Honus: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hero is a biographical look at the life and times of the great Honus Wagner. Not many fans know the full story of Honus Wagner, and Wagner himself was largely responsible for the public's ignorance. Being notoriously shy, he declined to talk about himself or baseball to sportswriters of his time. Through thousands of hours of exhaustive research and interviews, plus the help of Wagner's granddaughter, Leslie Blair, author William Hageman was able to get the story of the great baseball legend.
The book has a factual-driven narrative that comes out dry. Hageman definitely did his research and I learned an awful lot about Honus Wagner but there wasn’t a whole lot of color to it. I sense that Hageman is a baseball fan but not a huge one because he misses drawing a lot of connections and back-stories that would have been fascinating additions to the book.
I came away appreciating Wagner’s career, not so much understanding the man and his times. It is admittedly difficult to write a bio on a baseball player from that long ago.
Recommended for anybody with an interest in Honus Wagner.