"Pete Rose - An American Dilemma" by Kostya Kennedy - Hardcover w/Dustjacket - Published in 2014 by Sports Illustrated Books - 339 pages (with a number of great black & white photos) - both book and DJ are in EXCELLENT condition. Pete Rose holds the all-time major league record for most hits (4,256) and games played (3,562), both marks previously belonging to Ty Cobb. His teams won at a consistent pace and he was a regular on eight first-place teams. He won the 1963 NL Rookie of the Year award with the Cincinnati Reds, his hometown team. Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford was the first to call him "Charlie Hustle" after seeing the cocky rookie run to first base on a walk. Rose ignored the "insult" and turned the name into an asset. He never did anything less than 100% in his long career. Pete Rose played baseball with a singular and
headfirst abandon that endeared him to fans and peers, even as it riled
others--a figure at once magnetic, beloved and polarizing. Rose has more base
hits than anyone in history, yet he is not in the Hall of Fame. Twenty-five
years ago he was banished from baseball for gambling, then ruled ineligible for
Cooperstown. How do we evaluate the Hit
King now, at a time when steroid cheats appear on the Hall of Fame ballot even
as Rose is denied? What do we make of this happily unrepentant gambler, this
shameless but beguiling showman whose post-baseball journey has led him to a
curious reality show and to the streets of Cooperstown to hawk his signature,
his story, himself? Best-selling author
Kostya Kennedy delivers an evocative answer in his fascinating re-examination
of Pete Rose's life; from his cocky and charismatic early years through his
storied playing career to his bitter war against baseball's hierarchy to the
man we find today--still incorrigible, still adored by many. Where has his
improbable saga landed him in the redefined, post-steroid world? Do we feel any
differently about Pete Rose today? Should we? Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? There are worse characters than Rose enshrined there. How about Cap Anson, a notable racist who was responsible for the ban on blacks in Major League baseball in the 1880s? Then there's Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Sure, he was responsible for "cleaning up" baseball after the Black Sox scandal in 1919, but he was also adamant that no blacks would play in the Major Leagues while he was Commissioner. None did. Ed Delahanty fell over Niagara Falls to his death after being put off a train for unruly behavior, but he's a Hall of Famer. You be the judge whether or not "Charlie Hustle" belongs in the Hall of Fame. It is a debate which will go on as long as baseball fans gather together. One things is certain; no one played harder than Pete Rose. There is only some very minor edge wear on the DJ, but this book is still in EXCELLENT condition. No collection of Pete Rose items is complete without this outstanding book. Check out the scan for the great image of Rose on the cover and so you can judge the condition for yourself (unlike
many other booksellers, who post generic scans, the book in my scan is the one
you will get). You can try to buy this
book for less money from one of those eBay booksellers with hundreds, if not
thousands of negatives (you know the ones I refer to) and be lucky if the book
is delivered to you in the stated condition (if you even get it at all), or you
can buy it from me and be assured of a prompt delivery and of receiving an item
true to the condition indicated. You
won't be disappointed. All previous buyers of my baseball books have been
completely satisfied. I have many others
available; please check my listings. The
book will be sent via Media mail shipping in the USA. I will combine shipping to reduce charges for
multiple items. If you purchase more
than one item, please wait until I send you an invoice with the appropriate
combined shipping discount. Please see
my auctions and my eBay store for hundreds of books and a wide variety of
sports and non-sports collectibles. All
items are packed with care to insure safe delivery. Please contact me if you have any questions.