Review of "When You Come to A Fork In the Road, Take It!," by Yogi Berra

Review of

When You Come to A Fork In the Road, Take It!, by Yogi Berra ISBN 076867752

Five out of five stars

 Beloved by baseball fans, Yogi Berra is the most quoted sports figure of all time and he even ranks higher than most other people that are known for their profound statements. Often lost within the coverage of his most famous sayings is the fact that he was a superb baseball player. Easily elected to the Hall of Fame and the holder of an incredible ten World Series rings, Berra was incredibly successful on the diamond as a player and then as a coach and manager. For decades, the records of most career home runs and most consecutive games played seemed unattainable, yet they were broken. Berra’s record of ten rings is arguably the most difficult to match or exceed.

 This book is only loosely based on some of his famous sayings, one of which opens each chapter. From that, there are a few pages of Yogi explaining his philosophy of life and baseball that forms the basis of the saying. My favorite Yogi quote is the one likely repeated most often in all fields of endeavor, “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over.” The subject of chapter 21, this is one of the wisest, most applicable pieces of advice that anyone can ever receive.

 The Yogi quote I most often borrow refers to situations when there is the perception that it is later than it seems. I say, “It’s getting late early tonight,” while Yogi said, “It gets late early out there.” In the last several decades, many books have been written  by sports figures where they trash their teammates, the opposition and anyone else that they feel has slighted them. Not so with Yogi, he never takes a shot at others, even praising Jackie Robinson for his graciousness in defeat.

 Furthermore, while people may laugh at his sayings, no one laughs at him and the smart among us recognize the wisdom in so much of what he said.