voters to maintain baseball's high standards by not voting for him
3) Help other athletes with gambling addictions, and of course,
4) TELL THE TRUTH.

Until he does these things, Pete's book is just another hustle.


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