A Season in the Sun, Randy Roberts
A Season in the Sun, Randy Roberts
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

A Season in the Sun
The Rise of Mickey Mantle

Author: Randy Roberts, Johnny Smith

Narrator: Pete Larkin

Unabridged: 9 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 03/27/2018

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

The story of Mickey Mantle's magnificent 1956 season

Mickey Mantle was the ideal batter for the atomic age, capable of hitting a baseball harder and farther than any other player in history. He was also the perfect idol for postwar America, a wholesome hero from the heartland.

In A Season in the Sun, acclaimed historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith recount the defining moment of Mantle's legendary career: 1956, when he overcame a host of injuries and critics to become the most celebrated athlete of his time. Taking us from the action on the diamond to Mantle's off-the-field exploits, Roberts and Smith depict Mantle not as an ideal role model or a bitter alcoholic, but a complex man whose faults were smoothed over by sportswriters eager to keep the truth about sports heroes at bay.

An incisive portrait of an American icon, A Season in the Sun is an essential work for baseball fans and anyone interested in the 1950s.

About Randy Roberts

Randy Roberts is a distinguished professor of history at Purdue University. An award-winning author, he has written biographies of iconic athletes and celebrities, including Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Bear Bryant, and John Wayne. He lives in Lafayette, Indiana.

Reviews

Goodreads review by victor on May 27, 2018

Early part is a little routine with much-covered ground dealing with his early years in Oklahoma and his early fits and starts, including the injuries. Focus is on the magic 1956 season where Mantle finally emerged from the shadow of DiMaggio and became the most iconic sports figure in NY if not the......more

Goodreads review by Alan on May 21, 2018

I loved this book. If you love baseball or Mickey Mantle you won't be disappointed. I wrote more about it here: [URL not allowed]-oblivion/.........more

Goodreads review by Alison on December 24, 2019

Great read for any history/baseball lover out there! 5 stars!!!......more

Goodreads review by John on May 24, 2020

On first glance, I was afraid that this would be a rehash of what we already know about Mickey Mantle, and his magnificent 1956 baseball season. But I was very pleasantly surprised to read this fresh take on his life on and off the field, as well as looking at it within the context of America in the......more

Goodreads review by mark on August 11, 2018

Mickey Mantle was my first hero/role model, and it started during this (1956) season. I was six, and began playing organized baseball the next summer. I sign my name with a capital K (at the end of MarK) because Mantle signed his name with a capital K in MicKey. I've read many of the books written a......more

Quotes

"Anyone who loves the sport will find hours of undiluted joy in one of the best books on baseball--or any other sport--that I have encountered."—Washington Times

"It is not hard to believe that if Mickey Mantle had been healthy and took better care of his body, he would probably be remembered as the best baseball player ever. This excellent book proves why."—Ken Burns

"Mickey Mantle was a genuinely great baseball player. But at his very best, he was among the greatest of the great. A Season in the Sun vividly illuminates the Mickey Mantle of 1956, when he was at his very best." —Bob Costas, NBC Sports

"[Roberts and Smith] masterfully spin a narrative that places Mantle and his trials as a microcosm of America during the evolving decade... A Season in the Sun is a must-read for not just any baseball fan, but anyone interested in the peculiarities of postwar American culture."—Off the Bench

"A Season In The Sun paints the picture of about what New York, America, and baseball was like in the 1950s, a treasure trove of information that is a must read for Yankee fans and admirers of Number 7."—Brooklyn Digest

"A brisk account of a career and a culture that presages much of our current-day obsession with celebrity." —Kirkus Reviews

"Highly recommended for fans of sports, Americana, and those seeking an informative historical read."—~i~>Library Journal, starred review span

"This is a rich, detailed exploration of the Mantle legend." —Publishers Weekly

"I loved A Season in the Sun. This compelling book on Mickey Mantle at his greatest and most vulnerable illuminates history and shatters myths at the same time." —David Maraniss, author of Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero

"Sex, booze, and an epic home-run race with a ghost: 1956 was a raucous year in baseball, richly recounted here.... A Season in the Sun is a shimmering snow globe of a game and a time gone by." —John Thorn, official historian, Major League Baseball

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List