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Maris & Mantle
Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris are forever intertwined in baseball history thanks to the unforgettable 1961 season, when the two Yankee icons spurred each other to new heights in pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record. History has largely overlooked the bond between the two men not as titans of their sport, but as people. Guided by Tony Castro, bestselling author and foremost chronicler of Mantle, readers will journey into history, from the Yankees’ blockbuster trade for Maris, whose acquisition re-ignited Mantle’s career after a horrendous 1959 season, to the heroics of 1961 and far beyond. This dual biography is a thoroughly researched, emotionally gripping portrait that brings Yankees lore alive.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published September 28, 2021
2 people are currently reading
951 people want to read
About the author
Tony Castro
9 books24 followersTONY CASTRO is a Harvard and Baylor University-educated historian, Napoleon Bonaparte scholar and the author of the landmark civil rights history "Chicano Power," which Publishers Weekly acclaimed as “brilliant… a valuable contribution to the understanding of our time.”
Tony's latest book, "The Book of Marilyn," is a "thriller about the hunt for Marilyn Monroe’s lost diary—holding secrets that could rewrite history, topple power, and cost lives. Some truths are too dangerous to survive."
From its Amazon.com listing:
HOLLYWOOD’S GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL • Late one fateful night in 1978, Los Angeles prize-winning journalist Alex De La Cruz finds himself face-to-face with the story of a lifetime. Standing on his doorstep is Josie Clémenceau, a mysterious middle-aged woman whose timeless beauty evokes the golden age of Hollywood—but her eyes speak of shadows and secrets long buried. In her hands is a discovery that could rewrite history: Marilyn Monroe’s lost diary.
“Blockbuster mastery at its best… A gleefully explosive novel impossible to put down.” — LAMonthly.org
“An ingenious, pulse-quickening Hollywood-political suspense thriller.” — The Angeleno
What begins as a memoir of a movie star’s dazzling life quickly takes a darker turn. Hidden within the diary’s pages are revelations that shatter the mythos of America’s past. Marilyn Monroe, it turns out, had unwittingly stumbled upon a web of conspiracy tying the Mafia, anti-Castro operatives, and rogue CIA agents to one of the 20th century’s most infamous events: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Before she could reveal what she knew, Marilyn was silenced.
Now, Alex and Josie are plunged into a high-stakes race to uncover the truth. But powerful forces—spanning the worlds of politics, organized crime, and Hollywood’s elite—will stop at nothing to keep the diary’s secrets buried. What begins as an investigation spirals into a deadly game of cat and mouse, where every step closer to the truth puts Alex and Josie in greater peril.
As the lines between past and present blur, Alex discovers that Josie’s connection to Marilyn Monroe might be far deeper—and more dangerous—than she’s revealed. The diary isn’t just a link to history; it’s a ticking time bomb that could expose decades of corruption and deceit.
With whip-smart dialogue, relentless suspense, and a plot that unfurls like a tightly wound thriller, The Book of Marilyn is more than a conspiracy novel—it’s a brilliant reinvention of the genre. Part Hollywood noir, part political intrigue, and wholly captivating, this is a heart-pounding tale of secrets, power, and the unyielding search for truth.
Get ready for a novel that will leave you breathless until its final, unforgettable twist.
As a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, Tony studied under Homeric scholar and translator Robert Fitzgerald, Mexican Nobel laureate Octavio Paz, and French history scholar Laurence Wylie. While at Harvard, he was a regular lecturer at the JFK Institute of Politics.
He is also a popular public speaker known for his wit and humor. He most recently lectured at his alma mater, Baylor University, on The Religion of Sports: From Michelangelo to Derek Jeter.
Tony lives in Los Angeles with his wife Renee LaSalle and Jeter, their black Labrador retriever. Their two grown sons, Trey and Ryan, and their families also reside in Southern California.
Tony's latest book, "The Book of Marilyn," is a "thriller about the hunt for Marilyn Monroe’s lost diary—holding secrets that could rewrite history, topple power, and cost lives. Some truths are too dangerous to survive."
From its Amazon.com listing:
HOLLYWOOD’S GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL • Late one fateful night in 1978, Los Angeles prize-winning journalist Alex De La Cruz finds himself face-to-face with the story of a lifetime. Standing on his doorstep is Josie Clémenceau, a mysterious middle-aged woman whose timeless beauty evokes the golden age of Hollywood—but her eyes speak of shadows and secrets long buried. In her hands is a discovery that could rewrite history: Marilyn Monroe’s lost diary.
“Blockbuster mastery at its best… A gleefully explosive novel impossible to put down.” — LAMonthly.org
“An ingenious, pulse-quickening Hollywood-political suspense thriller.” — The Angeleno
What begins as a memoir of a movie star’s dazzling life quickly takes a darker turn. Hidden within the diary’s pages are revelations that shatter the mythos of America’s past. Marilyn Monroe, it turns out, had unwittingly stumbled upon a web of conspiracy tying the Mafia, anti-Castro operatives, and rogue CIA agents to one of the 20th century’s most infamous events: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Before she could reveal what she knew, Marilyn was silenced.
Now, Alex and Josie are plunged into a high-stakes race to uncover the truth. But powerful forces—spanning the worlds of politics, organized crime, and Hollywood’s elite—will stop at nothing to keep the diary’s secrets buried. What begins as an investigation spirals into a deadly game of cat and mouse, where every step closer to the truth puts Alex and Josie in greater peril.
As the lines between past and present blur, Alex discovers that Josie’s connection to Marilyn Monroe might be far deeper—and more dangerous—than she’s revealed. The diary isn’t just a link to history; it’s a ticking time bomb that could expose decades of corruption and deceit.
With whip-smart dialogue, relentless suspense, and a plot that unfurls like a tightly wound thriller, The Book of Marilyn is more than a conspiracy novel—it’s a brilliant reinvention of the genre. Part Hollywood noir, part political intrigue, and wholly captivating, this is a heart-pounding tale of secrets, power, and the unyielding search for truth.
Get ready for a novel that will leave you breathless until its final, unforgettable twist.
As a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, Tony studied under Homeric scholar and translator Robert Fitzgerald, Mexican Nobel laureate Octavio Paz, and French history scholar Laurence Wylie. While at Harvard, he was a regular lecturer at the JFK Institute of Politics.
He is also a popular public speaker known for his wit and humor. He most recently lectured at his alma mater, Baylor University, on The Religion of Sports: From Michelangelo to Derek Jeter.
Tony lives in Los Angeles with his wife Renee LaSalle and Jeter, their black Labrador retriever. Their two grown sons, Trey and Ryan, and their families also reside in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 12, 2022
"Maris & Mantle" is a great nostalgia piece. If you remember the M and M boys, you know the general outline of the story but author Tony Castro has managed to include some snippets from previously untapped sources and those items help further illustrate the depths of each player's struggle to negotiate his major league career. At times, the book reads like a classic Greek Tragedy as both Mantle and Maris come across as impeded (by themselves or others) in their quest to fulfill their talent. For me, there is a salacious tone to the anecdotes from Mantle's early New York girlfriend (an affair that continued off and on for years). At times, the crisp writing is disrupted with sentences or incidents that you are sure you read about just a few pages ago but, overall, the sense of time and place is solidly depicted. If you are a baseball fan, this is a good look back. If you lived through the times, your thoughts will rocket back to those times when the Yankees were kings, TV was new, and the horizon truly looked unlimited.
August 12, 2023
As a writer myself, I cannot begin to imagine the infinite and inherent difficulties that have to come with writing a dual biography. It's an insane task, and yet Tony Castro has done it here, and done it beautifully.
My only qualm (and it's fairly small) is that the book seems to focus more heavily on Mantle, making it a wee bit lopsided, but it's a great book and, let's face it--there's much more to draw from when writing about Mantle. Mantle is a legend and has been written about repeatedly, even by Castro. Additionally, Castro knew Mantle and had spent a lot of time talking with him, so he had that to draw on as well. And, let's face it, Mantle was a truly great baseball player. Maris was a one-dimensional player to say the least. He's worthy of analysis, but I would say *less* analysis than Mantle, who is arguably the greatest baseball player to ever put on cleats.
This is a solid book. I would recommend it to anyone remotely interested in either or both of these great ballplayers.
My only qualm (and it's fairly small) is that the book seems to focus more heavily on Mantle, making it a wee bit lopsided, but it's a great book and, let's face it--there's much more to draw from when writing about Mantle. Mantle is a legend and has been written about repeatedly, even by Castro. Additionally, Castro knew Mantle and had spent a lot of time talking with him, so he had that to draw on as well. And, let's face it, Mantle was a truly great baseball player. Maris was a one-dimensional player to say the least. He's worthy of analysis, but I would say *less* analysis than Mantle, who is arguably the greatest baseball player to ever put on cleats.
This is a solid book. I would recommend it to anyone remotely interested in either or both of these great ballplayers.
January 2, 2022
A terrific duel-biography centered around 1961, the year of the race to beat Babe Ruth's single season 60 home run record. I read it as Yankee fan... If you are not into baseball, or not into baseball history, this book isn't for you. But with baseball in lockdown and the 2022 season in question, I feel it was a good time for a baseball read. I'm glad I got this one. It's a very good one with a unique perspective on two amazing athletes that were as different as day and night yet still combined to create one of the most compelling seasons ever.
November 21, 2022
Maris and Mantle tells the biographies of both Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. They both had the poverty stricken driven childhood. Both of them pushed hard by their fathers to develop great baseball skill.
They both did but the interesting story is not how they became great ball players but how they dealt with fame and how fame dealt with them. There is always a tension between what the fans want and believe their heroes to be and what they really are. Sometimes the heroes grow in to what their fans want them to be. Sometimes they just pretend to grow in to it. Sometimes they hate their fans demanding and expecting them to be something they are not. They all struggle with and resist the fans’ presumed ownership of who they are.
Mantle came up to the Yankees in 1951 with tremendous promise. He was loved by the fans and by Casey Stengel. The fame went to his head. He was dutifully married to his home town sweet heart. He married her mostly to please his father. But then in New York he was seduced by the fast life and the very beautiful Holly Brooke.
His drinking and Carousing were epic although the press kept it quiet during his early years.
In 1956 he won the triple crown. His baseball career was plagued by injuries. It was amazing that he functioned as well as he did although his seasons were up and down.
He was touted as the successor to Babe Ruth and then Joe DiMaggio and when Roger Maris joined the Yankees in 1960 Mantle was an established and loved star of long standing and Maris was the newcomer.
Mantle had started out very suspicious of the press who often misquoted him. In response at first he was very short with them but he learned, from Bill DeWitt Sr. according to the book, that to be truly loved he had to be friendly with the press. Mickey worked at that and 1961 he was well belovetd.
In 1961 Roger Maris had not yet learned that lesson and was sullen and short with the press. Therefore, when the 1961 season developed in to the race to beat Babe Ruth’s home run record he public wanted Mantle to win it. Mickey did hit 56 home runs that season but he was hampered by injuries and by Ralph Hauk switching him to playing clean up instead of hitting #3. This got him less pitches to hit and less at bats.
In early September Mantle developed some kind of infection in his hip that essentially took him out of the race.
The press tried to make it sound like Mantle and Maris were bitter rivals for the record but in fact they were friends and when Mantle was essentially removed from the contest he rooted strenuously for Maris. At the time they were room mates in Queens.
Maris suffered badly from the pressure and the scrutiny of the home run race but he just managed to squeak through and beat the babe with 61 home runs.
Strangely out of sympathy for Mantle falling to Maris in the home run race the fans redoubled their love and sympathy for Mickey Mantle. Sadly it wasn’t long that the mighty Yankees fell from grace and spent some 18 years without winning a pennant.
Many theories for this are postulated. The Yankees were slow to integrate. The beloved Yogi Berra was summarily fired after the 1964 world series loss the more integrated Saint Louis Cardinals. Ralph Hauk took over after Berra and was a humorless disciplinarian who belittled the Yankees and Mantle in particular for their familiar carousing life.
By about 1968 Mickey was hitting only 237 and he announced his retirement in March of 1969 at the age of 37. God only knows what records he would have set and how long he would have played if he had not suffered such injuries.
Mantle died prematurely at the age of 64 on August 13, 1995, from liver cancer.
Marris was also hamstrung with injuries particularly a broken bone in his right Hand that the yankees hid from him and eventually required surgery.
Marris was traded to the cardinals in 1967 and he had two good seasons there.
Maris died prematurely at the age of 51
They both did but the interesting story is not how they became great ball players but how they dealt with fame and how fame dealt with them. There is always a tension between what the fans want and believe their heroes to be and what they really are. Sometimes the heroes grow in to what their fans want them to be. Sometimes they just pretend to grow in to it. Sometimes they hate their fans demanding and expecting them to be something they are not. They all struggle with and resist the fans’ presumed ownership of who they are.
Mantle came up to the Yankees in 1951 with tremendous promise. He was loved by the fans and by Casey Stengel. The fame went to his head. He was dutifully married to his home town sweet heart. He married her mostly to please his father. But then in New York he was seduced by the fast life and the very beautiful Holly Brooke.
His drinking and Carousing were epic although the press kept it quiet during his early years.
In 1956 he won the triple crown. His baseball career was plagued by injuries. It was amazing that he functioned as well as he did although his seasons were up and down.
He was touted as the successor to Babe Ruth and then Joe DiMaggio and when Roger Maris joined the Yankees in 1960 Mantle was an established and loved star of long standing and Maris was the newcomer.
Mantle had started out very suspicious of the press who often misquoted him. In response at first he was very short with them but he learned, from Bill DeWitt Sr. according to the book, that to be truly loved he had to be friendly with the press. Mickey worked at that and 1961 he was well belovetd.
In 1961 Roger Maris had not yet learned that lesson and was sullen and short with the press. Therefore, when the 1961 season developed in to the race to beat Babe Ruth’s home run record he public wanted Mantle to win it. Mickey did hit 56 home runs that season but he was hampered by injuries and by Ralph Hauk switching him to playing clean up instead of hitting #3. This got him less pitches to hit and less at bats.
In early September Mantle developed some kind of infection in his hip that essentially took him out of the race.
The press tried to make it sound like Mantle and Maris were bitter rivals for the record but in fact they were friends and when Mantle was essentially removed from the contest he rooted strenuously for Maris. At the time they were room mates in Queens.
Maris suffered badly from the pressure and the scrutiny of the home run race but he just managed to squeak through and beat the babe with 61 home runs.
Strangely out of sympathy for Mantle falling to Maris in the home run race the fans redoubled their love and sympathy for Mickey Mantle. Sadly it wasn’t long that the mighty Yankees fell from grace and spent some 18 years without winning a pennant.
Many theories for this are postulated. The Yankees were slow to integrate. The beloved Yogi Berra was summarily fired after the 1964 world series loss the more integrated Saint Louis Cardinals. Ralph Hauk took over after Berra and was a humorless disciplinarian who belittled the Yankees and Mantle in particular for their familiar carousing life.
By about 1968 Mickey was hitting only 237 and he announced his retirement in March of 1969 at the age of 37. God only knows what records he would have set and how long he would have played if he had not suffered such injuries.
Mantle died prematurely at the age of 64 on August 13, 1995, from liver cancer.
Marris was also hamstrung with injuries particularly a broken bone in his right Hand that the yankees hid from him and eventually required surgery.
Marris was traded to the cardinals in 1967 and he had two good seasons there.
Maris died prematurely at the age of 51
June 14, 2022
Not sure Tony Castro made a good case for seeing Mantle, Maris and the home run race of 1961 as emblematic of Camelot (he made a better case for how Maris, Mantle, and Ruth shared turbulent family lives), but this dual biography is a good read nonetheless. What I found most interesting was how Mantle blamed manager Ralph Houk's decision to use him in the cleanup slot for most of 1961 as costing him home runs because he saw fewer good pitches to hit (under Stengel, he and Maris had about the same number of at-bats at cleanup in 1960). When Houk became general manager (he was celebrated as a no-nonsense player's manager), Maris was mislead about the extent and treatment of his injuries. Castro found and befriended Holly Brooke, Mantle's "New York girlfriend" during his first decade on the team, and managed to find some new angles on Mantle's life. Based on this, I'd like to read Castro's Gehrig and the Babe.
December 10, 2022
Good read to learn about the Yankee icons before my time
June 20, 2022
Tony, another home run! At first I thought “oh no not another book on Mickey Mantle” but you did an excellent take in interweaving the careers of the Mick and Roger Maris. Loved it!
April 28, 2023
Rating: A-
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews