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It's Good to Be Alive
This is the story of Roy Campanella, the greatest catcher in all of baseball. This is the story of someone who lost everything to find out what life was really about.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1959
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 13, 2016
An inspirational story about a great ballplayer. The book is extremely dated, and reads like a 'Leave it to Beaver' episode. Corny at times, if you can sift through the rah-rah superficial baseball banter, it is a nice, breezy read.
Pros: There are really good insights into the Negro Leagues, how that business operated back in the pre-war and immediate post-war days. It's fascinating how Campy flitted in and out of Latin American ball and the Negro Leagues, making a relatively good income by playing ball year round. He (his ghost writer) does a good job of portraying life as a mixed-marriage child growing up in Philadelphia in the 1930s. This is the strength of the book.
Cons: Campy is obviously a troubled soul, and who can blame him. He was on top of the world, before a 1957 car crash left him paralyzed and unable to continue a 'normal' life, let alone a storied hall of fame baseball career. That said, a good portion of the book is spent convincing the reading about how happy he is. I liken this to be a product of times, as a WWII vet may have explained how great his experience at Guadalcanal was. Simply put, no one in the 1950s sports reading world wanted to hear any belly-achin' and complainin'.
There is more to Campy's life, and this book only glosses over the mostly positive impact that he had for racial integration in baseball and the advances that were made in physical therapy through his highly publicized recovery from his car accident. There are more authoritative bios out there, and much left unsaid in this one. I read it because it was sitting on my shelf. I'm glad I did, but can't say that it made a profound impact on my life.
Pros: There are really good insights into the Negro Leagues, how that business operated back in the pre-war and immediate post-war days. It's fascinating how Campy flitted in and out of Latin American ball and the Negro Leagues, making a relatively good income by playing ball year round. He (his ghost writer) does a good job of portraying life as a mixed-marriage child growing up in Philadelphia in the 1930s. This is the strength of the book.
Cons: Campy is obviously a troubled soul, and who can blame him. He was on top of the world, before a 1957 car crash left him paralyzed and unable to continue a 'normal' life, let alone a storied hall of fame baseball career. That said, a good portion of the book is spent convincing the reading about how happy he is. I liken this to be a product of times, as a WWII vet may have explained how great his experience at Guadalcanal was. Simply put, no one in the 1950s sports reading world wanted to hear any belly-achin' and complainin'.
There is more to Campy's life, and this book only glosses over the mostly positive impact that he had for racial integration in baseball and the advances that were made in physical therapy through his highly publicized recovery from his car accident. There are more authoritative bios out there, and much left unsaid in this one. I read it because it was sitting on my shelf. I'm glad I did, but can't say that it made a profound impact on my life.
September 15, 2020
I wish "Campy" was still alive so I could thank him myself in person. What a story of perseverance after losing what he loved to do. I have lost the ability to do what I love to do, play golf, due to an injury suffered from a gunshot wound that destroyed my right elbow. I'm not in the same shape as Roy but I do feel the heartache of losing your livelihood. You see, I was a Caddie up until this incident which left me in the hospital for almost 2 months and lingering effects. But after reading this book and his story I was reinvigorated to try and work my way back to doing something.
September 9, 2016
This is the autobiography of a great catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers who played for them in the late 1940's and 1950's. He was also my dad's favorite baseball player. Dad grew up rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers. When they moved to Los Angeles in 1958 he really stopped following them.
January of 1958 was when Roy Campanella's life changed forever. He was involved in a car accident due to icy roads. The three time MVP and all-star catcher was a quadriplegic as a result of the car accident. He obviously never played again and that is a minor inconvenience compared to the horrific changes he faced as a result.
Campanella covers his youth, career, accident and rehabilitation in his book. The best parts of this book were the discussions of the physical beatings he took as a Major League catcher. The broken bones in his hands alone were extensive. I also enjoyed his description of his rehabilitation following his accident. The vast majority of people will never have to face anything like what he went through. I have just had a taste of this experiencing my own car accident where I lost my right leg above the knee. Learning to walk again with a prosthetic and the depression you suffer from something as small as what I had compared to Campy's ordeal is still tough to take. Campy never gave up and continued to fight to improve his use of his arms to just take care of himself to some extent. To go from an independent prideful man to someone who has to rely on other people just for the daily functions of life is humbling. I know to a small extent.
Campy never gave up his belief in God. I enjoyed that about the book also. He was thankful he was alive and praised God that his situation wasn't worse.
My only negative about the book is that it left out some of the downsides of his personal life including his disputes with Jackie Robinson and the relationship with his wife Ruthe which had to be severely tested as a result of the accident. In fact, his wife later left him for awhile after the accident and their marriage was on the rocks. None of those things are touched in the book. Based on when it was written this is understandable.
January of 1958 was when Roy Campanella's life changed forever. He was involved in a car accident due to icy roads. The three time MVP and all-star catcher was a quadriplegic as a result of the car accident. He obviously never played again and that is a minor inconvenience compared to the horrific changes he faced as a result.
Campanella covers his youth, career, accident and rehabilitation in his book. The best parts of this book were the discussions of the physical beatings he took as a Major League catcher. The broken bones in his hands alone were extensive. I also enjoyed his description of his rehabilitation following his accident. The vast majority of people will never have to face anything like what he went through. I have just had a taste of this experiencing my own car accident where I lost my right leg above the knee. Learning to walk again with a prosthetic and the depression you suffer from something as small as what I had compared to Campy's ordeal is still tough to take. Campy never gave up and continued to fight to improve his use of his arms to just take care of himself to some extent. To go from an independent prideful man to someone who has to rely on other people just for the daily functions of life is humbling. I know to a small extent.
Campy never gave up his belief in God. I enjoyed that about the book also. He was thankful he was alive and praised God that his situation wasn't worse.
My only negative about the book is that it left out some of the downsides of his personal life including his disputes with Jackie Robinson and the relationship with his wife Ruthe which had to be severely tested as a result of the accident. In fact, his wife later left him for awhile after the accident and their marriage was on the rocks. None of those things are touched in the book. Based on when it was written this is understandable.
June 21, 2016
Campanella has a very compelling story--first being one of the first African Americans in Major League Baseball and then surviving such a terrible accident--and a wonderful way of telling it. I don't mean that in terms of the mechanics of the writing necessarily, as he was not an educated man (though the sloppier and more colloquial writing - with words like "onliest" - occurs mostly early on and seems to be a deliberate choice to reflect his early life). I mean that he was a good storyteller, and seems to have had a great attitude about life. It's nice to get an insider's look at both that era of baseball and what rehabilitative medicine was like in those days. He doesn't gloss over the negative aspects of his life, though, and his account of his emotional journey after his accident is very moving.
My main complaint about the book is that it is heavier on the baseball minutiae and lighter on the details of Campanella's life after his accident (this occupies the first few brief chapters and then isn't addressed again until the last quarter or so of the book) than I had been led to expect. I liked the history aspect, but I'm not very knowledgeable about baseball, so some of the technical discussions were lost on me. And it can get a little rambling at times, though really I suspect anyone trying to tell their life story runs the same risk. Overall, though, it was a very interesting and moving book, and a nice quick read, too. Definitely recommended.
One final note is that Campanella was a very religious man (though in a simple way), and while he doesn't preach, the frequency with which he mentions God (though most often in passing) might be surprising to those with more "modern" sensibilities, especially if you just went in looking for baseball.
My main complaint about the book is that it is heavier on the baseball minutiae and lighter on the details of Campanella's life after his accident (this occupies the first few brief chapters and then isn't addressed again until the last quarter or so of the book) than I had been led to expect. I liked the history aspect, but I'm not very knowledgeable about baseball, so some of the technical discussions were lost on me. And it can get a little rambling at times, though really I suspect anyone trying to tell their life story runs the same risk. Overall, though, it was a very interesting and moving book, and a nice quick read, too. Definitely recommended.
One final note is that Campanella was a very religious man (though in a simple way), and while he doesn't preach, the frequency with which he mentions God (though most often in passing) might be surprising to those with more "modern" sensibilities, especially if you just went in looking for baseball.
August 16, 2011
Wow--that guy came within an eyelash of dying of injuries suffered in a car crash on a icy road in Brooklyn that winter night in 1958--but ended up being a hero not only to baseball fans but to everyone. He lived a full life despite being a paraplegic for over 30 years. I'm a big baseball fan and he and Leo Durocher are my heroes. I pray that anyone who has suffered any car injuries step up and fight. I do not care what people thought of the Dodgers' owner when he moved the team to LA. He really stepped up and helped Roy continue his baseball career as a coach many months after that fateful night! He went from baseball catcher to liquor store owner to just plain hero. Read this--it isn't simply about baseball--but about fighting. About helping. About loving. And about LIVING!
April 2, 2014
Closer to 3.5. Excellent, excellent story about a ball player that I didn't know much about. The behind the scenes stuff was awesome. Especially about how Branch Rickey had interviewed Campy a week before Jackie, but Campy essentially turned him down because he thought Rickey wanted him for the new Black Dodgers. And also how he recommended the Dodgers sign Willie Mays, but their scout said he couldn't hit a curveball. It's the little anecdotes like that, that can make or break a book like this for me, but I thought this one was great. He led a very interesting life, in baseball, and after his accident, and he doesn't hold much back in this book. A very inspiring tale,
If your story has anything in common with Campy, or even if it doesn't.
If your story has anything in common with Campy, or even if it doesn't.
February 19, 2016
Read many decades ago. The power, in his telling, still sits w/me today. I still remember reading, about his torture, when a fly flew on his face, near his eye.
May 29, 2021
A thoughtful, motivating and inspiring narrative by a smart and caring baseball player and family man!
February 19, 2025
Roy Campanella was a HOF catcher, World Series champ, three time MVP who achieved baseball legend status after 10 full years in the Negro League. And he played, as did many Negro League players, all year around down in Mexico, Cuba and other tropical locations. He played alongside Jackie Robinson and was the fourth Black man to play in the majors, just after Jackie broke the color barrier. If you read about the Brooklyn Dodgers and Branch Ricky, Campy could have been the first. Also, Campanella broke the color barrier in the American Association (triple a ball) with the Saint Paul Saints.
In the height of his professional success on the field, a tragic auto accident left him paralyzed. As the title notes, “Its good to be alive” is how Campy lived before and after that accident.
An inspiring story of a good person who happened to be a great ball player.
In the height of his professional success on the field, a tragic auto accident left him paralyzed. As the title notes, “Its good to be alive” is how Campy lived before and after that accident.
An inspiring story of a good person who happened to be a great ball player.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews