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Nov 02, 2007

Bill rated it:

Kansas City sports writer follows Negro Leagues legend, Buck O'Neil, for a year across the country. It's a fabulous, bittersweet biography of sorts of O'Neil and the League itself. The bitterness comes from the reader as you read all the hardships and slights that black players endured to simply play the game. However, O'Neil is nothing but a gut-bucket Zen philosopher throughout the entire journey. So, while parts of it will definitely anger you, O'Neil's spirit is nothing short of awe-inspirin More...

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Mar 30, 2009

Sam rated it:

I bought this book a while ago. I really enjoy Posnanski's blog but I hadn't gotten around to reading the book. Well, I had kept it at work and was working late on an upgrade with some time to kill in the middle and it captured me so I had to read the whole thing pretty quickly.
The book is really just Joe following Buck O'Neil around for a while before Buck's death. But in the course of this he paints a wonderful picture of Buck O'Neil and what a good attitude he had despite what he w More...

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Aug 11, 2010

Jason rated it:

I've been following Joe Posnanski's writing for some time now. I read most of his blog posts—golf and LeBron posts excepted—and try to hunt down his long form articles. His recent one on Musial in SI was great. There a lot's of reasons for why he's one of the very few sports writers I make an effort to read all of their work. Some of it is an affinity I hold for fellow Missourian (Pos wrote for the KC Star for a long time), and a reverence I hold to professional Royals fans, something that requi More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Josh rated it:

This is a lovely and lyrical journey through the life of the late Buck O'Neil, one of the legendary Men of Baseball. It just feels right to sum up Buck O'Neil that way; he wasn't just a player or a manager (though he was terrific at both. He was more than just a great scout and coach. He's more than just a legendary storyteller and promoter of the game. He's all of these things and more, and you get a great sense of that in Posnanski's book.

This book is really just a snapshot of the li More...

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Dec 02, 2011

Josh rated it:

There is very little impartiality going into my thoughts on this book, as Posnanski is probably my favorite sports writer, and his blog was the first to be entered into the links section here.

That being said, this book was great. It was an incredibly fast read dedicated to a great man, whose efforts to spread the word about the colorful history of Negro League Baseball and his crowning achievement--the Negro League Hall of Fame--drove him to the end. As much as his efforts to keep the More...

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Mar 21, 2011

Sherie rated it:

When I was growing up, major league baseball was my game. I knew little of the history of the game and cared only for the "great" players whose pictures and stats were on all the baseball cards. This book is about the game around the edges, but it's focus is on a man whose face, name and/or stats were probably never on one of those baseball cards. It is about a man who never lost faith in the "greatest game in the world", accepted it as it morphed through a cloud of drug-enha More...

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May 18, 2011

Kevin rated it:

I've heard of Buck O'Neil but didn't really know that much about him, so when I saw this book where the author, Joe Posnanski calls him The Soul of Baseball I couldn't resist giving it a shot. Turns out the name was quite fitting. O'Neil was both a player and manager in the Negro Leagues and became the first African American to coach in The Major Leagues. Posnanski had the opportunity to spend a year traveling with the 94 year old Buck as he traversed the country speaking about his time in the N More...

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May 19, 2010

Jim rated it:

A fine book. A fine baseball book. The author travels with Buck O'Neil, a former player in the Negro Baseball League. Buck is 94 years old during this year and is propoting the Negro Baseball Museum and getting former Negro baseball players in th Hall of Fame. The book is packed with baseball stories and anecdotes about the famous and obscure; Satchel Paige, Mays, Monte Irvin, Jackie Robinson, Earl Wilson, Enos Slaughter, PeeWee Reese, Horace Stoneham and Cool Papa Bell. The book captures r More...

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Feb 11, 2009

Jennelle rated it:

Overall this was a great book, and definitely worth reading. However, there were times when I felt there was something missing. I'm still not sure what that something was. I will say, that the further I got into the book, the less I felt that way. Around the time the book talked about Robert Paige (Satchel Paige's son), I didn't want to put the book down. Even though this book isn't just about Buck O'Neil, he was a truly great human being. I found myself wishing I had had the opportunity t More...

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Mar 25, 2011

Chris rated it:

Read this book and learn from a great philosopher not only of baseball, but also of life: Buck O'Neil. The author Joe Posnanski follows the former Negro League player and manager as he tours the country visiting fans and ballparks. Along the way we learn of the trials that Mr. O'Neil faced throughout his playing career. But the deeper message is brought to us as we slowly watch how Mr. O'Neil, well into his nineties, has kept a joyful soul in the face of much pain and adversity. He spreads t More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Doug rated it:

Joe Pasnanski is a sports columnist who followed Buck O'Neil around America as Buck gave talks, visited with friends and watched baseball games. The book is great for the baseball fan. Buck O'Neils stories from life and baseball are priceless. The story of why Satchel Paige always called Buck "Nancy" is terrific. Plus Buck's philosophy of life comes through and everyone can learn something from this book. This was a good read and it makes you feel better about life, baseball and the me More...

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Jun 28, 2011

Justin rated it:

One of the better sports writers of our time spends a year traveling the country with one of the lesser known legends of baseball. Buck O'Neil, one of the lesser known stars of the Kansas City Monarch, shines as both a beacon of quiet prophetic wisdom and a depository of an almost lost cultural history as he travels the country to retell the story of the negro leagues leading up to the historic signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers signaling racial integration. Posnanski does an i More...

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Feb 28, 2011

Andre rated it:

Now that I’ve finished reading it, I can’t really classify The Soul of Baseball. It’s not really a baseball book. It’s certainly not a biography. I can’t even say it’s a portrait of a man. The Soul of Baseball is so much more than any of that. I guess that, more than anything, I can call it a gift. A gift. Yes. I like that.

The Soul of Baseball is the result of sportswriter Joe Posnanski spending a little more than a year traveling the United States with Buck O’Neil. Buck, a More...

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May 15, 2011

Ralph rated it:

Not at all what you might think at first glance. This book is full of heart, full of soul, and full of the grace of this one man.
A tale of one man's goal to represent the Negro Leagues in all of its true condition - not as a minstrel-like, pathetic copy of white baseball, and not as a rose-colored glasses portrayal either. Just a man remembering the joy of the game, and the joy of the players who played it for the right reasons.
O'Neil just wanted people to know that talented people More...

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Mar 14, 2008

Stephanie rated it:

I recently watched the 10-disc Ken Burns series “Baseball” on DVD. In this series, my favorite interview person was Buck O’Neil. His enthusiasm was contagious, so I was thrilled to come across “The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America”. It was written by the sports columnist Joe Posnanski, who followed O’Neil in his travels throughout the 2005 Major League Baseball season. O’Neil, at 94, was one of the last players left from the Negro Baseball League. He was also the first More...

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Dec 27, 2009

Jacob rated it:

I already knew I loved Buck O'Neil, and I already knew that I loved Joe Posnanski, so this was pretty much a shoe-in for a nice, happy, enjoyable read, and it certainly was.

Buck O'Neil is the Dalai Lama of the Negro Leagues. (Even though he died several years ago, I find it hard to use the past tense. He has done so much work, and his voices lives on in this book and in Ken Burns' documentary. Plus no one has taken up his role, so it is still his). He worked hard to spread the truth More...

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Sep 28, 2007

Brian rated it:

The subtitle of this book (A road trip through Buck O'Neil's America) pretty much tells the whole story of this book. In the last year of his life, Buck O'Neil was accompanied by Joe Posnanski, a Pulitzer Prize winning sports columnist of the Kansas City Star and the author of this book. Buck O'Neil, who played and managed in the Negro Leagues from the 1930's to its collapse in the 1950's, and who later became the first African American coach in the major leagues, was a tireless supporter of t More...

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Aug 15, 2009

Jon rated it:

Time spent with Buck O'Neil is time well spent! If anyone's personality radiates positivity, it's Buck. And it is not all blind happiness - he is purposeful and encouraging to others when he communicates. His travels in America as he promotes the Negro Leagues Museum show his tirelessness, as well as his humility. In particular, he makes a point to witness the good that was the Negro Leagues, not the disadvantages. Joe Posnanski has put these stories together with insight.

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Mar 30, 2009

james rated it:

The author is a columnist for the Kansas City Star. The book chronicles his travels with Buck O'Neil, a baseball legend. Buck played, and then managed, in the Negro Leagues. He was instrumental in creating the Negro Leagues Museum. Buck reversed the usual order of famous people: he became more famous as time went on! He continued to travel and make personal appearances until his recent death at 94! Evidently, he was just exhausted by the insatiable demand for his presence.

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Jun 01, 2010

Jack rated it:

Buck O'Neil is one of the most optimistic individuals I've ever read about in non-fiction works. A former Negro Leagues player and manager, O'Neill carried the stories and legends of those years around the country to fans and the curious. He'd constantly correct those who misunderstood what the Negro Leagues were like and tried to offer the wonders of the game, which reflects his true love for the national pastime. The book offers a great glimpse into a sport loved and loathed by Americans. I gr More...

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Jan 05, 2010

Mike rated it:

An uplifting, as well as informative, look at the late Buck O'Neil's attitude towards life, death, and everything in between. Along the way, many stories of the old Negro League's baseball and its players are sprinkled in, permitting a more positive view than is generally represented elsewhere in baseball literature. I had a very positive image of Buck O'Neil previously (from other readings), but this book shows why he was loved by so many.

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Nov 27, 2011

Dan rated it:

This was a fun book. I had admired Buck O'Neil for a long time, but I had never read a book about him. Posnanski did a nice job of capturing the essence of the man. He was more than just a ballplayer. He is a classic example of an incredibly kind human being. If anyone needs an example of what it means to turn the other cheek, look at Buck O'Neil. Despite being denied the chance to play in the majors for all those years, he was a happy, gracious man. Despite being treated as an inferior human be More...

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Jan 05, 2011

Greg rated it:

Joe Posnanski is the best sportswriter in America, and he shows you why here. He truly paints the picture of Buck O'Neil -- a man who simply refuses to be anything less than joyful -- for the reader. Through happy and sad, you follow Joe and Buck, and it's a delight. My only critique is that it can get a little slow and repetitive at moments, but hardly enough to spoil what, I think, is one of the best sports books I've read.

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Dec 03, 2008

Jeff rated it:

A really great read for any baseball fan who needs to reconnect with the stuff that makes the game a really important part of this country's history. Here are things I thought of typing instead of "the stuff" in that last sentence: myths; legends; mythic legacies; shame and ebullience; ups n downs; bigotry, egalitarianism and nostalgia.

But really just an amazing character study of Buck O'Neil.

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Feb 10, 2012

Gabe rated it:

It's written at times with a young-adult vocabulary, which is nice because it makes it more accessible, though it can make it feel a little remedial at times. Buck O'Neil was a great guy, you feel like you're getting to spend time with him, that's really what this rating is about. Also I'm just jonesing for baseball at this point.

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Oct 15, 2010

Kenton rated it:

i think this is a very good book if you are interested in baseball or the history of baseball.i liked the book because im a baseball fanatic.this book tells about the baseball career of the legendary baseball player buck o'neil and his manager joe posnanaski and how he fell in love with baseball.

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Apr 07, 2011

noisy penguin rated it:

I read Posnanski's blog daily, and it occurred to me recently that if I eagerly read his posts about sports that I don't care about, I really should read his book about a topic I love. So I did, and I loved it. Posnanski is a brilliant writer and Buck O'Neil is a wonderful subject. I read the entire thing on my two flights today and wished there was more when I finished. I guess that means I'll be reading the Machine next.

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Mar 01, 2009

Everhat rated it:

Much more than a baseball book - moreso a book about Buck O"Neil. I think a must-read for anyone who loves baseball, loves being human, loves life and wants to meet a man the world doesn't have the honor of having live it on it but once a generation or two or three...

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May 18, 2009

Kip rated it:

I am loving this book. I was first exposed to Buck ONeill as the charming older black dude who played baseball but talked about Jazz with Ken Burns. Then I saw him in Burns's baseball. He was a star of the Negro league just a few years shy of Jackie Robinson's breakthrough. He was also a witness to formative decades of jazz, especially in Kansas City.

The book is about a sports reporter who spends a year travelling with Buck, an elder statesman of MLB and Negro League baseball. P More...

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Jan 14, 2009

Dave rated it:

Wonderful story about what turned out to be the last year of Buck O'Neils life. The injustice and rejection the man faced in his life was over shadowed by his incredible attitude about life. "You never forget to talk a lady in a red dress"

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