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Superman Store - Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman
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List Price: $22.95
Our Price: $1.49
Your Save: $ 21.46 ( 94% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sports Publishing LLC
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
EAN: 9781582614885
ISBN: 1582614881
Label: Sports Publishing LLC
Manufacturer: Sports Publishing LLC
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 280
Publication Date: 2002-04-01
Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC
Studio: Sports Publishing LLC
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ON BONDS
Comment: There have been many books written about Barry Bonds, but this is the very best of them all. The author has written a concise, authoritative review of the controversial, Shakespearean life of the enigmatic superstar. This book was nominated for a Casey Award for Best Baseball Book of 2002, and well deserved the honor. They should make a movie out of it, too. Steve Travers rode along with Bonds as a sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner when Barry broke the all-time home run record with 73 in 2001, and it reads like a guy who was along with MacArthur during World War II, or hanging with John Glenn and Alan Shepard during the Space Race. History drips page after glorious page. This is a fabulous book. Steve Travers is "baseball's superstar writer."
Customer Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Comment: This one is interesting to read now that we know more about Bonds. It holds up well and is very well written. I loved it!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: NOT what I expected
Comment: I am one of the few Barry Bonds fans around, so when I decided to find a book on him, I was disappointed to find that there were surprisingly few. Noticing that "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman" was purported to be in-depth, not just another glossy biography and had good reviews on Amazon.com, I decided to make the purchase. Now, after reading it and piecing a few things together, I must say that I am thoroughly let-down. A few observations:
1) The cover and title are cheesy. I know that the book's author may not have had any say in this, but using "Baseball's Superman" as a title makes it sound like a cover story for Sports Illustrated for Kids.
2) The book is not written well. It is very choppy and author Steven Travers has a tendency to ramble off-topic for pages on end.
3) Not that I'm some avatar of morality, but what's the deal with all the sexual references? [...]
4) There are contradictions sprinkled throughout the book. For instance, on page 36, Travers quotes Bonds as saying: "My father and I were never really close when I was growing up." Then, just five pages later, he quotes Bonds as saying: "My father and I have always been very close." Sure, Bonds is the one contradicting himself, but Travers never points this out, just one example of the multiple occasions where I almost laughed out loud at the book's inconsistencies.
5) How many times are we to hear that Travers played pro ball? Big deal, you struck out 15 guys in a minor league game. There are minor-leaguers who have hit 60 homers, thrown perfect games, etc. and they are nobodies. I do not mean this as a slight, just a point that we do not need to hear incessantly about things such as "Stan Javier played with me" or how you sat in Randy Johnson's recliner, or how an interview subject calls you "Trav." The book is about Barry Bonds, not Steven Travers.
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The bottom line is that Travers squandered a golden opportunity. Rolling the dice early in 2001 that Bonds would break the home run record, getting permission to do a book, and then seeing him acutally do it is akin to hitting the lottery for a sports journalist. Unfortunately, the finished product seems hastily thrown together, poorly edited, and foolishly out-of-bounds in many areas. Too often we hear about sexual hijinks that have nothing to do with Bonds, and we also get Travers's opinions on a multitude of subjects that I don't care to know his thoughts on. The fact that I'd never even heard of this book should have been enough of a red flag, but it wasn't, and therefore I got what I deserved. This book isn't terrible, but it also is not good, and therefore I would not recommend it. Fans of Barry Bonds should just wait until a comprehensive biography comes out on him when his playing days are over.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Steven Travers writes with a unique insight
Comment: With the multitude of books written regarding the sport of baseball, Steven Travers writes with a unique insight into not only the sport, but the day to day lives of Bonds and his peers. As a former professional baseball player, Travers touches on the subject matter with a unique insight and perspective. Additionally, Travers attended and graduated from USC during the time Bonds played at Arizona State (Pac-10). As such, Travers is not only a writer, but a fan. Travers not only documents Bond's achievement of becoming baseball's all-time single season homerun champion, but he touches on Bond's trials and tribulations with his peers and the media. Ultimately, the reader soon realizes that Travers was able to do what many has tried and failed at; that is, he was able to garner the respect and support of Bonds in the ability to tell his amazing story to the whole world. As a former Pac-10 pitcher at USC who battled Bonds on many occasions, I found Traver's insight very refreshing and commendable. I found the book a very easy read that kept me entertained throughout.
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Summary: Steven Travers on Barry Bonds
Comment: I have lived overseas for many years but was an avid Giants fan in the 60's & 70's. Steven Travers' book on Barry Bonds was a welcome gift. I had read various news articles about the "controversial" Bonds and feel that Travers' book puts things right. I especially enjoyed the insights into the life styles of high powered sports figures. The build-up to Bonds' record setting home run season was handled in an excellent manner. This book is a great read for any baseball fan.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman is the biography of the game's first four-time Most Valuable Player. In 2001, Bonds broke the greatest record in sports -- the all-time single season home run record held over the years by Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Mark McGwire -- and, arguably, had the greatest season in baseball history. There is no doubt that for most fans Barry Bonds is a man of mystery. A misunderstood superstar who has long engaged in a running feud with the media, Bonds broke new ground this past season, maturing into an elder statesman of baseball. Long considered the game's best player, Bonds' ascension to greatness has taken him into truly rarefied air. Now a free-agent, he will sign a blockbuster deal before the 2002 season. Whether he's dressed in his familiar Giants uniform or that of another baseball power, Bonds will continue to receive front-page treatment for the balance of his career. The greatest athlete in the world right now, he embarks on milestones -- 3,000 career hits, 755 homers, a World Championship -- that may elevate him to the title Greatest Baseball Player of All Time. Author Steven Travers' book documents the superstar's 2001 campaign as Bonds defied the very bounds of conventional logic and perfected the art of long-ball hitting. Travers also describes Bonds' childhood in Riverside, California, the hometown of his father, Bobby; his successful high school career in the Bay Area, and his All-American career at Arizona State. It will be a book that delves into the intensely private, proud mind and ego of a man who understands baseball history and his place in it.
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