Wicked Curve: The Life and Troubled Times of Grover Cleveland Alexander Paperback – Illustrated, May 18, 2006

Author John Skipper did an excellent job in researching the life and times of Grover Cleveland Alexander. This book reads like a standard baseball biography - primarily chronological order with some brief game stories when brevity is necessary and longer game stories for games that mattered in the larger scheme of seasons and careers. Skipper does a fine job detailing Alexander's many off the field issues.Some reviewers have noted that Skipper doesn't seem to have much sympathy for the great hurler. But I disagree. He explains what was likely happening - using alcohol to self-treat his epilepsy - while also noting that Alexander received plenty of opportunities to lead a quiet life from his many friends in baseball. The points of view that Skipper provides on Alexander's post-baseball life are many and range from baseball men Branch Rickey, Sam Breadon and Branch Rickey to Alexander's wife Aimee. Unfortunately, a peaceful existence for the long term didn't happen for Alexander. Even while he was a player, Skipper provides what I believe to be a balanced account of his run-ins with management, particularly during the end of his time with the Cubs when Alexander clashed with Joe McCarthy.The book opens up with the poignant recap of Alexander's appearance as a spectator in New York in the 1950 World Series and how a couple of sportswriters (Fred Lieb among them) brought Alex into the press box. The great Alexander would pass away less than a month later.It is interesting to see just how much the great career of a player is often boiled down to a single event. In the case of Alexander, it is his strikeout of fellow Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri in the 1926 World Series that was often retold. And whether Alexander was asleep when he was asked to warm up or hungover or still drunk is a matter of who was asked. Even that triumphant event was clouded by his reputation for being a drinker.There are a couple of minor issues with spelling. The book adds a 'g' after the 'c' in Stuffy McInnis' last name. The book also has Jim Leyritz' last name incorrect as 'Lehritz'.I thought this was an excellent book and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Phillies, Cubs or Cardinals or to people who like to read about Hall of Famers.

John C. Skipper's biography of Grover Cleveland Alexander ably follows the career of one of baseball's all-time greatest pitchers. It also unsparingly details the demons that haunted this man from the time he left the battlefields of France to resume his pitching career.Skipper quotes numerous contemporaries of Alexander's, many of whom indicate "Old Pete" was only a social drinker before leaving the U.S. for the war. Afterward, for whatever reason, he was unable to relinquish the bottle for more than short periods of time. Epilepsy was most likely the cause of many of Alexander's physical difficulties. Did he drink in an effort to forestall the seizures that would suddenly wrack his body?Whether the cause of his drinking was epilepsy, a pre-war beaning, the constant sounds of WWI artillery or a weakness for the bottle that many other ballplayers have battled and lost, it's evident that his behavior under the influence cost him his wealth, his wife and many friends and fans.Skipper's work draws plausible reasons for Alexander's vice, but he doesn't profess to be able to pin down the exact causes so many years after the great pitcher's demise. The book is very well written, apparently extremely well researched and very much worthwhile reading for any baseball fan. In fact the story is a heart-wrenching tale that will grasp the attention of anyone who wonders how the mighty can fall so hard.I give it four stars because, though it was interesting and educational, it's not a book I'd ever expect to read again. Skipper has delivered a serious and solemn work that could act as a cautionary tale for anyone who sees alcohol or drugs as a way to dull life's pains.

A glimpse into the life of a mostly forgotten (unless you read the record books) all time great. Another example of how war can destroy lives, way beyond the immediate loss of life that occurs on the battlefield. Alex came back a different pitcher after the war (WWI), and this is fascinating tale of a man who found it impossible to deal with PTSD and a litany of health issues, exacerbated by alcoholism, which was brought on by self medication. A very sad, yet compelling tale. This book is well written, and is an overdue tome for an overlooked subject.

A wonderful book about an old time player from long ago.Well written explaining the difficult life of an old Hall of Fame pitcher.After a difficult experience in the war alcohol became the best friend to Grover Cleveland Alexander.

Overall decent account of GCA's life and times. Could have cut down a bit on the game by game account each year. Would have liked a little more on his younger days but I'm sure that information is hard to come by.

Excellent item, support and service :)!!!

The book is a good summary of Alexander's baseball career, explaining his greatness. The book has interesting items about the Alexander's childhood. The book is sprinkled with interesting anecdotes. But the description of the player's war experience was disappointing, being little more than a summary of what a soldier would have faced without any description of actual incidents. Because the war experience is made so central to what happened to Grover Cleveland Alexander, I wanted more about what actually happened to him while serving. A book I enjoyed much more was Paul Zingg's *Harry Hooper: An American Baseball Life* about one of Alexander's contemporaries. (Hooper, an outfielder, played against Alexander in the world series). I liked that book because I learned more about the times the players lived in and how baseball worked in those years. I got some sense of that in *Wicked Curve* but not as much as I would have liked. *Wicked Curve* is a good summary of a lot of Alexander's life with some anecdotes and some sense of the larger baseball world, but not enough of those latter spices to make the book compelling. It does tell the tale of a player I knew little about.