cover image The Illustrated History of Mickey Mantle

The Illustrated History of Mickey Mantle

Gene Schoor. Carroll & Graf Publishers, $28.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7867-0305-0

The ingenuous country boy who became one of the most popular Yankee players of all time, Mantle is arguably the best switch-hitter who ever played the game. His 536 career home runs place him eighth on the all-time list. The story of his meteoric rise from the minors to the majors, his eagerness to play even when badly injured and his legendary carouses with teammates Billy Martin and Whitey Ford has been told many times, but not in so prolifically illustrated a format as this sanitized biography by the author of The Joe DiMaggio Story. The book contains more than 200 photos, some in color, many of them fine action shots. Fans of the player who left Commerce, Okla., to become the darling of the Big Apple won't want to miss it. Mantle died in 1995, following a liver transplant operation. 35,000 first printing; author tour. (Apr.)