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I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

by Jackie Robinson

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 766 ratings · 103 reviews

The Autobiography of a Boy of Summer Who Became a Man for All Seasons

Before Barry Bonds, before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own c ...more

Kindle Edition , 320 pages

Published March 19th 2013 by Ecco (first published January 1st 1972)

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Sep 16, 2015 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: baseball , non-fiction , library-ebook , read-2015 , saw-the-movie

Jackie Robinson definitely "had the guts."

After finishing I Never Had It Made today, I called my brother and asked to speak to my dad, and after a good laugh, he said, call 1-800-H.E.A.V.E.N. (oh how I wish I could) I know as sure as I'm sitting here that my dad was listening to the historic game on his transistor radio back on April 15, 1947 when Jackie Robinson made his major league debut as a Brooklyn Dodger. Why had I never asked him about it?

This amazing story of courage about a determined

Jackie Robinson definitely "had the guts."

This amazing story of courage about a determined African-American baseball player in the face of racism, and his heroic Manager, Branch Rickey who changed baseball forever, is a powerful and enlightening read, and it encompasses so much more than the game. I did not know JR was in the military stationed in Honolulu leaving just two days prior to the Pearl Harbor bombing. I did not know he told Senator JFK he should look people in the eye when speaking. I did not know he had three children and lost one in a tragic accident, and I did not know about the old baseball term "choking up".......no no, not on the bat, but like kicking the dirt or throwing hands up in the air in frustration, apparently (back in the day) players would grab their throats in a choking motion whenever an umpire made a bad call favoring the home team. (of course, that would never happen now.......)

I love baseball, and now know when all Major League Baseball players wear the #42 on the backs of their jersey each April to honor Jackie Robinson, I will appreciate and remember all the obstacles and injustices this brave man endured even more.

Highly recommend! (and thanks dad for taking me to the games)

Jackie Roosevelt Robinson January 31, 1919 *** October 24, 1972

"I'm not concerned with you liking or disliking me....all I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

"I never had it made. I was a black man in a white world of baseball."

Update: September 15, 2015

42 is a great baseball movie that truly brings the 1940's back to life, and putting aside the beautiful homes with large wrap-around porches, vintage automobiles and the wonderful clothing of the time.....with the exception of the horribly ugly fat ties, the best part for me was experiencing the sights and sounds of fans in the old stadiums, players in wool uniforms, watching Harrison Ford do a bang-up job as Branch Ricky, and seeing a part of Jackie Robinson's life portrayed on screen.

Thank you GR's friend Julie for reviewing this book and bringing it to my attention!

...more

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Christine Terrell Outstanding review, Carol!! My Dad is a native of New York City. I became a rabid Yankees fan in 1960 when Dad started taking my brother and me to the ...more
Sep 16, 2015 05:18PM

Carol Christine wrote: "Outstanding review, Carol!! My Dad is a native of New York City. I became a rabid Yankees fan in 1960 when Dad started taking my bro ...more
Sep 16, 2015 06:03PM

Aug 27, 2015 ❀Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction , autiobiography

I Never Had it Made was so much more than a book about a famous baseball player. I was expecting this autobiography by Jackie Robinson to be mostly about his baseball career, but instead it captured his whole life, from his early childhood years, to well beyond his baseball career into his involvement in politics and the civil rights movement, including the people who were influential in his life. His story was heartfelt and honest and something about it being written in his own words made it so ...more

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Iris Pereyra Nice review Julie, as a life long Baseball fan I would love to learn more about Robinson's life and career. Put me down as a Red Sox fan though!
Sep 06, 2015 01:23AM

❀Julie Thanks Iris. Glad to see you added it. I think you would enjoy this being a baseball fan especially, but I realized while reading it that it's a good ...more
Sep 06, 2015 07:11AM

Dec 26, 2013 Szplug rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An autobiography that is inspiring its its entirety—certainly enough to overcome the disheartening element—via exposing to the envenomed root the way in which racism reduces a unique individual to a collective trope of projected fears and ignorance whilst simultaneously depicting the ability for a courageous and committed person—provided with the requisite buttresses of equally determined spouse, kith and kin—to effect change at an exponential level upon the viscosity and rigidity of such staunc An autobiography that is inspiring its its entirety—certainly enough to overcome the disheartening element—via exposing to the envenomed root the way in which racism reduces a unique individual to a collective trope of projected fears and ignorance whilst simultaneously depicting the ability for a courageous and committed person—provided with the requisite buttresses of equally determined spouse, kith and kin—to effect change at an exponential level upon the viscosity and rigidity of such staunch superficial prejudices. Where better to begin hammering away at Jim Crow than via the bat and glove wielded within America's pastime? Robinson emerges as a bona fide hero, an immensely gifted baseball player whose skills yet take second place to his qualities as a human being, and that he served in a much broader capacity than as an athlete: campaigning for politicians, promoting the NAACP, working for Civil Rights causes, supporting the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, and generally advancing the issues of human equality, whether pertaining to race or other areas of disparity.

Born into a Californian family of faith and pride, the young Robinson—early an athletic star—would brook no indignities based upon being black, a character trait that made his requisite perduring silence that much more of a burden when his baseball skills brought him into the majors. Eventually, the uplift provided by his story—loving marriage to the equally impressive Rachel; the determination and unwavering moral firmness (part business cunning, part Christian decency) of Branch Rickey; the pivotal support of teammates like Pee Wee Reese and Eddie Stanky, along with the legion of black fans whose stadium thronging to catch a glimpse of Robinson revealed a lucrative element of the sports market waiting to be tapped if only parity on the diamond be admitted; the crack in the barriers between white and coloured athletes that, thanks to Robinson's sterling qualities on and off the field, rapidly saw them flattened beneath a flood—serves to overcome the despair and fury invoked by the continuous and draining display of human hatred, baseness, and ugliness operating both at a fever pitch and quotidian assumption.

He's not a perfect figure, of course, particularly in the surprisingly considerable post-baseball chapters, when he's operating in different fields and wherein he takes shots and settles some scores simultaneous with defending certain actions he undertook that were criticized at the time—notably in the arenas of politics [wasn't a fan of JFK, was one of Nixon, a predilection for Republicans that baffled the populace] and a Civil Rights movement with whom he disagreed about means and what he saw as an old guard calcification. His opinions grew stronger as he aged and personal setbacks unfolded, while a sense of disillusionment mounted—for with all that he accomplished in an active life, he still could never shake the sense that he was a black man living in a white man's world, forced to adapt himself to its demands for simple survival to a degree that his words become more timbered with bitterness.

I have to say that I felt a tremendous amount of pleasure—a real Sunny D glow extending unto the cockles of my noarthern pillock heart—upon discovering how fondly Jackie described and reminisced about his days in Montreal ere the Big Show, about how its people—fans, neighbours, strangers on the street—were the first whom he and his wife felt did not judge them by the colour of their skin; indeed, that their delirious affection for him after his clutch play helped seal the 1946 Little World Series for the hometown Royals led to an inflamed pursuit that stirred an observing American reporter to muse:

It was probably the only day in history that a black man ran from a white mob with love instead of lynching on its mind.

The restraint and class he exhibited were superhuman, but, thanks to his supportive relationship with Rickey, Robinson was always aware that it was pivotal he do so in the face of endless abuse for the pioneer role he had undertaken. It was the correct strategy to pursue, to the degree that Robinson's manager in Montreal, Clay Hopper—a Mississippi native with all of the inborn prejudices of the Deep South who had pointedly asked of Rickey while they were observing Robinson in tryouts Do you really think that a nigger is a human being? —shook hands with Robinson when he left the team and told him that he was a great ballplayer and fine gentleman . That's what constituted progress in the mid-forties. My sister-in-law is black, and the reality that, were she and my brother born but a generation prior, their marriage would have been not only difficult and dangerous, but illegal in certain states, leaves me incredulous and appalled. America (and that includes Canada, which is hardly exempt from prejudice and racism) has obviously come a long way since then, and Jackie Robinson's name can stand at a place of high honour among those who were instrumental in bringing about this vital state of affairs.

Alfred Duckett does a fine job of allowing Robinson's words to sound self-wrought upon the page, of the man himself: concise, clear, and to the point. And while Robinson does not allow us deep glances into his psyche, his words do capture the emotional toll imposed upon him (and his wife) by exposure to the relentless waves of negativity and abuse, as well as that of personal tragedies like the early death of his troubled son, Jackie Junior. In absorbing so much of America's racial animus while paving the way for his peers and successors Robinson was prematurely aged, and his death came about rapidly when he was only 53. One need not be a baseball fan to appreciate this book—for it goes without saying that Robinson, beyond his prowess as a ballplayer, was an incredible human being: classy, courageous, proud, determined, and just generally of that singularly inspiring individual type whose tale must lead even the confirmed misanthrope to note we're capable of rising to some mightily daunting challenges when push comes to shove. ...more

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Aug 08, 2013 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sports , memoir

A *3.5*Read this on my e-reader. A pretty decent read written by Jackie Robinson.I usually do not read books about sports. but this was a memoir written shortly before Jackie Robinson died in the early 1970s.Mr.Robinson wrote about his childhood and of course his years spent playing for the Dodgers what he endured being one of the first black men to play professional baseball. he was honest about the prejudices he endured those first few years, how slowly his teammates learned to accept him one ...more

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May 01, 2013 Brian Dempsey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Blunt and direct the way books released today would be unlikely to match. So many of the stories we have heard about Jackie over the years being told in the voice of the man who lived through these experiences is very powerful. Only Jackie and Branch Rickey (and perhaps Clyde Sukeforth) really know what was said in that very important first meeting. This also gives a vivid account of the many slights that Robinson did not know about firsthand, but only learned later. It is a story that shows Jac ...more

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Feb 22, 2015 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: race , struggle

I grew up with three brothers, therefore I first knew Jackie Robinson as a legendary baseball player. I became more aware of the world and more political, and then I found out that he had been the first Black baseball player allowed to play in the Major Leagues.

This trajectory of knowing, my initial disbelief that there was ever a time when Black people could not play baseball with white is due to the world that Jackie Robinson helped to create, and I give thanks looking back that this is the wo ...more

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Sep 29, 2013 Anuj Davé rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A straightforward yet inspiring story of what it took to be the first man of color to break into the white world of professional sports. Jackie Robinson's story is more than a telling of his tremendous talent; it is also a recollection that showcases his tenacious spirit, bravery and the courage of his ideals. From the early influences of family and friends, to his time at UCLA, to the army where he challenged racism and Jim Crow laws, Jackie Robinson traces his life to playing in the black leag ...more

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Jun 06, 2013 Clare rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wonderful read whether you're an avid baseball fan or (like me) completely uneducated on the baseball world. Jackie Robinson's voice comes through loud and clear in a tone of humility, pride, and dedication. Robinson was a hero in so many ways and affected the history of the US in more ways than I ever imagined.

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Aug 11, 2013 Lance rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: baseball , blog , sports

Rating: 4 1/2 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:Jackie Robinson is one of the few athletes whose importance and popularity transcended sports. “I Never Had It Made” is an excellent autobiography on his life, his outspoken views on the state of civil rights for black people during his life and oh, yes, a little bit about his baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers as well.

Most people know of his accomplishments on the baseball field and what he had to endure during his early years with the Dodgers, ...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Carol Storm rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shockingly honest -- the black autobiography white liberals can't afford not to read!

Given the smug, patronizing way Baby-Boom liberals from Anna Quindlen to Matt Groening have appropriated the Civil Rights movement as their own personal victory, it's genuinely shocking to hear the way Jackie Robinson defends Richard Nixon and ridicules JFK.

Yet that's only one of the shocking secrets you'll learn in this long-forgotten (or is that long-suppressed?) heroic narrative of the black experience.

Jack ...more

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Dec 08, 2014 Sam Blanchard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was probably the best book I have ever read. It is an Autobiography of the life of Jackie Robinson from when he was a kid all throughout his life and career until he himself had Children with his wife Rachel. It explains all the adventures Jackie had throughout his life like being drafted in the military after attending UCLA (where he met Rae), and basically sums up what it was like to be an African American man during the time he lived. Through all of the name calling and racial segregatio ...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Lois rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography

I gave it 2 stars, not because Jackie was not a fascinating man who had incredible stories, but he is not a writer. I could have maybe followed the time line of his life better if he had just told his story in chronological order, rather than jumping back and forth. Jackie had a lot of interesting things to say, but I found the book very difficult to read. It jumped back and forth in time and dates. I found hard to remember what he was doing, where he was working at the times he would go back to ...more

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May 31, 2015 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"I Never Had It Made"
This book is an autobiography about Jackie Robinson's life. Robinson was the first African American to play Major League baseball. Robinson went to college with white boys at UCLA do it wouldn't be hard for him to adapt; it would be hard for everyone else. Robinson was also in the military before he played baseball so he knows how to control his anger. If he doesn't control his anger during baseball, he's not going to be there long. Jackie was playing for the Kansas City Mon ...more

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Mar 29, 2015 Talha Mufti rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book I Never Had It Made Jackie Robinson told by Alfred Duckett is a touching story about events that occurred in Jackie Robinson's life. The book starts of with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, on April 15, 1947, in front of 26,623 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Robinson wore number 42 which is retired in all of baseball in his Brooklyn Dodger uniform. The story is first told by Cornel West and Hank Aaron. Both of them view Jackie Robinson as an icon.Jackie Robinson was born in No ...more

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Dec 07, 2014 Trae Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

More Than Just Sports
Jackie Robinson I Never Had It Made was a tremendous autobiography by Jackie Robinson. This autobiography is all about Jackie’s inspirational, and proactive life. This book explains how Jackie became the first African-American baseball player who broke the race barrier within the sport. Not only did he change baseball forever, but he also became an extremely influential civil rights leader. Two major themes in this autobiography are never giving up on what you believe in, a More Than Just Sports
Jackie Robinson I Never Had It Made was a tremendous autobiography by Jackie Robinson. This autobiography is all about Jackie’s inspirational, and proactive life. This book explains how Jackie became the first African-American baseball player who broke the race barrier within the sport. Not only did he change baseball forever, but he also became an extremely influential civil rights leader. Two major themes in this autobiography are never giving up on what you believe in, and always do what is right. This is an outstanding book, and I would recommend it to teens and adults.
Jackie Robinson had 3 children with his wife Rachel. Jackie faced large amounts of racism throughout his life. His relentless desire for equal rights was all driven from his experiences. These terrible experiences did not stop him from joining the military, becoming the first black baseball player, joining multiple civil rights movements, and becoming a dad.
Jackie Robinson I Never Had It Made provides many instances of racism Jackie endured. For example, when Jackie was young his neighbors would call him names, “N****r, n****r, n****r” (5). A young girl that lived near Jackie once chanted this at him. Another example is when Clay Hopper was talking to Jackie and Branch Rickey and said, “Do you really think a n****r’s a human being” (48)? These are just a couple of examples of racist comments people would make towards Jackie.
In conclusion, Jackie Robinson I Never Had It Made was a spectacular autobiography by Robinson. This book teaches that Jackie was not merely a black baseball player, but someone who changed the game forever. It also explains how he contributed to the civil rights movements by raising money for groups such as the NAACP, and how he worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. This is an outstanding autobiography and I would rate this book a five out of five because of how descriptive, and interesting it was.
...more

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Nov 13, 2014 Shamir Elliott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book "I Never Had It Made" is an autobiography of the well known baseball player Jackie Robinson. It is in the genre of sports and you can also say history. Most of the story take place in Brooklyn where he played for the Dodgers with the #42. The main character as you may know is Jackie Robinson. The problem in this book is civil rights some of the white people don't want Jackie Robinson to be apart of the MLB.

This is a very good book. I like that in the book no matter what happened Jackie ...more

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May 01, 2014 Chuck rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Given that Jackie Robinson had a ground-breaking career in baseball, it's a bit surprising that less than half of his autobiography deals with that part of his life. The subsequent story, which is probably less well known, is equally interesting.

Robinson was selected by the Brooklyn Dodgers' president, Branch Rickey, for the "noble experiment" to integrate major league baseball. In 1945, Robinson was signed by Montreal, Brooklyn's top farm team, and two years later he joined up with the Dodgers. Given that Jackie Robinson had a ground-breaking career in baseball, it's a bit surprising that less than half of his autobiography deals with that part of his life. The subsequent story, which is probably less well known, is equally interesting.

Robinson was selected by the Brooklyn Dodgers' president, Branch Rickey, for the "noble experiment" to integrate major league baseball. In 1945, Robinson was signed by Montreal, Brooklyn's top farm team, and two years later he joined up with the Dodgers. As Robinson tells the story, he was chosen not only for his athletic talent, but also for his presumed ability to display quiet dignity in the face of racial taunts, bigotry, and humiliation, some of this coming from his own teammates. Time after time, Robinson rose to the occasion, gradually winning respect and friendship from white players, but he was clearly under extreme pressure -- a pressure that was only partially alleviated in 1949 when Rickey told him, "You can be yourself now".

During his ten years with the Dodgers, Robinson played in half a dozen World Series (the Dodgers won the pennant in 1955). In 1956 he was traded to the New York Giants, and at that point he decided to retire from professional baseball despite a $60,000 salary offer from the Giants encouraging him to stay.

In his life after baseball, Robinson was a successful businessman, columnist, and television analyst. He was a spokesman for the rights of African Americans, but he certainly did not follow any script; he supported Richard Nixon's presidential bid in 1960, but Hubert Humphrey's in 1968, and he carried on a very public dispute with Malcolm X whom at one time he had greatly admired. Despite having achieved acceptance in many contexts, Robinson's final words in this book are rather haunting. "[T]here is one irrefutable fact of my life which has determined much of what happened to me: "I was a black man in a white world. I never had it made. "

Co-authored with his long-time collaborator Alfred Duckett, I Never Had It Made moves engagingly from one chapter to the next. Robinson is not at all a self-promoter, although a factual autobiography is certainly entitled to describe its subject's achievements, and his are duly chronicled. Robinson is thoughtful, and sometimes painfully candid, about his family and his failings as a husband and parent, but those confessions don't really distinguish him from many other spouses/parents. No matter -- there's plenty else to distinguish him, and the end of the day this legendary figure comes across as a flawed but courageous human being who left an indelible mark on a world that he improved far more than most people manage to do. ...more

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Apr 10, 2014 Isaac Breese rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“I Never Had It Made” by Jackie Robinson is an autobiography about Jackie Robinson’s life in and out of the game of baseball. This autobiography goes into depth of how Robinson got started in the Majors and the struggles he had to endure as a baseball player verbally and physically. This book also talks about Robinson’s involvement in the NAACP and how he fought for equality and fair opportunities for blacks as well as black businesses.
There are many things about this book that I liked, yet I ...more

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Aug 23, 2014 Sam Sattler rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: baseball , biography

"I Never Had It Made" is one of those "as told to" books in which another writer does the grunt work of actually getting the author's words onto a piece of paper in publishable form (in this case that man was Alfred Duckett). Despite this, one comes away from this combination autobiography/political screed with a sense that these are largely Jackie Robinson's words, that the book is very personal to Robinson and that this is precisely the way the man expressed himself in his day (this book was p ...more

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May 18, 2013 Robert Pacilio rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: great-read , more-than-a-sports-book-half-of-it

This book is a must read for anyone studying the civil rights' movement because Jackie Robinson is am American icon for far more than what he did on a baseball diamond. Eye opening second half of the book: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King; Branch Rickey vs. the O'Malley Family; Harlem; Nixon; LBJ; Bobby Kennedy...it is fascinating. Much to be admored. I wish I saw him play the game.

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Sep 30, 2015 Brandy Bones rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this with a seventh grader and it led to lots of great conversations for which I am very grateful.

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Jun 01, 2015 Michela rated it 5 of 5 stars

Some girls think that this is just a book for boys and that because it's about baseball and about the history of baseball they can't read this book. Well they are wrong. I read this book and I learned that black males could not play always play baseball in the MLB. Until Jackie Robinson came along. He started with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He was the first black man to play what's known as the game of American, Baseball. This is his story and reading this book made me feel like I was living ...more

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Aug 14, 2014 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have a distrust of autobiography. I think the honesty about one's self is so daunting. However, autobiography gets us some view of how the man wanted the world to see him. Another biography suggested a more intemperate young man, he certainly became a man of strength and character. The audiobook is read by Ozzie Davis which is a treat in itself. I admire Jackie so I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed the book. One thought that came to me is the strength of his wife, Rachel. The threats to her and ...more

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Sep 25, 2014 Umbreen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jackie Robinson's life, simply put, was beautiful. Don't get me wrong; it wasn't always the happiest life and it certainly wasn't always the easiest, but that is part of what made it so beautiful. Robinson, from his words and actions, seemed to have been blessed with a pure heart and a good head on his shoulders. Though there are some parts of the narration that get a bit slow, the book was still a good read. If you're worried about the fact that it's a "sports book," you can quit worrying becau ...more

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Sep 24, 2014 Walter Herrick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book right after finishing a biography of Lou Gehrig.... so I came right from one of the saddest stories, with a stoic hero, suffering humbly as he watched all his powers and gifts and eventually even his life ebb away....to... what just seems to me as one of the whiniest guys I've ever met.

I expected and hoped for another terrificly heroic baseball story....and maybe I will find that in another biography of Jackie Robinson, but I was mostly disappointed with this one.

However, ther ...more

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Sep 14, 2015 Ariele rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015

Though it took me forever to finish, there were aspects of this book that I really really enjoyed reading. Unfortunately they were mixed with some less interesting anecdotes and an oftentimes defensive/PR-heavy tone that caused me to rate this book a potential 3.5.

My favorite moments were Jackie discussing his family and admitting his failures in that respect. I have great admiration for all of his family members, especially the women in his life. His frank discussion of his relationship with h ...more

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Feb 08, 2015 Haley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-all-books , 2015-book-challenge , favorite-nonfiction , love-of-the-game

2015 Book Challenge #33: A book I started but never finished

This book was on sale on the Nook last summer, and I started it in July after finishing Mariano Rivera's The Closer , and I was so desperate for more baseball. I made the mistake of starting, however, while teaching summer school, so I stalled out after about 75 pages and finally started reading again in late December. I read the last 160 pages, however, in the last few days. Somehow, I was just as riveted at his life post-baseball as I 2015 Book Challenge #33: A book I started but never finished

This book was on sale on the Nook last summer, and I started it in July after finishing Mariano Rivera's The Closer , and I was so desperate for more baseball. I made the mistake of starting, however, while teaching summer school, so I stalled out after about 75 pages and finally started reading again in late December. I read the last 160 pages, however, in the last few days. Somehow, I was just as riveted at his life post-baseball as I was about his historic career with the Dodgers.

This book is one of the most authentically straightforward books I've ever read. It's not the easiest book to read in that sense as I sometimes felt like someone was sitting in front of me, staring straight at me, and speaking with an uncomfortable level of candidness. Once I got used to the writing style, however, I found this autobiography to be refreshingly honest with more emotional depth than I imagined.

So many aspects of Jackie Robinson's career are covered here: his close relationship with Branch Rickey, his tense relationship with some of his teammates, his decision to retire from baseball at the same time as he was traded to the Giants. But there was so much here that was unexpected: I didn't realize how powerful politically Jackie Robinson became in the years after baseball. I never would have guessed his strong ties to the Republican Party and his role as NY Governor Rockefeller's assistant. I had no idea about his roles in the various businesses and banks, either.

And I didn't know the story of his oldest son, Jackie, Jr., who served in Vietnam, where he established a drug addiction that followed him back to the States. He was arrested and spent several years getting cleaned up in rehab and beginning to work with youth and addicts in a beautiful, powerful way before dying in a car accident at the age of 24. The last chapters of the autobiography, in which Jackie Robinson talks about his relationship with his oldest son and his family's grief are beautifully written and devastating and a powerful testament to the love of family.

And Jackie Robinson's work in the black community and fighting for the rights of blacks in America is, I think, his most notable legacy. His voice, speaking out against injustice and for his people, is strong and clear and inspiring. ...more

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Sep 04, 2014 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads , blog-reviews

I picked up this book thinking I'd read about his struggles to be the first black man in major league baseball, but I got so frustrated because there was so little baseball in it! I knew nothing about Jackie Robinson before I picked up this book, but I quickly discovered that he was very involved in the civil rights movement and politics. Of course, I assumed that there was more to him than baseball, but that's the part of his life that I had known about, and that's what I wanted to read about. I picked up this book thinking I'd read about his struggles to be the first black man in major league baseball, but I got so frustrated because there was so little baseball in it! I knew nothing about Jackie Robinson before I picked up this book, but I quickly discovered that he was very involved in the civil rights movement and politics. Of course, I assumed that there was more to him than baseball, but that's the part of his life that I had known about, and that's what I wanted to read about. But Donny was right when he told me that it was Jackie's autobiography, and this is what he wants readers to know about him. So, I calmed down and enjoyed it a little more after that realization. It was interesting to see his view of the time period and the civil rights struggles. But, I was still so frustrated with the writing. There were so many stories in the book that needed to be several pages instead of just a paragraph (like the 1955 World Series that the Dodgers won over the Yankees in the seventh game). And the storytelling itself wasn't great-- there needed to be more dots to help me connect the events (for example, he told of his son going to Vietnam then, without any explanation, he mentions his son was in a military hospital. Never any details of how he got there.). This happened several times, and it made me wonder who in the world edited this book and didn't see that there needed to be more.

What I did love is his perspective. Unlike a lot of the civil rights leaders of our time (and even his time), I found him to be incredibly genuine. He was always consistent in his beliefs. He spoke out against other black leaders who were spurring on anti-Semitic behavior because in his mind, racism was racism-- Jew or black or Asian. It didn't matter to him-- they were all to be treated equally. He was also big enough of a man to admit when he was wrong on some issues and was open to discussion on them. I ended up with a lot of respect for him.

All in all, I thought the book was good. Not well-written by any means, but still worth reading for the autobiography that it was. ...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Matt Palmer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the excerpt from, I Never Had It Made, by Jackie Robinson, Robinson clearly displays many characteristics. I found that he was tolerant, ambitious, and brave. Throughout the entire story, I found him to be tolerant. From what I read, it was obvious that he was constantly made fun of and dealt with a lot of hatred. Though, he never complained or even retaliated. This, I found, was a clearly displayed act of tolerance. Another characteristic I thought Robinson had was that he was ambitious. As ...more

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May 08, 2011 Tommy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jackie tells his story the same way he played the game - with integrity, pride, and heart. You learn firsthand the challenges he faced growing up, in the Armed Forces, the Negro Leagues, and making his way into the Majors. You learn about the hatred and bigotry he faced with restraint and grace. You learn how he really felt on those days he felt he was surrounded by teammates, yet felt alone in the world. You learn how much he loved his wife, the game of baseball, and how he felt being perceived ...more

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