About the Author

David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, and Vince Lombardi, and a trilogy about the 1960s--Rome 1960; Once in a Great City (winner of the RFK Book Prize); and They Marched into Sunlight (winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and Pulitzer Finalist in History).

Reviews

"Clemente stands apart. His story, like the game he played, is a deep breath of fresh spring air."--David Hinckley "Daily News (New York)"

"Maraniss brings imagination, energy, and even poetry to his superb biography of one of the greatest ballplayers ever to delight a stadium full of fans."--Bill Littlefield "The Boston Globe"

"Splendid . . . . A baseball-savvy book sensitive to the social context that made Clemente baseball's future . . . . Thanks to Maraniss, Clemente's legacy is suitably defined and explained."--George F. Will "The New York Times Book Review"

"The year's best bio."--Sports Illustrated

If ever a baseball player were deemed worthy of canonization, right fielder Roberto Clemente might be the one. Jackie Robinson may have suffered greater hardships during his career, but Clemente's nobility, charity and determination make him far more appropriate for a postage stamp than a Nike commercial. After 18 distinguished seasons, the Pirate star with the astonishing throwing arm died in a 1972 plane crash while en route to deliver relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims. Considering the potential for hagiography, Washington Post staffer and Clinton biographer Maraniss sticks to the facts in this respectful and dispassionate account. Clemente is a deceptively easy subject for a biographer: his acquired halo tinges past events and the accounts of his colleagues (although close friend Vic Power is frequently quoted to both admiring and frank effect). Clemente wasn't entirely virtuous-he had a temper and was sometimes given to pouting-but his altruism appears to have been a genuine product of his impoverished Puerto Rican upbringing. Maraniss deftly balances baseball and loftier concerns like racism; he presents a nuanced picture of a ballplayer more complicated than the encomiums would suggest, while still wholly deserving them. Photos. First serial in Sports Illustrated; author tour. (On sale Apr. 25) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

"Splendid . . . . A baseball-savvy book sensitive to the social context that made Clemente baseball's future . . . . Thanks to Maraniss, Clemente's legacy is suitably defined and explained."