Synopses & Reviews
The Glass Castle meets Ball Four as Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey weaves searing honesty and baseball insight in this memoir about his unlikely journey to the big leagues.
An English Lit major at the University of Tennessee, Dickey is as articulate and thoughtful as any professional athlete in any sport-and proves it page after page, as he provides fresh and honest insight into baseball and a career unlike any other. Fourteen years ago, Dickey was a heralded No. 1 draft choice of the Texas Rangers, only to have an $810,000 signing bonus, and his lifelong dream, ripped away by an X- ray-and the discovery that he did not have an ulna collateral ligament in his right elbow. Five years ago, he gave up a record six home runs in three innings to the Detroit Tigers-and was effectively consigned to the baseball scrap heap.
Sustained by his profound Christian faith, the love of his wife and children, and a relentless quest for self-awareness and authenticity, the immensely likable Dickey details his transformation from a reckless, risk-taking loner to a grounded, life- affirming big leaguer. He emerged as one of the premier pitchers in the National League in 2010-and the knuckleballing embodiment of the wonders that perseverance and human wisdom can produce. Dickey views his story as one of redemption. Readers will come to see it as something more-a uniquely American story of beating back demons, listening to your heart, and overcoming extraordinary odds.
Review
andldquo;MLB's only active knuckleballer--boasts a story compelling enough to be told forthwithandhellip;. Dickey credits his faith with overcoming myriad trials both personal and professional, but it never feels as if he's preaching.andnbsp; Once an English-lit major and now a starting pitcher for the New York Mets, the author emerges as one of baseball's good guys, and someone who can write as well as he pitches. Dickey has set a new standard for athlete autobiographies.andrdquo;
- Publishers Weekly, Starred review
Review
andldquo;It's a gripping memoir, a brutally honest account of family woes, childhood abuse and his failures as a husband and father. But it's also a meditation on contemporary baseball that is insightful without throwing anyone under the bus, save the author himself. (And maybe Alex Rodriguez.) It might be the finest piece of nonfiction baseball writing since Ball Four.andnbsp; Perhaps above all, it's a classic epic quest, a flawed hero's unlikely odyssey to the major leagues and to discovering the mystical pitch that helped him get there.andrdquo;
- Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated
Review
andquot;
Wherever I Wind Up is an astounding memoir--haunting and touching, courageous and wise.andquot;
- Jeremyandnbsp;Schaap, bestselling author,andnbsp;Emmy award-winning journalist, ESPN
Review
andquot;Nobody in baseball has overcome more obstacles than R.A. Dickey, and nobody writes about them with more honesty and insight. R.A. doesn't want to be called a hero, but he is exactly that, and when you read about his life's journey and his courage, you will agree with me. This is an awesome book by an awesome man.andquot;
-Orel Hershiser, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst, former MLB All-Star
Review
andquot;R.A. Dickey is one of the coolest athletes I've ever met - a great mixture of soul and intellect ... This is an athlete worth knowing better.andquot;
- George Vescy, New York Times
Review
andquot;A wonderful and powerful new memoir.andquot;
- Jim Caple, ESPN
Review
andquot;I can't recommend
Wherever I Wind Up enough.andquot;
- Gary Cohen, SportsNet NY (SNY)
Review
andquot;R.A. Dickey's book is unlike any other professional athlete's autobiography you have ever read. And that is a very good thing.andquot;
- Mike Bauman, MLB.com
Review
“Robert Griffin III is the most exciting athlete to come to Washington in 20 years. And there's nobody better to write about him than Dave Sheinin. Dave Sheinin writes like Robert Griffin plays.”
—Tony Kornheiser “Robert Griffin III was THE story in Washington even before the Redskins drafted him and Dave Sheinin has chronicled that story from day one with the kind of insight not often seen in this era of the insulated, over-protected athlete. Griffin's story is worth telling and Sheinin is uniquely qualified to tell it.”—John Feinstein
“A skillfully told tale of the most exciting young player the NFL may have ever seen. Dave Sheinin holds nothing back. With RG3s insight, he examines the dark side of the game and leaves us wondering if football in some places has become something less than human.”—Tim Green, New York Times-bestselling author and former Atlanta Falcons defensive end
“Sometimes there is a life in sports you want to know about before a career plays itself out. Robert Griffin III has had one of those lives, as interesting as the way he plays football.”—Mike Lupica
“There is no doubt that Robert Griffin III—that would be RG3, in modern text-speak—is the face of the professional football future. He is the mobile quarterback in a mobile time, dashing and daring, an escape artist who can win games with his feet or his arms, then talk about what he did in complete and interesting sentences. Alas, the danger of his job was underlined in his last game of last season, when he limped off the field, headed for major knee surgery. Will he be able to stay in one piece long enough to fulfill all of his promise? Or will the violence of his chosen game make him another famous casualty? Dave Sheinin looks at all of this and more in his sweet biography of footballs newest star. Terrific stuff.”—Leigh Montville, New York Times-bestselling author and sports columnist
“Dave Sheinin meticulously describes the collision of a nice young man and a brutal sport. Here is everything a reader needs to know about the perils of the new age of the mobile quarterback.”—George Vecsey, former New York Times sports columnist and author of Stan Musial: An American Life
Synopsis
An intimate, inside look at the transformation of Robert Griffin III from college phenom to one of the NFLs brightest young stars by the sportswriter who has been with him every step of the way.
Synopsis
Hes been called many thingsHeisman Trophy winner, MVP, the savior of the Washington Redskinsbut to his millions of fans, Robert Griffin III is known simply as RG3.
Robert Griffin III was a preternaturally gifted athlete from a young age, but in those early days he played nearly every sport except football. He seemed pointed toward stardom, but would it be in basketball or maybe in track, where he qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials as a hurdler? As for playing football, Griffin first had to overcome his mothers objections to the violence and danger by making a Pinkie Promise” with her that no one would catch him. Eventually, he began to realize that all of his remarkable talentsunrivaled speed, pinpoint accuracy, exceptional intelligence, single-minded drivecombined into a potent force that few quarterbacks could rival. What followed seemed almost destined: a football scholarship to Baylor University, three exceptional seasons capped by winning the Heisman Trophy, and the 2012 draftwhere Griffin, as the second overall pick, became the franchise quarterback for one of the oldest and most storied football teams in the country.
In RG3: The Promise, award-winning Washington Post reporter Dave Sheinin provides an in-depth, behind-the-scenes account of Griffins phenomenal rookie yearand offers a unique and intimate look inside the transformation one of the NFLs brightest young stars.
About the Author
R.A. Dickeyand#160;of the New York Metsand#160;is one of the premier pitchers in baseball. and#160;In 2012 he became the first knuckleballer to win the National League Cy Young Award,and#160;major league baseballandrsquo;s highest honor for a pitcher.and#160; Immensely popular with fans and deeply respected by his teammates, Dickey lives inand#160;Tennesseeand#160;with his wife and four children.
Wayne Coffey is an award-winning journalist for the New York Daily News and the author of more than thirty books, including The Boys of Winter, a New York Times bestselling chronicle of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. A three-time Pulitzer nominee, he has long been regarded as one of best sports feature writers in the nation.and#160;