Whither Golenbock's Mickey Mantle novel?

February 28, 2007

<p>Peter Golenbock’s controversial <em>7: The Mickey Mantle Novel</em> has already had a <a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=240,height=240,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/7_1.jpg”><img title=”7_1″ height=”250″ alt=”7_1″ src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/7_1.jpg” width=”250″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a> <a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=240,height=240,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/7.jpg”></a>checkered life. The book, which depicts Manlte as a flawed man, was originally supposed to be published by Regan Books, an imprint of Harper Collins. But when Judith Regan — she of the O.J. Simpson debacle — lost her job, the project was similarly jetisoned. Now, according to <a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/sports/baseball/28mantle.html”>an item in the Feb. 28 <em>New York Times</em></a>, it’s back in business, to be published by Lyons Press. </p>

<p>The project was highlighted by <em>Publisher’s Weekly</em> in an <a href=”http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6399499.html”>on-line article</a> dated December 13, 2006 and included a questionable <a href=”http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6399510.html?nid=2286″>selection of extremely brief excerpts</a>. </p>

<p>Today the magazine issued <a href=”http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6420112.html?nid=2286″>this item</a>, which includes their pre-publication review. Having written for <em>PW </em>(I was dismissed for contacting an author directly to clear up some ambiguity), I find it amusing how the industry seeks to generate &quot;pre-interest&quot; for books so far in advance, unprepared for an event such as this one. Granted, the Mantle project is a particularly hot topic, but I wonder how many other &quot;unbooks&quot; are out there.</p>

<p>Coincidentally, <em>PW</em> recently ran the following review of another Mantle-related book, this one about the Manhattan restaurant that bears his name. It’s also being released by Lyons.</p><blockquote dir=”ltr” style=”MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px”><p><span style=”font-size: 0.8em;”><strong>Mickey Mantle’s: Behind the Scenes in America’s Most Famous Sports Bar, </strong>William Liederman. Lyons, $19.95 (248p) ISBN 978-1-59228-843-4</span></p>

<p><span style=”font-size: 0.8em;”>Anyone looking for insight into the late Mickey Mantle will be disappointed in this memoir by a founder and former owner of the sports bar that bears the ballplayer’s name. Telling few stories about Mantle himself, Liederman instead focuses on his own life story, the Central Park South restaurant’s opening and its day-to-day anecdotes. He shares details on no less than four sexual encounters inside the restaurant, including a public fornication between a waitress and a prep cook at the employee Christmas party and a ménage à trois among wait staff in the locker room. Near the end of the book, Liederman writes that after a failed attempt at opening a second Mantle’s location in upstate New York, he was forced to file for personal bankruptcy and lost his ownership share. He ultimately was arrested on charges of breaking and entering and grand larceny after he returned for his personal items, spending a night in jail before the charges were dropped. Unfortunately, the chapters often lapse structurally into a bullet-style format more commonly found in business reports, and he regurgitates one exhausted cliché after another. <em>(Apr.)</em> </span></p></blockquote><p>Naturally, there are those who think a fictionalized version of Mantle’s off-the-field activites (read, sex life) is an insult to the legend. Rupert Murdoch, the chair of News. Corp (which oversees HC), told reporters that the Mantle <a href=”http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/495950p-417913c.html”>project was a factor in the decision to fire her</a>. </p>

<p>Richard Sandomir, who covers sports and the media for the <em>Times</em>, <a href=”http://www.columbusdispatch.com/features-story.php?story=240632″>wrote about the book’s cancellation </a>in January. Mark Hare, columnist for the <em>Rochester Democrat &amp; Chronicle</em>, devoted a <a href=”http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070218/NEWS0201/702180331/-1/COLUMNS”>column to news of the book</a> earlier this month. And <a href=”http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070210.BKLEVI10/TPStory/SpecialEvents/columnists”>Martin Levin</a>, who writes for the <em>Toronto Globe and Mail</em>, described it as &quot;more or less portray[ing] the New York Yankee icon as a sex maniac.&quot; No doubt there will be more analysis as Lyons gets ready to release the book and Opening Day approaches.</p>

<p>Lyons Press announces their newest title with this <a href=”http://www.globepequot.com/globepequot/index.cfm?fuseaction=customer.product&amp;product_code=1%2D59921%2D270%2D6&amp;category_code=”>press release</a>.</p>

<p>Amusingly, the book is still listed (as of today) as an HC title available <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/Mickey-Mantle-Novel-Peter-Golenbock/dp/0061238597″>Amazon.com</a>.</p>

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