Author:Steven Travers
Title: The Last Icon: Tom Seaver and His Times
Publication Info: Lanham, Md : Taylor Trade, 2011.
ISBN: 9781589796607
Summary/Review: I received a free advance review copy of this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program. The biography of the great Mets pitcher and Hall of Fame baseball star is generally a hagiography from the title to the conclusion. Not that I would prefer a hatchet job but depicting Seaver as near-superhuman does him no favors in my opinion. Also, Travers and Seaver share the same alma mater of USC and Travers doesn’t miss any opportunity to mention it. I did learn some interesting things about Seaver such as the fact that he was a late bloomer and didn’t become a great pitcher until his college years. There are also some interesting details of his Mets years and relationships with coaches and players. The diehard Mets or baseball fan may want to read this book but otherwise I think the great Seaver biography remains to be written.
Recommended books: Gil Hodges: The Quiet Man by Marino Amoruso, The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry and the Boys of Crenshaw by Michael Sokolove and If at First: A Season With the Mets by Keith Hernandez.
Rating: **