The Kid
The Immortal Life of Ted Williams
-
-
4.1 • 70 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
From acclaimed journalist Ben Bradlee Jr. comes the epic biography of Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams that baseball fans have been waiting for.
Williams was the best hitter in baseball history. His batting average of .406 in 1941 has not been topped since, and no player who has hit more than 500 home runs has a higher career batting average. Those totals would have been even higher if Williams had not left baseball for nearly five years in the prime of his career to serve as a Marine pilot in WWII and Korea. He hit home runs farther than any player before him -- and traveled a long way himself, as Ben Bradlee, Jr.'s grand biography reveals. Born in 1918 in San Diego, Ted would spend most of his life disguising his Mexican heritage. During his 22 years with the Boston Red Sox, Williams electrified crowds across America -- and shocked them, too: His notorious clashes with the press and fans threatened his reputation. Yet while he was a God in the batter's box, he was profoundly human once he stepped away from the plate. His ferocity came to define his troubled domestic life. While baseball might have been straightforward for Ted Williams, life was not.
The Kid is biography of the highest literary order, a thrilling and honest account of a legend in all his glory and human complexity. In his final at-bat, Williams hit a home run. Bradlee's marvelous book clears the fences, too.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The story of Ted Williams contains more twists and turns than the great American novel, and in this epic biography, former Boston Globe editor and investigative reporter Bradlee presents an often disturbing portrayal of the man perpetually known as "The Kid." The first major book about Williams since Leigh Montville's Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero published within two years of the 2002 death of baseball's greatest hitter at age 83, Bradlee focuses on elements of the Hall of Famer's life overshadowed by his still-historic .406 batting average in 1941, including his two wartime stints in the military at the height of his playing career, cantankerous relationships with fans and journalists, and the sad end-of-life saga perpetuated by his three reproachable children that concluded with the controversial cryonic preservation of Williams's head and decapitated body at a nondescript facility in Scottsdale, Ariz. Drawing on more than 10 years of research and 600-plus interviews, Bradlee explores Williams's Hispanic heritage and troubled childhood that left him feeling "ashamed," provides possible reasons for his irrational anger, and offers new insight into the cryonics case. Despite a few extraneous chapters, this big book rewards patient readers with as complete a portrait of Williams as history likely will allow.
Customer Reviews
The Kid by Ben Bradlee
This is an excellent book about a complex man. Bradlee did a ton of research into Ted's personal and sports life. Ted Williams paid a high price for his fame because he could not handle it intelligently. Was he a man who used people or did others use him ? Williams insistence on perfectionism in his sports life for himself unfortunately did not extend into his personal life. There he only wanted perfection from others.
It was annoying that all his problems were blamed on his mother's neglect when his father was equally culpable. His attitude toward women
Was absolutely disgusting even in the backward age of the 40's and 50's. In spite of all this you have to feel sorry for the man. On many levels this was a tragic story. As a little girl in 1940's and 50's,I was a Red Sox fan and Ted was my hero. I grew up, Ted did not. The title of the book was extremely appropriate.
Long
It's a very good story of Williams' life but it's so long that I had to force myself to read the last 4 chapters.
The Kid
Just got my book and the first few pages are outstanding reading . I hope all boston Sports fans get this book.