A review by callieisreading
Francona: The Red Sox Years by Terry Francona

4.0

A fascinating look at the Francona years of the Boston Red Sox (2004-2011), which encompassed 2 World Series victories (including the first in 86 years) as well as the biggest collapse in baseball history in September of 2011. Many people were obviously exhaustively interviewed by Dan Shaughnessy for this book, and his many hours over many years in the clubhouse as a reporter are obvious- Shaughnessy clearly knows his way around this organization. The book is well written, though I did find it to be repetitive- I found myself often reading about a situation or a conversation, only to have it re-expained only a few pages later. I wondered if this was a newspaper thing- if people are going to be reading articles that are published days or weeks apart, then you have to go back and recap things that might have been talked about earlier... but in this case, the book is such a quick read that it was a detriment, though only a small one.

Francona is the real star here, and his quotes are funny, insightful, and honest. I felt very sympathetic towards him anyway before reading this (the way he was dissed and dismissed was, in a word, gross), and his book only makes me feel even more strongly in his corner.

Obviously this book isn't for anyone. I don't even really know how people outside of Boston would feel about it. But for Red Sox fans, it is very, very good.