Book List
2. Of Mikes and Men: A Lifetime of Braves Baseball by Pete Van Wieren with Jack Wilkinson
It's a very rare occurence that I venture out of my usual realm of fantasy/sci-fi and read a work of non-fiction. The one exception is baseball-related books. When this book was released last year, I wanted to get it and read it right away. Unfortunately, I have no money, so I had to wait until I could get it for Hanukkah :-P But, better late than never, and in this case, it was definitely worth the wait!
From the age of 12, I spent my formative years watching the Braves. Pete Van Wieren was an integral part of that experience, along with the other Braves broadcasters of the '90s/'00s. In the 5 seasons from 1997 through 2001, when I did not miss a single televised Braves game, Pete's voice was a constant in my daily life. The Braves got me through high school, and while Pete spends a good deal of time in his book thanking the fans, I wish that I could have the means and the medium to thank him and the rest of the Braves organization for how they have impacted my life.
As a Braves fan, this book was an amazing trip down memory lane. A good chunk of the book is spent recapping the events of Pete's many seasons as a broadcaster. He even goes into detail about specific games in many of the seasons. He also talks about more behind-the-scenes stuff, his experiences in the broadcast booth, and even his personal life. Like any good autobiographical work, the book contains a section in the middle of pictures. I really enjoyed the pictures of Pete as a young boy! Having only ever seen him as an older man, I really got a kick out of that! But my favorite part of the book was reading about the relationships he developed in the game. Several times throughout the book, Pete mentions that the relationships and the people are really the best part of his career, and one of the things he misses the most since his retirement. He really does a nice job of getting that message across to the reader - not by saying it directly (although he does), but in his storytelling, you can really see the meaning brought to each situation through the relationships and the people involved.
I would definitely recommend this book to any Braves fan of any age, and also to any baseball fan in general (although it will obviously have much more meaning to Braves fans, Pete's wealth of baseball knowledge that is presented throughout the book will make any baseball fan happy).
It's a very rare occurence that I venture out of my usual realm of fantasy/sci-fi and read a work of non-fiction. The one exception is baseball-related books. When this book was released last year, I wanted to get it and read it right away. Unfortunately, I have no money, so I had to wait until I could get it for Hanukkah :-P But, better late than never, and in this case, it was definitely worth the wait!
From the age of 12, I spent my formative years watching the Braves. Pete Van Wieren was an integral part of that experience, along with the other Braves broadcasters of the '90s/'00s. In the 5 seasons from 1997 through 2001, when I did not miss a single televised Braves game, Pete's voice was a constant in my daily life. The Braves got me through high school, and while Pete spends a good deal of time in his book thanking the fans, I wish that I could have the means and the medium to thank him and the rest of the Braves organization for how they have impacted my life.
As a Braves fan, this book was an amazing trip down memory lane. A good chunk of the book is spent recapping the events of Pete's many seasons as a broadcaster. He even goes into detail about specific games in many of the seasons. He also talks about more behind-the-scenes stuff, his experiences in the broadcast booth, and even his personal life. Like any good autobiographical work, the book contains a section in the middle of pictures. I really enjoyed the pictures of Pete as a young boy! Having only ever seen him as an older man, I really got a kick out of that! But my favorite part of the book was reading about the relationships he developed in the game. Several times throughout the book, Pete mentions that the relationships and the people are really the best part of his career, and one of the things he misses the most since his retirement. He really does a nice job of getting that message across to the reader - not by saying it directly (although he does), but in his storytelling, you can really see the meaning brought to each situation through the relationships and the people involved.
I would definitely recommend this book to any Braves fan of any age, and also to any baseball fan in general (although it will obviously have much more meaning to Braves fans, Pete's wealth of baseball knowledge that is presented throughout the book will make any baseball fan happy).