Very well written and researched. ( )

Ted Williams was a great… and here is where the argument starts. “The Kid”, a name given Williams early in his career by an equipment manager, was a great team player, only out for himself, a horrible father, a man who loved his children, capable of great acts of humble generosity, egotistical, sexist, and the most foul mouthed son of a bitch ever to stride the earth. Far from settling any dispute, The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams by Ben Bradlee, Jr. determinedly collects every perspective and places all of them before the reader. Rather than a verdict, Bradlee seems interested only in an understanding of a great man.

I grew up in a home where the statement “I don’t care if another baseball ever crosses the sky” was expressed anytime baseball became the subject of conversation. My father’s generation had no southern team they could see play or root for, and football was the perpetual pinnacle sport, even for many in my generation. Professional baseball did not find its way south until 1966.

In 1975 I went to visit relatives in Boston, and that year the Red Sox took the Reds all the way to game 7 of the World Series before again being touched by the curse of The Babe. The remainder of the 1970’s saw the Patriots draft Stanley Morgan, Roland James, and other Tennessee Volunteers, and I adopted Boston as my favorite sports town. I was introduced to Ted Williams in the early 1980’s by John Updike’s essay on Williams final at bat. I’ve always been a sucker for mythology.

Over the years I would see him appear on David Letterman, Bob Costas, and other shows and be intrigued. The other thing that stood out to me was the reaction of real baseball fans to the mere mention of his name. Even Yankee fans respected and admired the talents of “Teddy Ballgame” and spoke of him in awe. I also learned of his service in the Marines, and not just in a uniform selling bonds, but with the stick of a plane in hand smack dab in the middle of harm’s way. There was from time to time a less than flattering image of Ted that surfaced, but those could be trimmed and discarded like a bad spot on a strawberry.

One of the reasons I so enjoyed Bradlee’s work is that regardless of Ted’s behavior, laudable or reprehensible, Ted remains great. There is nothing hidden and just about the time you are ready to hate the SOB and spit on his grave, Bradlee shows us the great compassion and generosity of his contributions of time and money to The Jimmy Fund, set up to help children with cancer. Quickly followed by a story about Ted’s verbal abuse of some woman. Bradlee was able to create a suspense similar to that found in a thriller, except the ultimate question was not who did it, but who is he.

The end of Ted Williams’ life was dominated by his less than stellar son, a man whose only accomplishment in life was being the son of Ted Williams, and whose moral compass could only point towards money. Not even the huge boom in internet pornography, a venture John Henry Williams was more than happy to try, could overcome his poor business skills.

However, there were two items that Mr. Bradlee presented repeatedly that had universal agreement. Ted Williams was an honest man, and he was the greatest hitter that ever graced a batter’s box. Even through the troubled time at the end of Ted Williams’ life, Mr. Bradlee never lets us forget that Ted Williams is “The Kid once and forever.” ( )

ARC provided by NetGalley

I was born long after Ted Williams stopped playing baseball and didn't get into baseball until after he stopped signing and doing appearances. And yet....I remember hearing his name spoken with reverence and honor. The last player to ever hit .400 in a season. The player who spent 5 years of his baseball career, during his prime playing periods, serving as a pilot for the Marines in WWII and in Korea. The player that meant more to his team, his fans, and the world as just a ball player...but as a hero. Someone that we could admire and look up to. And in this book Ben Bradlee lays out the life of The Kid and holds nothing back.

Bradlee tells a compelling story of one of baseball's all time greats. A man that was feared in the batting box til his final days and a man that was troubled in his personal life, with multiple marriages, bickering children, and a legacy that others tried to define for him. But in this book Bradlee tries to do Williams justice. He spent 10 years interviewing friends, family (including his daughters), former players, and any other primary source material he could get his hands on to share the full tale of Williams life. Even though this is a long book (over 800 pages!), Bradlee creates a compelling and well written story about Williams life. He shares the good, the bad, and the in between, so we get a full picture of who The Kid really was. And so that perhaps we might also understand that era a bit better as well.

Despite it's length, this is a biography that is perfect for any fan of Ted Williams, baseball, sports biographies, or even just someone that likes biographies. It's well written, and while long, is well worth the read. I give the book 5 out of 5 stars. ( )