The Mick

Mickey Mantle and Herb Gluck - 1986 Penguin Publishing (USA)

The style of writing does not call for an instant literary classic but the book is fun and anecdotal.  As it is an autobiography of The Mick by The Mick, there is a lot that is not revealed (especially compared to The Last Boy by Jane Leavy) but Mantle is frank in his storytelling.

The home run he hit when he was suffering a major hangover is a pretty familiar story but the book contains an even better or crazier one of when he and Billy Martin decided to climb onto the ledge outside their hotel room...

We Would Have Played for Nothing

Baseball Players of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved
Fay Vincent - 2009 Simon & Shuster

Sequel to The Only Game in Town, a "response-sequel" to The Glory of Their Times

This book is not read for its literary style; rather it is a trascription of Fay Vincent's interviews with players from the 1950s-60s.  Because of this, it may be a little hard to get used to the style, but it does give the feel of sitting in the living room and listening in as these famous players recount their playing days.

The one thing that would make this book better would be interviews with more players, such as in The Glory of Their Times, which I would consider the better book for a number of reasons.  Each player interviewed represents a various aspects of the game or team but when looking back every and any player adds value to the account of how it was when ball players needed a job in the off season and they played for pure love of the game.

However, the Sports and Historical value along with the perspective offered by the players makes this book worth the read and great for fans too young to know or remember.

The Only Game In Town

Baseball Stars of the 1930s and 1940s Talk About the Game The Loved
(The Baseball Oral History Project, Vol.1)
Fay Vincent - 2007 Simon & Shuster

A "sequel" to The Glory of Their Times, good but not as good

It seems that the players chosen for interviews were selected because of what they represented in the days they played.  Negro Leagues, team rivalries, World War II and more are topics that affected the players careers in different ways. 

The accounts are simple and the effect is a trip down memory lane with the players.  It's a great book to have and read but the brevity and wide spectrum of players leaves gaps making one wish that more players had been included.