Ted Williams: A Baseball Life. This item is unavailable.Ted Williams: A Baseball Life

Michael Seidel is a professor of English at Columbia University, and the author of several books including "Streak: Joe DiMaggio" and the "Summer of '41".

"A hitter's perfection consists in failing only 60 percent of the time. Williams did that in 1941, batting .406. . . . Michael Seidel's rounded biography . . . suggests, delicately, why, in spite of his virtuosity at the plate, he does not belong on any all-time all-star team. Overflowing with childlike ebullience, Williams would exclaim in the batting cage, 'I can't stand it, I'm so good.' He was-at bat. But as baseball people never tire of saying, and Williams quickly tired of hearing, the greatest players do five things well-run, throw, field, hit, and hit with power. . . . Still, as a pure hitter Williams was in a class by himself." -- New York Times Book Review

"There have been dozens of books on the Splendid Splinter over the years; Seidel's is one of the best at capturing the many facets of Williams' mercurial personality and the rhythms of Boston society during his years as baseball's finest hitter." -- The USA Today Baseball Weekly 2000 Holiday gift guide

"Williams, perhaps baseball's greatest hitter, was a controversial figure during his playing years. . . . [Seidel] researched contemporary records and interviewed Williams's acquaintances for this book. Many of Williams's cohorts had few positive things to say about the legendary ballplayer. However, Seidel manages to keep his account balanced, painting a larger picture of the nature of baseball in the 1940s and 1950s. . . . Seidel's work should stand the test of time as an accurate, even-handed portrait." -- Library Journal