Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball

Clearly a must read for Yankee fans and haters but more importantly, a good read if you are interested in the make up of a total narcissist with dozens of examples of the malady - now well documented and fully represented by trump as opposed to Steinbrenner. The book also shimmers with the good humor and great generosity that Steinbrenner was also capable of. A lion indeed of the great American pastime and a whirlwind reminder and a well documented history of what Mr.Steinbrenner had created - The Bronx Zoo - enjoy!

I'm a long time NY Yankees MLB fan. I wanted to lean more about George Steinbrenner owner of the NY Yankees and CEO American Ship.Bill Madden wrote a good book about George Steinbrenner and the lives he touched. The book read well and was a 457 page burner. I read in 3 days. It was very interesting, smooth writing and I had difficulty putting it down. Good B/W pictures too.We see George growing up, good in hurdling track and field and going and graduating from college. He was a smart man. He is brought up in a military mind set of power and authority. We see his father owner of the Great Lakes American Ship and George helping. We see his interest in sports and uses an initial approx. $165K starting and through hard work builds a multi billion dollar NY Yankee empire. We see his American Ship co. brought down to Tampa Fl but goes bankrupt as too much government regulation and the company not being able to build 2 tankers for the US Navy on time and on budget.Through multi partner George and others buy the NY Yankees from CBS for about $8.5 million. The other partners are bought out eventually and George builds a Yankees, NY Nets TV network, plus the Yankee team worth billions.We see the ruthless management style of George the egotist having to constantly but in management style and not relying on his managers and general managers. We see him reneging on his word and trying to side step contracts and trading players and wheeling and dealing. Also fined many times from baseball commissioners, suspended from baseball with a felony conviction on Watergate/Nixon, and suspended again. We see the tremendous power on and off the field. Many many people hired and fired.Bill Madden shows us George Steinbrenner as an egotistical management control freak who was willing to spend big money to try to get the best players, managers and general managers. however he expected to win the World Series forever and repeatedly gave his mangers and general managers the ax , many times non directly through intermediates. Many times he didn't have the decency to fire some one face to face ( example Yogi Berra). He fired Billy Martin repeatedly and had him as a Yo-Yo, also others and Lou Piniella and Joe Torre.George did have feelings and went to many funerals and cried often. He gave millions to assorted charities. He did have a big heart.We see the gigantic new NY Yankee stadium being built and the Tampa Legions Field stadium in Tampa Fl being built.On reading the book I could not understand how any manager or general manager could put up with the abuse and degradation of people George dished out. I guess these managers, general managers, and players loved the game and George's big money and were willing to put up with his crap.I developed a deep empathy and sorrow seeing George when old and dying, losing much of his memory, sickly and slender and giving up the Yankee control to his second oldest son. The lion of baseball down to a timid little lamb.A complex man...egotistical, high profile micro manager, control freak but also at times a compassionate man who helped many people and gave millions to Charity, many times anonymously. Truly an amazing man. I gained much respect for Steinbrenner as a businessman but not how he treated people. A good book for any baseball fan, anyone wanting to study how an egotistical micro management control freak's mind works and someone at times compassionate and a huge charity giver. 4 stars

Allow me to preface this by saying I am not a fan of George Steinbrenner or the New York Yankees. But to deny what the man did for baseball would be outrageous. When this book first came out, I knew it was something I wanted to read. I head off, however, and when I recently invested in a Kindle, this was the first book I got.I'm glad I did.I like the way Bill Madden wrote this book -- from the eyes of everyone else, but at the same time with glimpses from Steinbrenner as well. This might be the best book ever written on this man. It shows areas where many may have have already hears -- the way he treated employees, opponents and others -- to the softer side of the Boss. Such as how he always seemed to show regrets on firing somebody or how he always seemed to take care of people who had been Yankees.There are times I laughed, felt disbelief and was saddened. To see anyone -- especially somebody such as Steinbrenner -- grow old and sick is tough. This book shows you truly what the Yankees went through during these times.It's a true, in-depth look at Steinbrenner, his life and his team. The relationships he had with Billy Martin, Gene Michael and many other Yankee names. How the Yogi saga was finally put to rest. When I ended this book, I didn't have any questions.I would call this a must-read for Yankee fans and true baseball fans. Even borderline fans could probably enjoy and take away from it a bit more about the Boss. I wouldn't have read many books on baseball owners, but for a man such as Steinbrenner, I did and it was well worth it. I easily give this book 5 stars.

I found Bill Madden's "Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball" impossible to put down. I read the whole thing on my Kindle (much of it on my Android phone waiting in line) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Madden gives us a colorful and compelling picture of the man referred to as "The Boss" - a compelling combination of drive, energy, meglomania and a blind desire to win.The result is a fascinating portrait of a very complex, contradictory man. Someone who could fire a subordinate, but then break down into tears, finding a way to pay him even more than he did. Interestingly, Steinbrenner was at his best in a crisis - magnificently comforting the families of those like Thurman Munson and others who suffered.Madden does insert himself into the story, to which he was a first hand witness as well as chronicler, and is able to share his own insights into the many people he interviewed.I can't say how much this book "ads" to what's already known about Steinbrenner as its the only bio of him I've read, but as someone with only passing knowledge of him, I found this a very well written chronicle of not only Steinbrenner's life but the team's history during his ownership.

I read Steinbrenner within a week. The 400 pages book was that good. While I went through it, I discovered why Steinbrenner acted like he did, litterally manipulating, abusing and crushing friends, allies or foes alike.The author really did a nice job in portraying a complex, flawed and ovewhelming personnality like The Boss. I'd say that even if you were a loyal follower of the Yankees during Steinbrenner's tenure, you'll be able to learn, weight and appreciate the impact Steinbrenner had on his team and baseball in general.A must read for any baseball fan.

The best book you'll ever read on Steinbrenner and his eccentric ways. This book has so many funny stories about George and his crazy antics that you'll laugh until it hurts. This book was so good I started passing it around to friends then realized I should buy another copy in case I didn't get the first one back!

Fantastic! Behind the scenes look into the Bronx Bombers, renegade owner, brilliant, funny, sad, a must read for any baseball fan.

Excellent read