Hustle - the book

Yesterday as I was leaving the house, I realized I didn't have any reading material. Usually I've got a stack of library books plus a partially read stack of Economist magazines that I can grab from on my way out the door. But, since moving to Minnesota, I haven't gotten a library card, and let my subscription lapse, so I'm woefully low on reading material. So, i poked around the house to find an old book and that is how I ended up reading 'Hustle: The Myth, Lies, and Life of Pete Rose' by Michael Sokolove.

The book itself seemed well researched - the forward said the author interviewed something like 100 people from various stages of Rose's life and covers his life (up to 1992, when the book was published. The new editions have an updated afterward covering more recent events).

I've never been particularly interested in or knowledgeable of Pete Rose. During my lifetime, I've seen his downfall and its aftermath in real-time, but it didn't carry the emotional weight for me that it did for many others. If Kirby Puckett or Ozzie Smith were to have a similar downfall, I'd be traumatized, because I grew up watching and looking up to them. So, I was interested to try to understand what it was like to be a fan in Pete Rose's younger years - to better understand who he was before his fall from grace.

I found the breadth of the book fantastic - it covers Rose from childhood (in fact, it goes into some of his father's childhood as well) to his years as a professional player to his downfall. But, the depth of the book was too much for me - I feel it was meant for the true Pete Rose fan, whereas I would have been happy with many fewer details. I admit to skimming a few of the chapters :)