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kelliebeaupre's review against another edition
4.0
This is an awesome insight into baseball operations and how people act towards one another. At times I had to stop reading because I was in such hate with the ownership. I had to remind myself this is one side of the story, but a juicy one.
llysenw's review against another edition
2.0
Yikes, where to begin? I should have read the reviews first although I doubt it would have made a difference. I expected this to be a book written by Francona with Shaughnessy as a ghost writer or "by Francona with Shaughnessy" but it's not. It's a book written by Dan Shaughnessy from interviews with Francona. I had that suspicion almost right away. I mean, who writes an autobiography in the third person or refers to himself as "the manager"? Then the acknowledgement at the end pretty much confirmed it.
I cannot stand Shaughnessy's writing. I never could. There's a reason he has a nickname of "shank" and it's no mystery how there exists automated software that can write a Shaughnessy column. If you want to know what hack writing looks like, just pick up a Globe and read a Shaughnessy column. It reads as if written by someone trying to mimic what a old-timey meatball sports beat stereotype might writes like. With cigars and whiskey.
I can only imagine that Francona is listed as an author because athletes and others important to the story loathed Shaughnessy and liked Francona and would only cooperate if Francona asked them to and Francona was probably a damn good negotiator and without author credit, the book would not have been made.
That said...
There's not a lot new here. There is some background material I didn't know about and the story of Francona's younger life was interesting. I didn't, for example, know just how bad his health was, and it made some of what happened make more sense. It also does a reasonable job of getting across just how hard the feelings are all the way around, not just between Francona and ownership, but between all the players, owners, media and everybody else.
As a Red Sox fan, it's worth reading. You might come away with a slightly different perspective, but probably not. Anyone who has been watching the way ownership has been acting over the last 10 years or so really can't come away feeling any more dislike of John "Pink Hat" Henry and the rest than they already do. Some of it seems self-serving, but that's to be expected in any "autobiography", I suppose, but it doesn't come a surprise or change any opinions.
Terry Francona will always be loved by this town and there's nothing Sox ownership can do to destroy that, no matter how hard they try.
I cannot stand Shaughnessy's writing. I never could. There's a reason he has a nickname of "shank" and it's no mystery how there exists automated software that can write a Shaughnessy column. If you want to know what hack writing looks like, just pick up a Globe and read a Shaughnessy column. It reads as if written by someone trying to mimic what a old-timey meatball sports beat stereotype might writes like. With cigars and whiskey.
I can only imagine that Francona is listed as an author because athletes and others important to the story loathed Shaughnessy and liked Francona and would only cooperate if Francona asked them to and Francona was probably a damn good negotiator and without author credit, the book would not have been made.
That said...
There's not a lot new here. There is some background material I didn't know about and the story of Francona's younger life was interesting. I didn't, for example, know just how bad his health was, and it made some of what happened make more sense. It also does a reasonable job of getting across just how hard the feelings are all the way around, not just between Francona and ownership, but between all the players, owners, media and everybody else.
As a Red Sox fan, it's worth reading. You might come away with a slightly different perspective, but probably not. Anyone who has been watching the way ownership has been acting over the last 10 years or so really can't come away feeling any more dislike of John "Pink Hat" Henry and the rest than they already do. Some of it seems self-serving, but that's to be expected in any "autobiography", I suppose, but it doesn't come a surprise or change any opinions.
Terry Francona will always be loved by this town and there's nothing Sox ownership can do to destroy that, no matter how hard they try.
andiabcs's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting read on Terry Francona's life as a manager for the Red Sox. I didn't like Shaughnessy putting his two cents in a lot of the time, but it was interesting to see how close Tito was to certain players and Theo. it was a little long though and wordy. I didn't need brief bios of everyone mentioned. All in all a fascinating read a Red Sox fan will enjoy.
theartolater's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very generous three stars, as it's merely an extended recap of the Red Sox under manager Terry Francona over the previous eight years. It's similar to Joe Torre's book The Yankee Years in that it's less about Francona and more about the writer (in this case, Dan Shaugnessy) interspersing years of game stories and sports reporting with Francona's commentary.
As it's Dan Shaugnessy, you know what you're getting coming in. If you're a local Boston reader, Shaugnessy's writing style and themes are pretty obvious throughout, and you're forced to wonder if the otherwise-diplomatic Francona was okay with some of the spin here and there.
Otherwise, though, in a market that's been inundated with Red Sox books since the 2004 World Series win, this is a surprisingly inessential entry. Lacking significant insight and providing little more than a cursory look at the inner workings of the Red Sox, the book is really only worthwhile to the casual Sox watcher or someone who hasn't spent much time with the team on a whole.
As it's Dan Shaugnessy, you know what you're getting coming in. If you're a local Boston reader, Shaugnessy's writing style and themes are pretty obvious throughout, and you're forced to wonder if the otherwise-diplomatic Francona was okay with some of the spin here and there.
Otherwise, though, in a market that's been inundated with Red Sox books since the 2004 World Series win, this is a surprisingly inessential entry. Lacking significant insight and providing little more than a cursory look at the inner workings of the Red Sox, the book is really only worthwhile to the casual Sox watcher or someone who hasn't spent much time with the team on a whole.
djdrysdale's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know what I actually expected out of this. I'm a Red Sox fan and was a big supporter of Francona, and was disgusted by the way he was unceremoniously ousted after his tenure in Boston. I guess I hoped that this book would add some depth and context to what happened. Instead, the book was, well, pretty boring. It doesn't help that Shaughnessy's simply not a very good writer (and he quite obviously wrote this, though it is interspersed with passages of dialogue from Francona). But for the most part, it's a lot of standard summary of the last few years of Red Sox baseball, the likes of which you've probably read in many other places (or lived through) if you've followed the team. The book does suggest that the seeds of what transpired between Francona, Epstein, and the ownership at the end of 2011 were planted a bit longer ago than some might have believed, but beyond that there's not much in this book to make it worth the time and effort it took to read it. Even when things start to get interesting, there's nothing all that too salacious though one gets the impression Shaughnessy wishes it were. Overall, very underwhelming.
ivybeans's review against another edition
5.0
This is not just by Francona. There are many voices in this well researched book. From owners to players you get many sides to the stories which shows that things are often not exactly what they seem. It also shows how egos drive these highly competitive men for better and worse. The ending was particularly telling in how damaged egos can destroy long relationships. As in every aspect of business people protect their own butt at all costs.
miba67's review against another edition
4.0
Easy read and good pace to the book. I despise Larry Luccino even more than before.
amydrichard's review against another edition
5.0
Nothing I like more than understanding the Sox better. What even makes it more exciting is Tito's backstory!! Very good book!!!!
mark_railsback's review against another edition
4.0
Thought I was reading a Terry Francona book. Turns out I was reading a Dan Shaughnessy book with quotes from Terry Francona along the way. Read like a sequel to 2007's Feeding the Monster - with 2012 being the inevitable result of that Monster. Haven't read the Torre Years, but I bet this book just imitates that (likely) better work. That being said - this was a pretty good read as backdrop to the Sox winning the 2013 World Series. :)