Bill Madden’s new book, Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball will be released next week. I’m not sure what new ground the book will cover, but Madden was given access to the personal musings of former Yankees GM Gabe Paul–who tape recorded his thoughts–by Paul’s son, Gabe Jr. Early buzz has it that Madden’s book is especially strong on Steinbrenner’s early years in New York (again, I’m curious how it’ll be an improvement on Dick Schaap’s outstanding, Steinbrenner!)
The Daily News has two excerpts from the book: one and two.
Madden will be out at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center this Thursday to discuss the book. If you are in the vicinity, stop by and check him out. Should be fun.
I've been looking forward to this for a while, even though Madden long ago passed into the realm of hackdom. If nothing else it should be an improvement over that thing Golenbock put out last year.
[1] I have too. Time may have passed Madden by, but if there is one topic he is best suited to cover, it's George. Madden always had special access to Steinbrenner, and was even accussed of being his mouthpiece. So, we know this book will not be lacking for first hand accounts. He also has the trust of the Steinbrenner family, so access wont be a problem either. I didn't read Golenbock's book because of the bad reviews, so I can't speak to it personally, but I think Madden should definitely do much better.
George Steinbrenner is really one of the more fascinating sports figures in recent times. He is also worthy of a spot on the Yankees Mt. Rushmore. With the exception of Ruth, I think you could make the case that he ranks right up there with every other figure in the franchise's history. I really hope this book captures all of that.