This story is true to the book's subtitle "The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero." It is well researched and the portrait it paints shows he lived as a devoted family man, world class athlete and a compassionate humanitarian, but was a proud man who found it difficult to suffer criticism. Clemente was a man who maximized his potential in all of it's many facets.

He made a deep impression on his teammates. Steve Blass said, "The rest of us were just players. Clemente was a prince." (pg. 256)

As a player, he was capable of extreme feats. Roger Angell, baseball writer for the New Yorker, described Clemente's performance over the seven games of the 1971 World Series as "something close to the level of absolute perfection." (pg. 264)

Roberto expressed his philosophy of life in a speech in February 1971 when he said, "If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for the people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth." (pg.266) His life was an example of his philosophy, so much so that he died for it!

One final quote, "That night on which Roberto Clemente left us physically, his immortality began." (pg.339) I was impressed with Clemente before, but even more so after reading this book.