Stan the Man: The Life and Times of Stan Musial

by Wayne Stewart

Finally, here is a biography of Stan Musial that is worthy of the player himself. The author, who grew up in Musial's hometown, has spent years researching the slugger's life and career. The result is a biography broad in scope and deep in analysis. Stan the Man details not only the personality and the accomplishments of the man but artfully examines Musial's life against the backdrop of the Great Depression (which the already-impoverished Musial family endured), race and integration, and the tragedy that struck his hometown of Donora, Pennsylvania, and claimed many lives, including ultimately his father's.
The slew of never-before-published material and revealing anecdotes gained through numerous exclusive interviews with former classmates, relatives, friends, teammates, and contemporaries allow this book to shed fresh light on the legendary Musial while making the book a must-read for all baseball fans.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

WAYNE STEWART has been a professional sports writer for more than 30 years, and has published hundreds of articles in such publications as USA Today/Baseball Weekly, Baseball Digest, Boy's Life, and Beckett Baseball Card Monthly.

Reviews

[Tom Gase · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good baseball book on "The Man". Didn't know too much about Musial besides the fact that he's probably the greatest St. Louis Cardinal of all time and an outstanding person. I guess I didn't know just how good he was. Currently of all NL players in the Hall of Fame, he is the leader in hits. Ever.

I liked how the author Wayne Stewart used a lot of good references for his research such as David Halberstam, but Wayne, come on. Jackie Robinson's debut came on April 15, 1947 not 1946. I know people that have never seen a baseball game that know that. Other than that, I thought the research was good and the first half of the book was well-written. The second half of the book seemed to go back and forth too much, and I was never really sure what year it was, where in Musial's first few years where he made the World Series, that was explained very good. I think this book is closer to a four than a two, but with only 226 pages, I felt I didn't learn enough about him and was wishing for more. The book just ended too soon, as I finished it in about three days.

One thing I did learn from this book is that the town Musial grew up in, Donora PA, is rich with professional athletes. Joe Montana as well as all the Griffey's grew up there. So I did learn that. Overall, I'll probably read another Stewart book if the subject interests me. I recommend this book to any baseball fan, especially fans of the Cardinals.

[Mr. Kovach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did enjoy parts of this book because it's a high interest subject for me - I've always wanted to read a book about the great Stan Musial - but the book just isn't written very well. It's a jumble of endless little stories that do generally follow a timeline but are not knitted together in a pleasing way for the reader. The narrative about this most compelling man just keeps falling all over itself. The reader starts a new paragraph thinking this is more about the little anecdote just started, only to realize this is ANOTHER little anecdote, with no apparent connection or transition between the two. And it's way sycophantic. Way. It's more a sugary tribute that keeps trying to prove again and again how wonderful and talented this man is. And I'm sure he was both, most especially the latter, but both. His baseball accomplishments were epic, and he was apparently a very nice man. But this book isn't literature (not that it claims to be). It's (poorly written) idol worship. Better baseball books? Ball Four. A False Spring. The Last Days of Summer. The Glory of Their Times. The Celebrant. The Boys of Summer.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Baseball biography I read; after having read it I believe it will for me become later the most important. Currently (December 2012) I am reading the biography of Honus Wagner and I have others on my list to read as well; though my normal genre is Military History/War/Battles, etc. This book was a fast read for me because I truly enjoyed every page. I later bought this same book and mailed it to my Godson who plays Highschool Baseball at present; as History Godfather I wanted to introduce some History to his favorite passtime.

Enjoy the book!

[Dave Manary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wayne Stewart is from Musial's hometown of Donora, PA so this biography focuses a little more on his upbringing there and his association with his hometown once he left it for St. Louis. Stewart is a good researcher but I found his writing style to be a little clunky. Nevertheless, he was able to reinforce the fact that Stan was a really great human being first, beyond being one of the best baseball players of all time.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Musial was The Man on and off the field. He lived his life in a way that all of us should try to emulate. This book does a wonderful job of telling the story of Musial’s life without focusing solely on Musial and stats. The author talks about the game of baseball during Musial’s career and what was going on in the world at the time (WWII, segregation, etc.) which gives perspective and a broader view of Musial and the world around him.

As a fan of baseball, I’ve always known Musial was great, but this book brought my understanding of Musial to a whole new level and I now fully understand that he truly was The Man.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a baseball fan this was a fun read about one of my boyhood idols. And there was a lot about Stan the Man that I didn't know. A tremendous hitter that would be so much better known if he'd played for NY. But never mind, I'm glad he played for the Cardinals. Every baseball fan should read this.

[Bret Eubank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed and often moving account of an American icon...Stan "The Man" Musial.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stan Musial was from Donora, Pennsylvania. He was a nice guy and super good at baseball. Oh, and he was from Donora. Now, let's stretch that into 200+ pages.

[Chris Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable biography, written shortly prior to Musial's death. Excellently researched and covers in depth better than most baseball bios. The final chapter ends a litter bitterly discussing Musial's place in history.

[Shane Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

its good

[Ian Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author was trying too hard for a Sports book. Too many "big" words (Prestidigitation, insomnolent?)

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another toss up, Subject Matter rates a five, Author holding my attention is a 3 so it's a 4