A Life Well Lived

This weekend I kicked off baseball season by reading "The Soul of Baseball, A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America" by Joe Posnanski.

It was, simply put, the best book I've ever read. It caused me to write my second ever review on Amazon. The first was for the first version of "The Best Recipe" cookbook, which was the #1 rated review of the book with 193 of 198 helpful comments. The review is so old that the version I reviewed has been replaced by a new-improved edition.

My review of the O'Neil book is also rated #1. That is because it is the only review so far of a book that was published last week. In fact, no one has though my review stunk, because no one has reviewed my review.

Anyway, here is what I wrote:

If and when you get the opportunity of a lifetime, are you going to do it justice, or are you going to blow it?

Joe Posnanski, a gifted observer and writer, got that opportunity when he spent a year traveling with Buck O'Neil, a true American icon. It turned out to be the last year of Buck's life, but despite the fact that he was 94, it was certainly eventful as the other 93 had been.

Posnanski began with the intention of writing a book about the Negro Leagues, for which Buck was the somewhat official spokesman. In the end, it was a portrait of an amazing man and a life well lived. And in that portrait, it is, as well, a painting (not a photo, but a watercolor painting) of the Negro Leagues and the men that were a part of it.

There are no words that can do this book and this man justice. Every chapter is a beautiful story that is guaranteed to make you laugh and simultaneously cry. Just read it. Posnanski took his opportunity of a lifetime and blasted it out of the park.

When I finished the book, I told my wife that I want her to put a copy of this book in my coffin when I'm gone. Maybe it will help me have an after-life well lived. It's sure to help me here.

Don't waste any time. Get it today. After all, it's baseball season.