There has been a lot said and written about Joe Jackson by a variety of people - baseball people, baseball historians, scholars of the 1919 World Series, residents of the South (particularly South Carolina), and others. There's also been a variety of books produced about Jackson, most with his point of view or the "point of view he would have had," whatever that might have been at any point in time. It was with some skepticism that I picked up Fleitz's book and started to read, half expecting to see the same arguments that I've read before - Jackson as a victim, as the greatest player not in the Hall of Fame but for one mistake, and how he went back to South Carolina and scratched out a living (or was very successful, depending on which book you read).

Fleitz's book was a most pleasant surprise - it offers information that I haven't found anywhere else, and gives more "flesh" and substance to the person that was Joe Jackson than any previous account of his life that I had read. One point is the relationship that he had with his wife: always shown as the doting couple, Fleitz writes that this wasn't always the case. In baseball, he shows that Jackson wasn't the near-mythological player that he had been portrayed, and that he did fail at any number of clutch situations. By the same token, Jackson is also frequently mentioned as a batting role model to any number of famous players. The reactions of contemporaries thoughtout the book is also delightful feature.

A primary focus of the book is in the 1919 World Series and Jackson's role in that. Through the years Jackson has garnered significant numbers of supporters claiming that he was innocent; Fleitz offers evidence and opinions that he may not have been that innocent at all. There is also the issue of his initial acceptance of the gamblers' money. As with many people, I have my opinions of the World Series fix and Jackson's involvement. Prior to Fleitz's book, the opinion was a little fuzzier; after reading the book, it's become a little clearer. Was he innocent or guilty? Read the book and make your decision - it's well worth your time.

Great book. Separates the myth and the legend of Shoeless Joe Jackson from the "average Joe" and looks at his banishment from baseball in an honest, objective light. Author does an outstanding job of dissecting Jackson's behavior and possible motives throughout the scandal of the 1919 Black Sox.
But more importantly, more personal information about Joe is available on Joe throughout the pages of this text than any I have ever seen. This is a fantastic accomplishment as there is a lot of sappy, sentimental fluff out there about Joe Jackson and this book really made me feel as though I knew Joe, in addition to understanding what he was about.
This book is by far and away the best baseball book of the year (along with Reed Browning's Cy Young) and is amongst the best and most important baseball books ever written. If you're a serious baseball fan, you will enjoy SHOELESS!!

Baseball biographies come in all types, from boring descriptions of the player's performance in games, to tantalizing disconnected details of the player's life outside the lines, to full-fledged development of the player's life history and personality. This new book by David Fleitz falls more toward the latter. I recommend it to all baseball fans, especially ones (like me) who are fascinated by the lesser-known stars of the pre-Ruthian world.

Much of the book is devoted to Jackson's role in the Black Sox scandal, putting it into historical context and digging into the actions and motives of some of the key figures. The passages involving Charles Comiskey are especially revealing.

The road between city life and country life was much longer back then. Early baseball has many stories of the difficulties rural men faced when thrust into MLB's urban landscape. Because of his great physical skills, the illiterate Jackson is a highly compelling example of these stories. I now feel like I've met Jackson. Among the best baseball biographies I've read.

This is a great book. It is very informayive and is a helpful guide to the Jackson area. I recomend buying it if you plan to climb in Jackson.

Canadian brothers Don & Jeff Breithaupt examine the last five years of the 70's music scene in Night Moves. Just like their first 70's book, Precious & Few, each chapter is broken up to cover a certain type of music like punk, new wave & disco or examine a particular artist like Bruce Springsteen. The chapter heading lists essential songs from the subject. The brothers interject personal accounts into the stories that make for a nice touch. The book is a quick, easy and completely enjoyable read and together with Precious & Few offers a reverential and sunny look at the 70's.

Last September I painted a mural of "Shoeless " Joe Jackson in his home town---Greenville, South Carolina. His name meant nothing to me until I went to the library to do research for the painting. There I discovered I might be the only person in the world who was unaware of "Shoeless."

Never interested in sports, I thought I was reading about the legendary hero only to acquaint myself with the visual particulars of the man and the game of baseball in the early 1900's. Before I finished the first book I was hooked----not by the sport, but by the deeply moving life story of Joe himself.

Further research led me to read Joe Thompson's GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, The Greatest Natural Player In Baseball History. Here was an account, written in the personal first person that makes one feel the intimacy of a hometown boy's acquaintance, and love for the subject. There was no turning back then. I became an ardent fan of "Shoeless" Joe.

Thompson has written in the voice of the South Carolina native he is. Unpretentiously he tells, not only the history of Jackson's baseball career, but of the man as a child of impoverished mill worker parents. He speaks of a small boy who was never sent to school, and who was sweeping the floors of Brandon Mill when only seven years old. He makes you hear the taunts "Shoeless" endured because he never learned to read or write. He makes you proud of the little mill kid who, in spite of everything, made it to the major leagues. And he makes you weep for the wretched debacle which cost an innocent "Shoeless" his brilliant career.

In 1996 the Brandon Mill Baseball Field in West Greenville was finally named for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Thompson's vivid fury that publicity and general media coverage was as lackluster as the bitterly cold day of the dedication, fairly sizzles on the pages of his book.

Thompson's infectious outrage that "Shoeless" has been slighted by his own hometown has persuaded me to become involved in the renewal of the once thriving business district of the mill village. Many more murals depicting "Shoeless'" career, and the textile history of the area, are on the drawing boards.

Buddy Hunt, who commissioned the original mural, is opening a coffee shop, Cuppa Joe, so fans will have a place to stop and chat when visiting. Hunt owns a number of large empty buildings across the street from where "Shoeless" Joe owned a liquor store. His hope is to attract investors, restaurateurs and shop keepers---all with sports, or related themes---to the long neglected area.

I have met the author of GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, and am proud that he not only approves of the renewal project, but is helping to bring it about.

Whether or not you are a sports fan, this book will tug at your heartstrings, for it is a rich and poignant history written by a hometown boy who tells it like it is.

Polly Hunt Neal

Last September I painted a mural of "Shoeless " Joe Jackson in his home town---Greenville, South Carolina. His name meant nothing to me until I went to the library to do research for the painting. There I discovered I might be the only person in the world who was unaware of "Shoeless."

Never interested in sports, I thought I was reading about the legendary hero only to acquaint myself with the visual particulars of the man and the game of baseball in the early 1900's. Before I finished the first book I was hooked----not by the sport, but by the deeply moving life story of Joe himself.

Further research led me to read Joe Thompson's GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, The Greatest Natural Player In Baseball History. Here was an account, written in the personal first person that makes one feel the intimacy of a hometown boy's acquaintance, and love for the subject. There was no turning back then. I became an ardent fan of "Shoeless" Joe.

Thompson has written in the voice of the South Carolina native he is. Unpretentiously he tells, not only the history of Jackson's baseball career, but of the man as a child of impoverished mill worker parents. He speaks of a small boy who was never sent to school, and who was sweeping the floors of Brandon Mill when only seven years old. He makes you hear the taunts "Shoeless" endured because he never learned to read or write. He makes you proud of the little mill kid who, in spite of everything, made it to the major leagues. And he makes you weep for the wretched debacle which cost an innocent "Shoeless" his brilliant career.

In 1996 the Brandon Mill Baseball Field in West Greenville was finally named for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Thompson's vivid fury that publicity and general media coverage was as lackluster as the bitterly cold day of the dedication, fairly sizzles on the pages of his book.

Thompson's infectious outrage that "Shoeless" has been slighted by his own hometown has persuaded me to become involved in the renewal of the once thriving business district of the mill village. Many more murals depicting "Shoeless'" career, and the textile history of the area, are on the drawing boards.

Buddy Hunt, who commissioned the original mural, is opening a coffee shop, Cuppa Joe, so fans will have a place to stop and chat when visiting. Hunt owns a number of large empty buildings across the street from where "Shoeless" Joe owned a liquor store. His hope is to attract investors, restaurateurs and shop keepers---all with sports, or related themes---to the long neglected area.

I have met the author of GROWING UP WITH "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON, and am proud that he not only approves of the renewal project, but is helping to bring it about.

Whether or not you are a sports fan, this book will tug at your heartstrings, for it is a rich and poignant history written by a hometown boy who tells it like it is.

Polly Hunt Neal

In baseball there are some memorable moments, Carlton Fisk hitting the game winning home run in the 1975 World Series for example. In baseball there are also some darker moments, The Black Sox Scandal is probably the most notable of these.

In the book Growing Up with Shoeless Joe, author Joe Thompson takes you inside baseball's past and gives you a first rate look at the Greatest Natural Hitter baseball has ever seen. Thompson's book is the first I have ever read that is more than the typical slander on Joe Jackson.

Thompson takes a look into the man, more than the ball player, and allows you to see a side of Jackson never before revealed. What Thompson gives the reader is by far the best accounting of a true hero in the game of baseball.

This book is so much more than a story about a World Series in 1919; it's so much more than a story about baseball. This book is about the man Joe Jackson and the side of him most of us have never seen. I am extremely proud to be allowed to review this book

What a wonderful book! In addition to being a terrifically exciting story, Jackson, the author, vividly creates a sense of time and place. One is transported to America at the turn of the century - a period of transition and change in which Frank Grigware, the protagonist, is innocently and irreparably caught. This book succeeds on every level. Outstanding!

I picked this book up on a whim and once started I couldn't put it down. It is a great true story of the real old west. Young men seeking adventure, train robbers, unjust imprisonmemnt, daring escapes and more. You should really give this one a try!

In 1906, the twenty year old Frank Grigware announced to his family that he was going to see the world. They had been living in eastern Washington for years, and he wanted to see more of the West than Spokane. His mother understood completely; it is not an uncommon occurrence for a young man to want to roam before settling down to respectable ways. He hooked up with his best friend Frank Golden, and they figured they would do some prospecting in northern Idaho. A tough life loomed, but Grigware had no idea that he would as a result be accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit, incarcerated in the toughest prison in existence, escape from the prison, and remain on the lam from his country for the rest of his life. The astonishing story of Grigware's life is told in _Leavenworth Train: A Fugitive's Search for Justice in the Vanishing West_ (Carroll & Graf) by Joe Jackson, who shows that Grigware was guilty of nothing but naïveté when he associated with train robbers. He was, however, found as guilty as the rest of them, and a quick decision gave all the defendants life imprisonment, at Leavenworth, the first US federal penitentiary.

It was only six months into his sentence that Grigware, who the prisoners could tell was not really one of them, was let in on an escape by four other prisoners. Using the classic ploy of threatening with guns skillfully crafted of wood from one of the shops and blackened with shoe polish, they hijacked a train that regularly supplied the prison. Grigware was the only one not captured quickly, and for the next 24 years was one of America's most wanted men. The trail was long cold, even after President Woodrow Wilson commuted the sentence of the other robbers because the evidence in the case was so lacking. The FBI refused to back down, and it spied on members of Grigware's family, which was sadly fractured by his escape. Grigware in sorrow knew he could communicate with none of them, but set up a respectable life in Canada, becoming a Canadian citizen and a well-liked member of the community of Jasper, Alberta. He was not found until 1934, and what happened afterwards is of great charm. There was a groundswell of Canadian public opinion against any sort of extradition; even the game warden circulated a petition. The mild Grigware had made many friends, and he was the sort of reliable citizen Canadians wanted. Grigware's wife (who had not known of his past), when the press reported her simple statement, "Nothing will ever break up our home," made up the minds of any Canadians that had doubts on the issue. It became an international incident, and a clash of redemptive versus retributive justice.

Grigware was reunited with his family, which had long thought him dead; the meeting with his aging mother could not have been sweeter. But he could not return with her to the US, nor return for her funeral. President Roosevelt waived extradition, but no pardon was ever issued, so if he ever came back to the US, he could land right in Leavenworth again. That result would seem preposterous as the decades went by, but in 1957, J. Edgar Hoover was still sending out directives that insisted that agents monitor Grigware's relatives in case he were to show up. Every FBI memo issued about him screamed that HE WOULD KILL OR BE KILLED RATHER THAN BE RECAPTURED, a rumor that had arisen in 1911 and which still headlined Hoover's directives about Grigware, who was then seventy-one years old. This exciting and frustrating story, crammed with period detail, reminds us that courts are not always right and that as much justice as was available in this case came from the hearts of ordinary women and men.

I got this book on easter and knew from the start that it was going to be good. If you like adventurous, mysterious, exiting, and sports like books read Shoeless Joe and me. Best of all it's aseries so if you like it you can keep on going!

This great science-fiction novel is a real thriller to any reader. It captures you in the timeless adventure of the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. Joe Stoshack is just an ordinary kid, until he realizes that he has an amazing power -- the ability to travel through time! His ticket to the past, a simple baseball card from the year he wishes to travel. Joe Jackson and the Chicago White Sox look to be big favorites to win the World Series against Cincinnati, but a few gamblers have different plans. The gamblers "fix" the World Series. Which results in Joe Jackson (and seven other players) being banned from baseball for being connected with the "fix". When Joe Stoshack learns of Shoeless Joe's innocence, he decides to go back in time and try to save the all-star. Will his plan work, and change the fate of Shoeless Joe, or will history remain as it is today? Read this great book to find out what happens.

It was a excellent book! I will read it many more times.

I might as well have read the back of a baseball card as have read the book, for all the insight into Jackson's personality it gave me. This book simply read like an extended sports column; I suppose that is all well and good if sports columns are all you ever read, but I expect more from a biography than a collection of blow-by-blow accounts of the games Jackson played in. The man, after all, spent 13 of his 62 years playing in the big leagues. There is scant discussion of his later years. Does Frommer suppose that the reader is not interested in how Jackson came to terms with his status as a disgraced former big-league ballplayer? One is left with the impression that Frommer did not even attempt to scratch the surface when dealing with Jackson's later years.

Couple this with Frommer's clumsy writing style, lack of citations, and bizarre style of quotation, and one is left with a book that was not worth the time spent reading it. I was left with no greater insight into Jackson the man than before I first picked up the book.

"A tremendous account. . . I must refer anyone who has any interest in the Black Sox Scandal to Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball. There is a shiny gold sticker on the jacket of Frommer's book, by the way, announcing that it contains "Never before published -- Joe Jackson's complete Grand Jury Testimony." . . .The testimony is worth reading. Frommer quotes Joe Jackson: "I never said anything about it [the plot to throw the Series] until the night before the Series started. I went to see Mr Comiskey and begged him to take me out of the lineup .... If there was something going on I knew the bench was the safest place, but he wouldn't listen to me...." I would love to fill about ten pages with excerpts from Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball, but will not. Get the book. It's a fascinating and fast read.

"He was the greatest ball player ever from South Carolina. His lifetime batting average was .356, topped only by Ty Cobb and Rogers Honrsby.But Shoeless Joe had to leave the game in disgrace, one of the members of the "Black Sox" accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. Author Frommer argues that Jackson got a raw deal and deserves reinstatement and enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. Frommer's book is something of a biography and partly the story of baseball in the first two decades of this century. He sees Jackson as symbolizing the game's more innocent era, and he calls Jackson a 'folk hero, the representative of a collective nostalgic yearning for an agrarian past.'"

This is the third in the Mickey Rawlings series ("Murder at Fenway Park" and "Murder at Ebbetts Field" precede it). Rawlings, a utility infielder who gets traded more often than baseball cards, again finds himself nearby when a murder is committed. This time it is a fellow Cubs teammate, Willy Kaiser. Willy is Rawlings' friend and he vows to track down the killer. Could it be: 1. A player Willy displaced at shortstop, out to get revenge? 2. Another baseball club owner out to destroy the Cubs? 3. Any one of the many citizens whipped into a frenzy by the anti-war propoganda being spread around the US? The plot gets pretty thick as Mickey teams up with his old newspaper buddy, Landfors, to try to sort out fact from fiction. There are many colorful characters we meet on the way including ballplayers, owners, factory workers, German immigrants, businessmen, and members of an anti-war organization. Mickey is in only slightly less danger than in the earlier books. The real danger seems to be that he'll be cut from the team and forced to travel to Europe to fight for his country. Although I'm not a scholar of the period (1918), the descriptions seem to be accurate enough and some of the characters are not fictional (though their actions are) in order to end more realism to the work.

In 1918 Mickey Rawlings, no longer a rookie, plays for the Chicago Cubs in the midst of America's anti-German hysteria during the hot days of World War I. His buddy, rookie Willie Kaiser, tormented by fans and teammates, becomes moody and morose and Mickey worries about him. Meanwhile someone begins a campaign of harassment against the team. He releases smoke bombs, saws bleacher seats so they collapse, and puts pretzels at all concessions stands so the team is vilified in the press for being pro-German. To cap it all off, someone reduces Mickey to cold showers by stealing his hot water heater.

When Charles Weeghmann, builder of the field and President of the Cubs, suspects William Wrigley is the saboteur because he wants to take over the tea, he asks Mickey to investigate. Then, in the midst of the on-field 4th of July celebration, Willie Kaiser dies of a gunshot wound.

If Soos intends to portray the tenor of the times as well as to present a Q story as intriguing as Bobby Thompson's home run, and a character as irresistible as a beer and hot dog (and I'm sure he does),I'd say he's batting at least .450.

The appealing and resourceful Mickey probes at the very source of America's neuroses at a time when the music of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven is banned, the director of the Boston Symphony jailed for playing German music, German-Americans are being lynched, and even innocent Dachshunds and German shepherds neglected or killed. But the world will right itself again, and even professional baseball survives the turmoil.

Soos's characters are fully developed and intriguing. His portrait of an earlier America in the throes of war hysteria says a lot to us today. We can take the warning to heart. There are no lectures here, though, just a rousing good tale.

Mr. Soos does a very good job with the plot by not trying to cram too much into the book. Youc an follow the plot lines yet still be surprised at how it turns out. A little light on the baseball part but it doesn't hurt the book at all.

I was on original fan long ago, but approached Joe Jackson's memoirs with trepidation. There is a rock bio genre, and it is not a style known for insight or wit. Frank Zappa once described the rock memoir analogue, rock journalism, as people who can't write, interviewing people who can't speak, for the benefit of people who can't read.

But I quickly got over my initial resistance because the book has such an honest feel to it. And you know what? It's simply a great read how David Jackson came up from the most shabby depths of the provincial English working class to ride the crest of New Wave as an avatar of in-your-face cool. Only a special person with no family encouragement could have gone from basic poverty through an industrial secondary school to the Royal Academy of Music on a composition scholarship. You can't help but root for this asthmatic loser as he climbs up the ladder.

The Musician as a Young Man.

If you've read the reviews thus far, you can see this book has been well received by all for it's humor, intimacy, honesty, and that fact that it's a very well written book, obviously written entirely by Joe himself. I couldn't agree more!

I would disagree with the only two negative comments I've read thus far. First, the apparent claim that Joe is being pretentious ... "The latter trait [being pretentious] is evidenced early in A Cure for Gravity, and often slows down the flow of the book, as Jackson eschews the linear autobiographical route for sometimes lengthy digressions into a form of music criticism..."

On the contrary, as Joe says himself, the book is as much or more about music and his relationship with music than simply a factual account of his life. I, for one, am as interested in this information as I am a simple blow-by-blow account of the events of his life. And as a writing style, I enjoy an occasional digression or "flash forward" which provide context and enhance points the author is trying to make.

Secondly, as for the comment that Joe "hates... Brian Eno", I suggest the reviewer reread the passage in which Joe disagrees with a single statement of Brian Eno's and makes a point of saying that there are certainly some things Brian Eno could be commended for.

What I enjoyed most about the book is getting to know much more about Joe Jackson, the person, than anything else I've ever read since it's his words, not the interpretation or opinion of others. It has answered many questions I've always had about the man, besides being good fun to read. If you think you like Joe Jackson, the man, you'll love this book!

This was a very interesting book both in terms of its content and in the approach that Joe Jackson chose to write it. At first, one may suspect that this would be another story of his successful music career as he rode through the fame and glitter. I was somewhat surprised and delighted that he avoided this all-too-predictable approach. We really don't need him to explain what we, as fans, already know. This is the story of the man named David Jackson and his experiences that shaped his persona into becoming the pop star Joe Jackson that we all later came to know him as. His story is very interesting because of the interesting perspectives through which he viewed his environment; the world of music; his peers; and the deeper meanings of life that come with the wisdom of a slightly older age. As a long time Joe Jackson fan, I was always interested in how he was able to take the different approaches to music that he did. Aside from the first two releases by the Joe Jackson Band, he never did the same thing twice. As he mentioned toward the end of the book: "I was at a crossroads. Where did I want to go? Did I want to continue doing the same thing and become a Pop cartoon character or, instead, grow up in the public eye?" The answer is obvious. I've always respected Joe Jackson as a very talented and entertaining performer. When I finished reading this fascinating story, I came to see that David Jackson is also a thoughtful and intelligent human being.

Mnay biographies focus on human interest rather than factual information. This is not one of those. This book is meticulously researched and presents all the facts Mr. Gropman came across. The reader can make his or her own conclusion based on the facts the author presents, but the facts will probably lead the reader to conclude that Joe Jackson was not involved in the Black Sox scandal that nearly ruined baseball.

Mr. Gropman clearly demonstrates what many authors are unable to do: the ability to present an opinion based on fact, rather than speculation. I was impressed with this book because it provided me with much information on Joe Jackson's life, particularly on whether he was or wasn't involved in the scandal. The facts lead to the conclusion, not the other way around, and I like that. Baseball fans interested in the history of the game should read this book. They will enjoy it.

I loved this book! Joe Jackson should be in the hall of fame! After reading this book and all the insights to his life, I have become a huge fan of Shoeless Joe. This book will tell you all about his involment with the "Black Sox". Like how he tried to tell Comiskey about the scandle before the 1919 series. And, how he also tried to give the money to Comiskey before the news hit the papers. If you want to know about one of the best players you need to read this book. By the way it was a life time band from baseball....his life ended in December 1951.

The book sheds tremendous light on shoeless joe jackson and his era. the book gives deeper insight into the black sox scandal of 1919.Jack M. Purvin,M.D.