Biography

True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson

True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson

  • Downloads：3137
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-04-13 06:19:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Kostya Kennedy
  • ISBN：B09CNFLFNC
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Kostya Kennedy's True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson is a probing， richly-detailed， unusual biography of one of baseball's--and America's--most significant figures…

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Reviews

Jake ，

A worthy addition to the Jackie Robinson Collection。 Kennedy organizes his work by using four years of Robinson's life （1946， 1949， 1956 and 1972） to tell his story and impact on the world， followed by an epilogue covering the continued work by Rachel Robinson after Jackie Robinson's death。 Timely from Kennedy， as we quickly approach the 75th anniversary of Robinson's first MLB game。Thank you to NetGalley and St。 Martin's Press for the advance ready copy。 A worthy addition to the Jackie Robinson Collection。 Kennedy organizes his work by using four years of Robinson's life （1946， 1949， 1956 and 1972） to tell his story and impact on the world， followed by an epilogue covering the continued work by Rachel Robinson after Jackie Robinson's death。 Timely from Kennedy， as we quickly approach the 75th anniversary of Robinson's first MLB game。Thank you to NetGalley and St。 Martin's Press for the advance ready copy。 。。。more

Sandy ，

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review。I'm more of a casual baseball fan than a serious one， but there are certain ball players who have always been of interest to me， even though they are before my time - and Jackie Robinson is definitely one of them。 This book gives a full picture of Jackie Robinson， both as a ballplayer and as a man， and I found it fascinating。I particularly enjoyed the way the book showed his choice to behave differently as his c Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review。I'm more of a casual baseball fan than a serious one， but there are certain ball players who have always been of interest to me， even though they are before my time - and Jackie Robinson is definitely one of them。 This book gives a full picture of Jackie Robinson， both as a ballplayer and as a man， and I found it fascinating。I particularly enjoyed the way the book showed his choice to behave differently as his career moved along。 The choice to recognize that during his first few years， he was a symbol， and any action he took would be inevitably generalized to all Black ballplayers - thus seen as a harbinger of the consequences if he was to actually be "the first" instead of a one off。 And， once he was fully established as a great ballplayer， he could be himself， and show anger when appropriate， just as White ballplayers could。 I loved seeing that this was a well thought out choice， and I thought the author did a good job of portraying this。I also enjoyed the information on his post-baseball life - I wasn't aware of his activities in supporting civil rights and this was interesting。 And， I found the information about his wife Rachel fascinating - she was clearly an interesting person in her own right， and I liked the fact that this was not overlooked in this book。This was definitely an interesting book， and I found it well worth reading。 。。。more

Linda ，

Well-written account of Jackie Robinson's life。 Engrossing， informative， entertaining。 Well-written account of Jackie Robinson's life。 Engrossing， informative， entertaining。 。。。more

Mary ，

I knew who Jackie Robinson was， one the greatest baseball players of all time， who changed the face of baseball。 What I didn't know about Jackie Robinson was how much he changed the world。 This book chronicles the life of Jackie Robinson in baseball， from his minor league days， through his major league days。 It sheds light on the things he did after his retirement and how he was outspoken for the rights of the Black Americans， always striving to get their rights equaled to the White Americans。 J I knew who Jackie Robinson was， one the greatest baseball players of all time， who changed the face of baseball。 What I didn't know about Jackie Robinson was how much he changed the world。 This book chronicles the life of Jackie Robinson in baseball， from his minor league days， through his major league days。 It sheds light on the things he did after his retirement and how he was outspoken for the rights of the Black Americans， always striving to get their rights equaled to the White Americans。 Jackie did this through his voice and presence， not through violence。 He was outspoken to Malcom X （even though he greatly respected him） and friends with Martin Luther King Jr。 This book shows how decades later he is still a loved individual。 The Dodgers signed another Black baseball player， Johnny Wright， to try to alleviate some of the publicity and hatred that Jackie received in his early days， but Johnny was soon sent to the minors。 Branch Rickey tried to incorporate some black players to show how baseball is changing and to bring attention to the rest of America。 Once Jackie retired， his health declined。 He was battling diabetes， his eyesight was failing， he had a hard time moving。 The Robinson Family was wracked with death and Rachel Robinson is a very strong woman who withstood not only the hatred thrown at her husband but the deaths of many family members。 She has gone on to keep Jackie's name alive and set up the Jackie Robinson Foundation to honor students with scholarships， who might not be able to go on to college。The one thing that I didn't like about the way the book was written is how it jumped around。 Jackie would be up at bat， but something else would be brought up， how the kids in the Brooklyn neighbors would listen to the games on the radio or watch the games on TV at through the windows of the TV store。 It always came back around， but it broke up the intensity of Jackie being at bat， or going into the slide， stealing home。。。 The baseball depictions were very descriptive， and I could see it all in my mind while reading it。 I definitely recommend this book。Thank you NetGalley and St。 Martin's Press。 。。。more

Mich ，

True is a selected biography of Jackie Robinson focusing on 4 seasons- 1946， when he broke in with the Montreal Royals， 1949， the year he won the MVP， 1956， his last year， and 1972， when he passed away。 What is unique about this biography is the level of detail that Kennedy brings to the book。 It is as if he was witness to every pitch and can describe when a curve was high and outside or how many feet he away he was when Jackie was dancing off of third base。 My only hesitation that prevents me f True is a selected biography of Jackie Robinson focusing on 4 seasons- 1946， when he broke in with the Montreal Royals， 1949， the year he won the MVP， 1956， his last year， and 1972， when he passed away。 What is unique about this biography is the level of detail that Kennedy brings to the book。 It is as if he was witness to every pitch and can describe when a curve was high and outside or how many feet he away he was when Jackie was dancing off of third base。 My only hesitation that prevents me from giving it 5 stars is that this was clearly written with the approval of his family and it thus difficult to judge whether he was truly as extraordinary as described ， particularly in his last years supporting black rights or is there an element of puffiness。 I choose to believe that he was extraordinary。 。。。more

Thebookish Dad ，

This book focuses on four pivotal years of Jackie Robinson。 I've read other Jackie related books and it amazing that when I read another one I always find new Information。 I will definitely recommend this and I'll be adding it to my bookshelve once it is released。 This book focuses on four pivotal years of Jackie Robinson。 I've read other Jackie related books and it amazing that when I read another one I always find new Information。 I will definitely recommend this and I'll be adding it to my bookshelve once it is released。 。。。more

Brian Rothbart ，

I have read a number of baseball biographies and a number of biographies on Jackie Robinson， including his own autobiography。 I really liked the way Kostya Kennedy approached this book and Robinson's life。 Kennedy focuses on four "transformative" years of Robinson's career and doing so we get a richer， fuller， more informative picture of Robinson。 I didn't think there was a lot more I could learn， but I was wrong。 If you are a fan of baseball， biographies， even social justice， etc。 I highly reco I have read a number of baseball biographies and a number of biographies on Jackie Robinson， including his own autobiography。 I really liked the way Kostya Kennedy approached this book and Robinson's life。 Kennedy focuses on four "transformative" years of Robinson's career and doing so we get a richer， fuller， more informative picture of Robinson。 I didn't think there was a lot more I could learn， but I was wrong。 If you are a fan of baseball， biographies， even social justice， etc。 I highly recommend this book。 。。。more

Barb ，

As a baseball fan， I know woefully little about Jackie Robinson--really， just the basics--so was quite pleased to snag an ARC of this title。 It's due to come out on April 12， a few days before the 75th anniversary of Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers; great timing， and I recommend fans read this book as we wait for the lockout to end and baseball to begin。This isn't a true biography; instead， Kennedy focuses on four years in Robinson's life: 1946 （his year in the minors in Montreal）， 19 As a baseball fan， I know woefully little about Jackie Robinson--really， just the basics--so was quite pleased to snag an ARC of this title。 It's due to come out on April 12， a few days before the 75th anniversary of Robinson's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers; great timing， and I recommend fans read this book as we wait for the lockout to end and baseball to begin。This isn't a true biography; instead， Kennedy focuses on four years in Robinson's life: 1946 （his year in the minors in Montreal）， 1949 （an MVP year for him）， 1956 （his last year in the majors）， and 1972 （the year of his death）。 He focuses 1949 and 1956 around specific games--the All-Star game and Game 6 of the World Series， respectively。 His choices are interesting; he doesn't focus on Robinson breaking into the majors or the year the Dodgers won the World Series。 It's a smart choice， because the stories of Jackie stoically enduring as he integrated the game and the stories of the Dodgers dynasty are ones that have been told already。 Instead， we see his attitude and play progress through his career， and how his stoicism changes to include more pushing back and aggressiveness。 I appreciate how Kennedy really brings Robinson's playing style to life。 I'll probably follow this up by watching the Ken Burns documentary to get video footage， but Kennedy manages to bring the reader into Ebbets Field。 He sounds just so exciting to watch！ Kennedy takes a fairly high-level view of Robinson's life; we learn some about the day-to-day （his off-season job selling tvs！）， but he focuses a lot on the game and a lot on his civil rights activities。 Robinson in some ways is full of contradictions， which Kennedy doesn't shy away from--supportive of Martin Luther King， Jr。， but also of the Vietnam War; proponent of civil rights but also a member of the Republican party。。。though seemingly not in 1968。 He occasionally makes references to things like Robinson regretting， for instance， his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee， but doesn't go into what the regret looked like。 And there's a decent amount of saying what Jackie or his wife， Rachel， were thinking， without really saying how she knows that， one of my big pet peeves in nonfiction work。Kennedy weaves in the point of view of various Dodger fans or people influenced by Jackie， which is sometimes powerful and sometimes seems to detract from the story。 I also wish he did a bit less jumping around in time; understandably， given the framework of the book， but it was at times annoying。 The epilogue also seemed to go on a bit; Kennedy truly wants to show the difference Robinson made in the world， which is laudable。Thanks to the publisher for the ARC （via NetGalley）！ Publication date is April 12， 2022。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0