[Tracy Brown Collins]Babe Ruth (Baseball Superstars)(pdf){Zzzzz}

George Herman Ruth Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1895. A rebellious child, he was eventually sent to a reformatory boarding school where he never quite learned the discipline his parents hoped for, but he did learn something that changed his life: baseball. Later known as Babe Ruth, he became one of the most infamous, talented, influential, and iconic figures in baseball. Signed as a pitcher to the Boston Red Sox, he was then traded to the Yankees, where he ushered in one of the most thrilling eras in baseball history. Ruth was an exciting player, sending home runs over the wall to help the Yankees win four World Series. In 1927, he hit 60 home runs during the regular season, a record that stood until Roger Maris broke it in 1961. "Babe Ruth" chronicles Ruth's life from a young boy in Baltimore to an American hero, one filled at times with tragedy and chaos as well as glory.

Publisher: Chelsea House Pub (L); 1 edition (January 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0791095703
ISBN-13: 978-0791095706

Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Tracy Brown Collins received her master's degree in European cultural history from the University of Amsterdam and has more than 12 years' experience in the publishing industry. She has written and edited several nonfiction books for young adults, as well as teacher and student guides for various educational publishers. She lives in the Netherlands.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

This is an excellent biography about the Babe ~ a natural page turner!
By D. Fowler HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on May 5, 2009
Babe Ruth was one of a kind, a man difficult to deal with as a colleague, yet adored by the masses. It was even reported that a man "died from `excitement' while watching Babe Ruth at bat in 1920." He was born in Baltimore, Maryland in a neighborhood called "Pigtown," along with seven siblings, only one other, his sister Mary survived. Things weren't easy when he was a youngster. His mother died of exhaustion at the age of 39 and he was sent to St. Mary's where he learned tailoring and, best of all, learned the game of baseball from Brother Matthias.

Babe was the kind of kid who was nothing but trouble from the get-go, but his sports ability would take him far. Jack Dunn, talent scout of the Orioles signed him on to play ball and the rest is history. When he was sent to Boston he tended to be an annoying show-off and "his Red Sox teammates did not much care for him," but the man could play ball. He could whack the ball out of the park when homeruns were merely an oddity. His behavior wasn't going to change and at one point he even hit an umpire. Going, going, gone . . . he was sold to the Yankees.

Reform wasn't exactly Babe's middle name. Yankee Stadium may have been "The House That Ruth Built," but even after the Yankees won the World Series for the second time, all those promises he made to himself he "was once again drinking heavily, eating gluttonously, and spending money on extravagant amusements." Was Babe Ruth ever going to change?

This is an excellent young adult baseball biography that would even interest an adult audience. It was well researched and the smooth flow of the book held my attention, making it a natural page turner. There are numerous photographs, sidebars, statistics, tributes from fans, a chronology, timeline, an excellent glossary, a bibliography an index and further recommended reading resources and web sites. Say, do you really believe he "called shot" in the 1932 World Series?