Review of "Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms," by Elden Auker and Tom Keegan

Review of

Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms, by Elden Auker and Tom Keegan ISBN 1892049252

Five out of five stars

 There are three reasons why this is one of the best books of memoirs by a major league baseball player. The first is that Auker played with and against many of the legends of the game. The names of the other players are Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Grove, Williams, Cochrane, Gehringer and the Deans among others. His firsthand accounts of his interaction with other players, specifically Dizzy Dean and Ted Williams run counter to much of what others said about them.

 For example, he describes Dizzy Dean as a very articulate man, quite different from his public persona. He also explains that Ted Williams was a naive rookie that dressed poorly because he was sending every penny that he could to his mother, to pull her out of difficult circumstances. His opinion of Leo Durocher is consistent with that of all other sources.

 The second reason is that Auker operated in a more sophisticated arena when his baseball career was over. He describes an encounter with Senator Harry Truman and a lengthy social engagement with Joseph Kennedy Senior that included some very frank comments about how he earned his fortune and what he thought of his sons. The meeting took place after the death of Joe Junior and Senior expressed his angst over his demise in World War II.

 The third reason is that the writing is excellent, the action moves along very well, with very little excess verbiage. Some of the books by athletes that are ghostwritten are poorly done with awkward prose. This one makes them look shameful.