My Prison Without Bars

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: The point of telling/selling this story is to engender some measure of sympathy for & enrich a couple of hustlers. For all of the Pete Rose-acolytes, I ask you to think about this for a moment: If Mr. Rose never gambled would there ever have been a reason for this book? The answer is this: No. There would have been no point. So why was it written? Right! To engender sympathy & enrich two hustlers. As an earlier reviewer astutely commented: "Do the math..."
As to the book's merits, simply put, there are none. The format is formulaic & monotonous, the writing style is oftentimes juvenile, replete with grammatical errors. Truly, nothing new was revealed which has not been discussed elsewhere. In summary, this book was both a waste of time & an insult to anyone of intelligence & integrity. If I were you, Clinton, I'd be plenty sore.
I have thus far directed my opinions solely about the book. I read the book &, therefore, am entitled to rate it as a work of literature & not, as some Rose-fans would have others believe, present my one star rating as a personal attack. I believe any serious student of the social sciences, history, & baseball, will recognize this book for what it really is, #1) a desperate attempt to get Baseball to lift its sanctions & allow Mr. Rose entry into the game & the Hall of Fame by, #2) acknowledging his crime & subsequent lies while arrogantly attempting to mitigate their significance with "explanations" &, in the process, #3) line his pockets with money.

I happened to have played baseball with Mr. Rose in Philadelphia & got to know him fairly well. This is not the appropriate forum in which to discuss personal reminiscences, but allow me to say this. If he came up to me at a dinner party I would excuse myself & walk away.
But I would try one word of advice: Never pollute an apology with an explanation.

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Fascinating Study of Denial
Review: The title of this book, MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS, appears on a background of solid red, perhaps as a nod to the team on which Pete Rose earned his fame and infamy. On the back is a photo taken when he broke Ty Cobb's all-time hit record, showing him in an uncharacteristic display of emotion ("I'm not a warm-and-fuzzy kind of guy" is his mantra). It could also be a metaphor for the shame one might expect him to feel over his banishment from baseball for almost fifteen years.Ultimately, as Rose has maintained, he is the only one who really knows the whole story. He has been lying so long, why should the public believe him now? What can he really say to persuade a public anxious to welcome the return of baseball's prodigal son?

He concludes MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS with a left-handed regret: "I know I [messed] up. . . . I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry for all the people, fans, and family that it hurt. Let's move on."

Readers will undoubtedly interpret his story in different ways, depending on point of view. Some will agree that his vice is his own business and that he should be reinstated. Others might believe there is no excuse for his transgressions and demand his exile remain in place. Then there are those who might be more forgiving, believing that he did wrong, paid the price and should be forgiven.

Is this the final say on the matter? If he is ever allowed back into baseball's good graces, and into baseball's Valhalla, don't bet against another volume on the life of Pete Rose.

--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan

Rating:
Summary: Okay
Review: There are 6 things that the Hall of Fame voting is based on. They are based upon: the players record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contribuitons to the team(s) he played on. Do the math. Should Pete be elected?

Rating:
Summary: Life before, after, but not during baseball
Review: This book is a solid read only for Rose fans who are NOT looking for any details of his playing days. It's no secret he has admitted to gambling on baseball and he comes forth with the details. Both the gambling and the events leading up to them.

The major downer is he spends a good deal of time being critial of John Dowd and the "Dowd Report". He states the witness used by Dowd were unreliable and there is no way Dowd should have concluded Rose bet on baseball. However... Dowd got it right. Even if the evidence was "unreliable", Rose shouldn't have spent so much time bashing Dowd knowing the result was accurate.

On the plus side you can really see his life since the banishment. He shows the plusses and minuses of events since then, including his jail time. You can see he's certainly been punished.

Also he does have a good wit. I especially liked the first sentence of the epilogue.

Rating:
Summary: Life before, after, but not during baseball
Review: This book is a solid read only for Rose fans who are NOT looking for any details of his playing days. It's no secret he has admitted to gambling on baseball and he comes forth with the details. Both the gambling and the events leading up to them.

The major downer is he spends a good deal of time being critial of John Dowd and the "Dowd Report". He states the witness used by Dowd were unreliable and there is no way Dowd should have concluded Rose bet on baseball. However... Dowd got it right. Even if the evidence was "unreliable", Rose shouldn't have spent so much time bashing Dowd knowing the result was accurate.

On the plus side you can really see his life since the banishment. He shows the plusses and minuses of events since then, including his jail time. You can see he's certainly been punished.

Also he does have a good wit. I especially liked the first sentence of the epilogue.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This book is great. Pete Rose tells it all. Highly Recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: A smell by any other name is still a Pete Rose.
Review: This book is hardly worthwhile. Rose apologists have read his life story before such as in Charlie Hustle, by Pete Rose. In this new book, he reveals nothing new to the others who have actually bothered to read the John Dowd report and other similar material. A better and more believable book is Hustle: Myth, Life and Lies of Pete Rose by Michael Sokolove.

Rose appears to be one of those people who has no concept of how to be truthful. Even with his so-called apology, he still takes the time to blame everyone else. He's still trying to blame the late Bart Giamatti, but contrition for his own behavior, never. In Rose's words, "You see, I'm just not built that way."

He denies ever betting against his team and the Dowd Report is absent that type of evidence, but that is irrelevant. He admits betting on his team several times a week. Wouldn't the gamblers have cause to wonder why he chose to not bet on his team on certain nights? Isn't it likely that they would take this as a sign that he lacked confidence in his team's chances and they took advantage of this information.

In the end, Rose lacks a true understanding of his crimes including those for which he served a jail sentence. He brags about having his wife illegally bring him contraband items while jailed and used their baby daughter to smuggle the items. Feel sorry for this guy? Fergitaboutit! Has he kicked his gambling addiction, NO. He says that he still gambles, but only at casinos and the race tracks. This is like the alcoholic who claims to be cured because he stopped drinking whiskey and gin, and now only uses beer and wine.

Let Rose wait 14 more years to be eligible for reinstatement, the same length of time it took him to admit his crime against the game. This would be a fair rule of thumb that will serve as a better deterrent for anyone else considering the same offense.

Rating:
Summary: Come On Pete
Review: This book was not really worth the time it took to read it. I was expecting a David Wells type tell all but Pete just goes on about his mistreatment. I once believed Pete should be in the Hall of Fame and signed a few petitions but never again. After reading Fay Vincent's book I was hoping this would show the other side of the coin. No such luck. Rose constantly finds somebody else to blame for his problems or throws down the terms his therapist uses to give him an excuse. Read something else.

I recommend: Perfect I'm Not - David Wells, The Last Commissioner - Fay Vincent, Catcher in the Wry - Bob Uecker, Zim - Don Zimmer and any by Yogi Berra.

Rating:
Summary: Pete Rose's new book
Review: This reviewing area on amazon has become a Pete Rose bashing area. Some here need to actually read the book before making a review.

I am not saying that Pete Rose is perfect. But this is a damn good book that has raised my respect for him even more. It covers his whole life from his birth in 1941, through his playing career and management, his (legal) businesses after getting barred by baseball in 1989. He even admitted finally to betting from 1985-1988. I am not saying he should automatically be elected to the hall of fame but I damn well think this guy is a decent human being. He cared for his family. He did not do anything to physically hurt anyone. He loved baseball and he IS the hit king and owned about at least 10 other batting records.

And for the review that is one or two spaces down calling a Pete a "savage" for nailing Ray Fosse in the '70 All-Star game, it's professional baseball, not girls softball or tennis. It's a game.

Buy this book and who knows, after the 322 pages, you might respect him even more (or at all) possibly?

Rating:
Summary: A Hustler's Latest Inadvertent Revelations
Review: Up front, I wish to state that I have loved the game of baseball since childhood, played it in high school and college, and then coached it for thirteen years in two private schools. Also, I have been a fan of Major League Baseball and especially of the Cubs and White Sox since growing up in Chicago. In the years since, wherever I lived, I attended as many MLB games as I could when I wasn't watching them on television. Finally, wholly on the basis of Rose's statistics, I think he deserves to be elected to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Until I read the excerpt from his book and then the book itself, I did not know that he had been lying when insisting publicly and constantly that he had never bet on MLB games. His verbal assaults on Commissioners Uberroth, Giamatti, and Vincent as well as John Dowd seemed (to me) to express the outrage of someone reacting to what he viewed as a gross injustice. Then I read the book.

With the assistance of Rick Hill, it is well-written. Just as Rose's prior public statements had convinced me of his innocence of betting on MLB games, the book convinced me that I could no longer believe whatever Rose may say about himself, his life, and his career. Perhaps inevitably, his opinions are highly selective, in fact strategic. He seems to see himself as someone special, deeply resentful whenever held accountable for his behavior off the diamond and away from the dugout. (He was a special baseball player, among the greatest ever. No doubt about that.) In the book, Rose reveals a strong sense of entitlement beyond the praise he once earned and now deserves as a professional athlete. As I read this book, my reaction was more of sadness than of outrage. I did not feel betrayed, fooled, duped, etc. Just sad.

For 14 years, the media have given Rose an abundance of opportunities to state his case for election to the MLB Hall of Fame and/or reinstatement within MLB. For obvious reasons, he expressed no regret about his verbal abuse of three MLB commissioners and the author of the Dowd Report. Now his book has appeared and is certain to be a bestseller. As with any bestseller, there is extensive media interest in the author (or co-author). So again Rose has the public's eyes and ears as his campaign continues. There has even been a mock trial at the Harvard Law School during which Johnny Cochran achieved a "legal victory" on Rose's behalf, opposed during the mock trial by Alan Dershowitz. Meanwhile, Commissioner Selig observes all this without response, no doubt trying to determine what an expedient decision would be.

Two hunches and they are only hunches: Pete Rose will enjoy a brief period of increased public attention with some entrenched adoration and then his celebrity will fade, as will his credibility. Also, Commissioner Selig will eventually decide to continue the terms and conditions of Commissioner Giamatti's ruling (May 9, 1989). Could be wrong.

As indicated, I think this is a well-written book. It is not a confessional per se. Rather, memoirs during which Rose provides an account of his thoughts and feelings about his career and, especially, his life in recent years. For those of us who care about Major League Baseball and/or Pete Rose, the book is well worth reading. The title of his book may prove to be more significant than he now realizes. Whom to blame for his current situation? The answer is boldly displayed in huge letters on the dust cover.

He asks that all of us "move on" and so we shall.