false 971435 16 In his day, Ring Lardner was a legendary humorist (a job-description he disavowed), and <i>You Know Me Al</i> shows why everyone loved him so. In the letters of Jack Keefe, a bush-league pitcher who finally gets his chance in the majors, Lardner shows not only a faultless ear, but also a keen eye for the amusing details of human folly. Keefe is no comical bumbler--he has talent--but also possesses astonishing naïvete, and a lack of self-awareness that is unerringly hilarious. The busher blames everyone but himself for his failures (a trait that Lardner uses to wonderful comic effect in the story "Alibi Ike"). Still, thanks to Keefe's mixture of hubris and puppy-dog trust, you want to see him come out all right. <p> Lardner--who played a role in breaking the infamous "Black Sox" scandal of 1919--wrote <i>You Know Me Al</i> while covering pro baseball in the teens; for baseball fans, the book is an intriguing glimpse into the past. Athletes haven't changed much, poor devils. They're just as funny as ever, only richer. 2417375 1960 You Know Me Al total:96|5:31|4:37|3:22|2:5|1:1| 96 380 133 14 4 0 false false Fri Aug 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 10:43:12 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 10:44:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 08:44:29 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 09:04:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Oct 28 08:05:57 -0700 2007 Mon Jan 05 00:38:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 16 08:19:39 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 16 08:19:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Aug 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 21:11:10 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 01:48:10 -0700 2009 I thought this book was bland and frustrating.
Told in an epistolary style, the novella is about a pro baseball pitcher named Jack Keefe, who wrote letters to his pal Al Blanch in the span of 3 years (I think it was 3 years). He...more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jun 29 09:51:16 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 09:57:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jun 11 22:12:53 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 22:12:53 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue May 19 04:33:55 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 04:34:15 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 11 09:31:27 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 11 09:31:27 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Sep 02 17:53:51 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 17:57:28 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Sun Feb 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 18:28:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 18:32:21 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Nov 25 18:27:58 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 22:03:58 -0800 2007 5 0 false false Mon Jun 11 17:50:59 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 13 06:59:20 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Sun Oct 28 22:42:48 -0700 2007 Sat Jan 26 15:06:00 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sun Nov 22 15:52:17 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 22 15:52:17 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1989 Fri Nov 20 11:05:09 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 11:05:27 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 18 18:40:50 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 18:40:50 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 15 08:49:29 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 08:49:32 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Nov 10 14:37:30 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 14:37:30 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 02 00:30:22 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 00:30:22 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5125357