Joe DiMaggio - The Hero's Life

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one writer's unheroic racism disguised as a biographical portrait
I can not in any way, shape or form recommend this book to anyone to buy because of the author's intense use of the word 'D*go'. The Amazon review guidelines limits obscene or distasteful content so I will censor this review, but in my personal opinion, the use of these terms in this book is very distasteful. (NOTE: I rate this book no stars because of this, but the system won't recognize that, hence the one star in the rating.) Lawrence Baldassaro writes in his book on Italian-American atheletes in the 1930's and 1940's that "Such language is inconceivable today, yet...in 1938 such terms as "w*p" and "d**o"...routinely appeared in coverage of Italian American ballplayers." Baldassaro notes that in the 1930's and 1940's "Stories that claimed to celebrate the sudden surge of Italian players were...written in a style that was at once patronizing and slightly derogatory...praise mingled easily with a barely masked smirk that was betrayed frequently by stereotypical depictions..." While Mr. Baldassaro is commenting on the racism and prejudice presented by sports writers towards Italian-Americans over 60 and 70 years ago, the author of 'The Hero's Life" seems to forget that he is writing now, in the new millenium, in a much more enlightened and politically correct time, when racism and ethnic pejoratives are frowned upon and not used lightly. Cramer's writing seems lost in time, seeming to revel in the use of the words "D*go" and "D**g". These epithets show up every few pages, with some pages, like p-266, using it 3 times. This writing goes beyond the device of "quoting" dialogue and attributing sayings to specific people, repeatedly and unnecessarily using the terms "da**" and "w**". While a few sports websites note that some of DiMaggio's teammates referred to him in this way for a time, the book seems to infer that everyone, everywhere, easily used and still use these terms without any attempt to balance or explain this biased presentation. Readers know that racism existed at the start of Dimaggio's career, not just towards Italians and Italian-Americans, but as suffered and fought by the multitude of talented Black and Latino players throughout the sport's history. But this author does not see fit to use pejorative terms for other ethnic groups when he writes about Latino, Black and Jewish players: he never refers to sp**s, ni**ers, or k**es, but he feels free to use slurs for Italian-Americans over a 48 times before page 377 in a 515 page book. Even thinking of these terms in a censored manner is disturbing to me and I can't bring myself to fully print pejoratives for other ethnic groups even to make a point. I am quite shocked that Cramer's editors didn't feel the need to reign in his excessive and unwarranted use of these terms, and their use in this book completely overshadows any other facets of it.

Dimaggio is a 20th Century Illusion
To Mr. Ben Cramer I give 5 Stars. No Problem!! His research into the career and the mindset of Joe DiMaggio is outstanding. While it is true that Joe DiMaggio had great talent and grace on the baseball field there can be no doubt. His personal life and treatment of people give the Old Yankee Clipper a rating of 2 Stars. Hence my rating of 3 Stars. We learn of Joe's meager childhood and later his talent to play the game of baseball. His brothers Dom & Joe also were talented and played at the Major League level. It is true that Joe's exploits as a right handed hitter are great. He was always surrounded with the best players of his age. He played on 9 World Championship teams. One would say Joe was the catalyst for this. I really don't think so. If Joe played for the St. Louis Browns this would not have happened. DiMaggio was a loner. He really sought his worldly pleasures through well connected people who catered to him. Toots Shorr, Walter Winchell et al. He never would sustain a marital relationship. His marriage to Marilyn Monroe was really just a sexual escapade. Joe DiMaggio was a great player. He was not the best ever. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. But his life is one of a taker. Sorry Joe, my take is not of Simon & Garfunkle!!!

The Yankee Clipper
Anyone who has the tiniest bit of curiosity about our hometown hero DiMag has got to read this most awesome book. Blunt, honest, fantastic info. Quick and easy to read too. The Clipper is the best ball player ever, period.

Great Detail, a little too much sometimes!
As a baseball fan and especially a Yankees fan I was anxious to read this book and I am glad I did. I am not sure how Cramer obtained as much detail about this god with clay feet as he did. But it is truly amazing the first person stories he was able to get of those who knew Dimaggio. This book is so relevatory, so much better than some of the sports biographies that are out there. You learn much about Joe's family life, or the lack of family life, both as a boy and as an adult. It is a sad story of one who failed at all human relationships, while being admired from a distance by so many. But at times Cramer gives us just a little too much as when he relates how one beauty compared Joe's male organ to Milton Berle and Joe came out champ again.

As Tough as Nails
Joe DiMaggio was one of the most amazing athletes ever to wear the Yankee pinstripes. He was chosen as the greatest living baseball player in a poll conducted in 1969. The son of an Italian immigrant fisherman, DiMaggio followed the lead of his older brother, Vince, and abandoned the fishing boat to pursue a career as professional baseball player. Eventually, three of the DiMaggio sons would play in the major leagues: a younger brother, Dominic, played for the Boston Red Sox as a regular; Vince was a journeyman who moved from team to team; Joe played thirteen seasons in New York. He was not an easy man to get along with and not especially likeable. At an early age, DiMaggio, who had a limited education, felt that he had been cheated out of money in a contract dispute and he seemed to be determined never to be shortchanged again. He was sullen and withdrawn, but how he could play! Rookies were put on notice that DiMaggio had no use for team members who would jeopardize his opportunity to win bonus money by playing in the World Series. He was constantly looking for moneymaking opportunities and commercial endorsements. On television, he became best known for his "Mr. Coffee" ads. He owned an interest in a seafood restaurant in San Francisco for years. Off the field, DiMaggio had marital problems with his two movie actress wives. His first wife, Dorothy Arnold, was the mother of his only child, Joe, Jr., and his most celebrated union was with Marilyn Monroe. Both marriages ended in divorce, but DiMaggio remained devoted to Monroe and her memory. DiMaggio was a tough customer and he went through periods of not speaking to many of his own relatives if he was displeased with them. Throughout his playing career, which was shortened by military service and injuries, it was a rarity for an October to pass without Joe DiMaggio appearing in the World Series. During this period, the New York Yankees were a dynasty and DiMaggio appeared in the Series against six of the eight National League teams. New York only lost once in the postseason while DiMaggio was in the line up (the St. Louis Cardinals upset New York in 1942). DiMaggio could do it all, but he was best known for his hitting and his celebrated fifty-six game hitting streak record in 1941. Interestingly, after the Cleveland Indians halted the streak, DiMaggio pounded out hits in his next seventeen games. DiMaggio retired from baseball at the age of thirty-six. His career was shortened by stomach ulcers and primitive sports orthopaedic medicine that had been unable to repair his damaged knee and foot. I enjoyed this book. The author did a good job with a difficult biographical subject. An interesting aside: DiMaggio had been scouted by the Chicago Cubs while he was playing for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, but the team lost interest in him as a prospect after he suffered a knee injury. Within a few short years, DiMaggio and the Yankees swept Chicago in the World Series.