My Favorite Summer 1956

by Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle, the hayseed kid from Spavinaw,  Oklahoma, was in his sixth year with the Yankees. He  was already America's homerun king. He was about  to become a national hero. 1956 would be a  record-breaking the golden summer fans would  remember forever. Now Mickey Mantle brings it all  back just the way it happened--spectacular playing  on field, crazy hijinks with Whitey Ford and Billy  Martin off. There never was a time like it before  in baseball. There never will be again. It was  magic.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

About the author

Mickey Charles Mantle was an American baseball player who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

He played his entire 18-year major-league professional career for the New York Yankees, winning 3 American League MVP titles and playing in 16 All-Star games. Mantle played on 12 pennant winners and 7 World Series Championship clubs. He still holds the records for most World Series home runs (18), RBIs (40), runs (42), walks (43), extra-base hits (26), and total bases (123).

Reviews

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit I am a Mantle guy. He was my favorite player growing up and I never had any doubt about the debate among Willie, Duke and Mick.

So I found this anecdotal telling of the 1956 season to be very entertaining and enjoyable. There were some new details (for me) about Don Larsen's perfect game, as well as some drill downs into Mantle's Triple Crown year.

Light read, fun read, good read.

[Chickens McShitterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this when I was about 16 or 17. I loved it. Mantle seemed so wild, partying with Billy Martin and Whitey Ford. With a Mantle biography under my belt and nearly thirty years between reading this for the first time, it is obvious how much of this is total fluff and totally the work of Pepe not Mantle.
A super easy read, kinda boring for the most part, and an absolute glossing over 1956 (though his marital strife with Merlyn is alluded to). The drinking and womanizing is only slightly mentioned, and coupled with casual racism (the watermelon prank with Elston Howard comes off as horrendously offensive) and the last six or so chapters devoted to the 1956 World Series, this was only an ok read for me.
I'll read it in another thirty years and have a different opinion probably.

[Michael Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy, nostalgic read about Mickey Mantle's 1956 baseball season in which he won the Triple Crown, leading Major League Baseball in average (.353), HRs (52) and RBIs (130). Great baseball names from the past include the Mick's teammates: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Hank Bauer, Billy Martin, Phil Rizzuto, Don Larsen, and Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, managed by Casey Stengel. Dodgers manager Walter Alston, with Brooklyn players such as Don Drysdale, Pee Wee Reese, Elston Howard, Clem Labine, Roger Craig, Don Newcombe, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and other "Boys of Summer" - along with HOFers like Ted Williams, Enos Slaughter, and other familiar names from my childhood added to the pleasure of devouring this book filled with delightful anecdotes. A baseball fan's delight!

[Wayne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone that lived through and loved that wonderful baseball era between WWII and Viet-Nam, this book is a must. Mickey was a simple, fun-loving and baseball playing country boy and loved being in the Majors. He talks about all the great 50's players he got to meet and played with, or against, and seemed to enjoy knowing. He even talks about his favorite fan (and good luck piece), Ike. My favorite passage is where he recounts sitting down with Ted Williams and discussing theories of hitting. After listening to Ted's complicated stratagems, Mickey tried them himself and went 0 for 25. After that he went back to just swinging at the ball!

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of fun to read. . . . This is Mickey Mantle's recollection (with Phil Pepe as his wordsmith) of his self-described favorite summer--1956. Lots of home runs (see the table at the end of the book for the homer by homer tally--from Camilo Pascual in April to Bob Porterfield on September 28th--his 52nd long ball). Included is the perfect game by Don Larsen in the World Series. Mantle gives a good sense of the team and its players. For those interested in baseball and the New York Yankees in the 1950s, this willo be enjoyable reading.

[Mike Drinkard · Rating 4 out of 5]

For baseball lovers, this is great. There’s something about the game, it’s stats and it’s players that is timeless and relaxing. I was alive when Mickey Mantle was playing and remember having his baseball card. I knew he was a great player. This retelling of his favorite Summer was both enjoyable and relaxing. A nice escape into the past to get away from the turbulent 2020-21 jumble.

[Jose Urena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not even a NY Yankees fan and I enjoyed this book. Mickey Mantle was a legend. He always will be known as one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

[Guillermo Lorenzo Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great memories from one of the best players in MLB historu

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

this recounts the summer of 1956 when mantle was able to achieve what was long thought that he could accomplish. first 60 percent is the 1956 season along with various other other stories he felt fit into the story. the final 40 percent is the 1956 world series. insightful.

[Blake Bergmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book “My Favorite Summer 1956”, Mickey Mantle with the help of Phil Pete told about Mantles 1956 Major League Baseball season. Mantle describes his season with lots of ups and downs, but he hit the most homeruns, had the highest batting average and the most runs batted in, earning him the Triple Crown. The purpose was to tell Mickey Mantle’s most outstanding season. He also was thrilled to be able to play with some of his close friends like Joe Collins, Don Larsen and Yogi Berra. It was also Mickey Mantle’s 4th of the 7 World Series Championships.

The theme is to keep trying and never give up, no matter the circumstances. He tried his hardest that season. He had struggles during his amazing season. Like in September, his batting average drop drastically due to his bad swings at the plate. He later describes how bad it was by saying “I couldn’t hit a pitch even if they would tell me what they were throwing, again.” He grew up wanting to be a baseball player and against most odds, he became more than a baseball player. He became a Hall of Famer. It shows anything’s possible and you should chase your dreams.

This book was a narrative of the life of Mickey Mantle during his 1956 baseball season. It tells, from April to October, what was going on in his career. He had battled and won the Triple Crown, which is one of the hardest accomplishments in baseball. He also won the World Series. He was lucky enough to be able to see and play in the game Don Larsen threw a perfect game in game two of the World Series. He showed his emotions in this book by talking about how nervous he was of letting the Triple Crown slip away from him but he fought back and won it.

I liked this book. I thought it was a good book because it was an autobiography of Mickey Mantle, but Phil Pete helped him write it. It shows a firsthand experience through Mantle’s point of view. It was also neat learning about his season and stats. Usually, the 1956 season is always referred to the Yankee’s Championship and Larsen’s perfect game. No one really hears about Mantle’s Triple Crown. I like that it’s an autobiography because everything said in the book is true facts. I liked everything about it and wouldn’t change anything because it was the way Mickey Mantle would have told it himself. I have read one other book like this and it was called “Three Nights in August”. It talked about the career of Tony LaRussa and the St. Louis Cardinals.

[Marshall Merims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Reading. Mickey Mantle had his greatest season in 1956 which was a few years into his 18 year career. He won baseball’s triple crown with a batting average of .353 (8 points over Ted Williams), 52 home runs (20 more than Vic Wertz which is incredible), and 130 RBI’s (2 more than Al Kaline). Mickey also led the American League in Slugging %, Total Bases, and Runs Scored. This book chronicles how 1955 ended losing the World Series to the Brooklyn Dodgers, the off season, 1956 Spring Training, many games during the 1956 season, and then a game by game account of the 1956 World Series. That season culminated with a World Series rematch with the Dodgers, but the Yankees prevailed including that no-hitter by Don Larsen in game 5. Due to Mickey’s raw power, he was often walked but he also was a frequent strikeout victim. This is a great statistical excerpt from the book. “In eighteen years, I had 1734 walks and 1710 strikeouts. That’s 3444 plate appearances WITHOUT HITTING THE BALL. Figuring on an average of 550 plate appearances a season, in a sense I went seven years in the major leagues without ever touching the ball.” Very smooth and fun reading.

[Luke Koran · Rating 3 out of 5]

In one of Mickey Mantle’s three autobiographies, the Triple Crown season of 1956 and relevant tidbits concerning his entire career and teammates are told throughout “My Favorite Summer.” In this rather short read, Mantle and his ghostwriter, Phil Pepe, document nearly every game of his historic 1956 season, including in vast detail all seven games of the World Series. I look forward to reading Mickey’s other two books, especially “The Mick”, as I feel that since the source material will cover a much larger time frame the book will greatly benefit as a result.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, straightforward, and apparently honest retelling of the 1956 season (with appropriate recounting of pre- and post-year stories) by a man who lived it. Mantle was a great player, not a great writer, but he (and his co-author) talk baseball from the perspective of a player. And Mantle does not hesitate to criticize or to praise, where necessary. A great inside look.

[Garrrett Monson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book I'd recommend to any baseball fan especially a Yankee! A lighthearted fact based account about the early years of a rookie baseball player. Moments of chaos and confussion give way to a lesson learned and more than a few laughs! Fast paced, easy read!

[Michael Romo · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this interesting book about the 1956 Yankees season Mantle tells us about not his best athletic season but rather about the season he enjoyed the most. That's saying a lot since those Yankee teams of the 50's had a reputation for enjoying themselves!

[M. Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good memoir "written" by Mickey Mantle with the help of sportswriter Phil Pepe, about the Mick's amazing Triple Crown season.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mood setter for summer. Read it every opening day.

[Erwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a Yankee Fan and especially Mantle fan this is probably 4 or 5 stars. I am not... and as a baseball book it was not that impressive. Mantle blends the facts of his Triple Crown season with insights into his teammates: Whitey Ford and Billy Martin are the most discussed because they seemed to have been his primary 'partying' participants. As he speaks of his accomplishments that year he gives some 'backhanded' compliments to others on their accomplishments but 'qualifies' them as well. One of the best chapters is about Don Larsen's Perfect Game in the '56 World Series.