Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston's Rise to Dominance by Michael Holley
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Book Reviews of Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston's Rise to Dominance
Book Review: For Insights and Brilliance, Holley Rules
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read countless books on baseball, covering everything from the 1919 Black Sox scandal to right this minute - and this book makes my top five. I found myself canceling plans to read it - and I put it away in two days and was sad to be done.
Baseball makes great fodder for writers because the sport is so inherently nuanced - and yet too often writers try too hard and overdo it, lapsing into cliche and clumsily zapping all the magic.
Not Holley. His writing is brilliantly, poetically restrained, letting the rich and riveting facts and analysis shine through. What results is a truly shaded portrayal of a truly compelling man. A digestible read that is not forgotten once the final page is turned. A book that is eminently informative - but also subtly moving.
I learned things I never knew about my favorite team, about Terry Francona, and about managing in baseball generally. But this provocative work also left me thinking about life, love, the passage of time. Just like the sport itself.
Kudos to Michael Holley, whose work I have long admired, for this satisfying addition to the canon of great sports writing.
Book Review: Red Sox dynasty building
Summary: 5 Stars
A team almost never repeats as World Series Champions. But if the Red Sox should repeat this year, this book is as good an insight into the reasons why. Terry Francona has seen his share of ill fortune, but his approach to his players and to the Red Sox brass illustrate why he got, and deserved better fortune in Boston than he had in Philadelphia. A good man, and a good story well told.Book Review: Not as Insightful as I had hoped....
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased Red Sox rule because I am a huge Red Sox fan and a huge fan of Michael Holley's work. The book definately contains the Holley trademark style, but was far less insightful then I had hoped. The book gives quite a bit of background on Terry Francona's career, but not a whole lot of insight into the Red Sox organization, or Francona's true relationship with the players, or his philosophy of management. The book does move around a lot with a chapter or two on Francona (not in chronological order, which can be a bit confusing) and then a chapter about a particular incident during the 2007 season, it might be a particular Yankees series during the season, the Gagne trade, etc.. But for the most part its a book about Terry Francona's life. Its not a bad book, I found it interesting, but its not what I expected. If you are looking for insight into the rise of the team and the organization "Feeding the Monster" is a better option. If you want to learn more about Terry Francona's life in baseball this is the book for you. Book Review: Red Sox Rule
Summary: 4 Stars
Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston's Rise to Dominance
Red Sox Rule is a well written, entertaining book about the Boston Red Sox and their rising gain of respect in baseball, culminating in two World Series victories in four years. In the forefront is the Manager, Terry Francona, and the book tells the Red Sox story through Francona's life story.
This is a baseball book that will appeal to more than baseball fans, as it is a very appealing story of a family whose business happens to be baseball.
Michael Holley is a skilled story teller, and knows how to tell a lot in succinct style. His chapter on Birdie Francona's battle with cancer will ring true for anyone who has had the illness strike his family.
For parents of children who love baseball, the book's positive storyis worthwhile, and with a minimum of strong language.
Book Review: Interesting but muddled view of the 2007 Red Sox
Summary: 3 Stars
In this book, Michael Holley writes a book that seems unclear as to what it is trying to do. Is it trying to profile the new dynasty of the Red Sox as the title suggests or is it trying to show what type of management style works best in baseball as the work suggest or is it trying to do something else? I find this book to oftentimes be muddled and confusing as to what it is trying to do exactly. I agree with a lot of the other criticism that the book lacks focus and also seems to lack a frame other then when it suites the immediate need of the story
I also find interesting that Holley managed to write this book without hardly a mention of Curt Schilling. Schilling is in there when discussing Terry Francona in Philadelphia and of course when he pitches in the playoffs, but other than that there is hardly a mention of him.
All in all I think Red Sox fans will enjoy this book but in my mind it provides very little insight into the team.
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