Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life [Rauer Buchschnitt] [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

According to Cramer, DiMaggio was unapproachable to anyone who could not (one way or another) feed his ego, increase his wealth, enhance his lifestyle, or protect his carefully crafted self-image. Throughout most of his life, DiMaggio seemed to ask "What's in it for me?" He not only craved but indeed required treatment normally reserved for heads of state. According to Cramer, he had very few close personal relationships (none with family members) and these were sustained only when in full compliance with the terms and conditions he established. DiMaggio trusted very few people, suspecting that anyone who tried to approach him had ulterior, self-serving motives. There is an old saying about "knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing." DiMaggio knew both.

One critic has suggested that Cramer is "hostile" to DiMaggio. Another critic has described this book as a "hatchet job." Cramer indicates no doubt about DiMaggio's greatness as a baseball player. That was one game he played superbly. Cramer also seems to have no doubt about another game DiMaggio played in his private life and in his post-baseball career. This second game also had very strict rules set by DiMaggio, rules with which he insisted that everyone else comply. Re Cramer's attitude toward this DiMaggio, I am reminded of Harry Truman who once observed "I just tell them the truth and they think it's hell." After reading this book, you may conclude that Cramer is "hostile", that he has done a "hatchet job" on the Yankee Clipper. Or perhaps you will agree with me that Cramer has accumulated as much information as he could and then portrayed DiMaggio as fully and as honestly as he could.

My guess (only a guess) is that Cramer's DiMaggio would not have objected to this biography if he received at least half (but preferably all) of the royalties from copies sold. No matter what Cramer or anyone else may say about DiMaggio's human imperfections (eg greed and vanity), he played the game of baseball with skills, style, and grace which -- like his 56-game hitting streak -- may never be surpassed.

This book is a long history of why he still had it. It's also a history that makes DiMaggio more human. Like all histories, great men have shadow sides that the public learns about after their deaths. DiMaggio is no different.

Many reviewers have opined that Mr. Cramer has tarnished DiMaggio's image, but I think the opposite is true. Cramer has written of a private introverted man who was heartbroken by Marilyn Monroe and never recovered. DiMaggio wanted the security to remain a private man and for that he relied on making money. No shame to make money from one's own name, when one's life achievements make that name so valuable. It's also true that DiMaggio would be fickle with friends. His need for privacy sometimes drove friends away, but that was his right. He might not have been an easy person to know, but that makes him no less heroic to the public at large. He was a model citizen that went to war when his country called. He stayed out of jail, which isn't always an easy proposition for today's athletes. I like DiMaggio even more, now that I have read this well-written biography. I wish MLB was full of guys with his class.

My only disapointment is the missing years from the mid 1960's to the late 80's. Surely Cramer could have given us a perspective on these years. He goes from Joe, the vital recently retired Dimaggio to Joe a cranky, bitter old man. What caused the great clipper to be such a pitiful character at the end?

Dimaggio fans should not attack Mr. Cramer for going beyond the baseball Joe. So what if Joe had flaws in his personal life. On the field he was everything his legend says he was and Cramer supports that. He has countless anectdotes on Dimaggios playing with pain because the team needed him. Does Dimaggio deserve to have only the hero worship biography. As an historian Mr. Cramer does his job in pointing out the flaws of Dimaggio. Fans of Joe do not like the flaws of selfishness, vanity, and temper ex[osed by Mr Cramer. That may be the harsh reality but should not diminish the respect Dimaggio deserves; a great player, a quiet leader for his teammates, and a man who earned his pay.