Beyond Belief
When I sat down to construct my 2011 reading list, I made a point to visit a few older books that I have been meaning to read. In fact, the first five books on my list fall into that category, among them two political pieces–Richard Ben Cramer’s What It Takes and David Brooks’ Bobos* in Paradise–two music works–Jacob Slichter’s So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful of Record Executives and Other True Tales From a Drummer’s Life and David N. Meyer’s Gram Parson’s biography, Twenty Thousand Roads–and one sports memoir–Josh Hamilton’s Beyond Belief. The books accurately reflect my interests in life–2 parts politics, 2 parts music and 1 part sports.
First up, I tackled Hamilton’s Beyond Belief, a light read that takes on a heavy subject–Hamilton’s well documented battle with addiction and his transformation into a sports superstar. The book was a Christmas present from my cousin. As huge Texas Rangers fans, we have both been fascinated with Hamilton’s story since he joined the Rangers. I have heard Hamilton recount his story on several occasions on local sports talk radio show, the evening news and read about it in the local paper, not too mention through the national media outlets who continue to harp on his tale of recovery. The book serves a mainly an expansion of these interviews. Indeed, nothing new is recounted in the book, but what the expanded version does provide is a glimpse at how far Hamilton had fallen, which makes his meteoric rise that much more amazing. To think that as recently as 2006, Hamilton was living with his grandmother in North Carolina, in the early stages of his fight against addiction, suspended from baseball, is unfathomable, considering that in 2008 he would be a MLB All-Star and put on a unforgettable show in the Home Run Derby and then in 2010 win the ALCS and regular season MVP trophies.
Beyond Belief is a perfect example of a book, where prose doesn’t matter as much as the substance. After all, Hamilton is a baseball player, not a writer. He gets help from Tim Keown, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, which helps hold the book together. I read the 256 pages over two nights and it could definitely be devoured in one sitting. It would make for the ideal travel book, where you know you will be on a plane, in an airport or riding in a car, but it’s definitely worth a few hours of your time.
Published in 2008, the book basically ends with Hamilton’s exploits in the Home Run Derby, before he had his infamous relapse and before winning the MVP award, but the gist of the story is there–Hamilton is a man who has overcome a lot and serves as an example to millions of people caught in a struggle. I admit; I am a bit more intrigued with Hamilton because of his uniform. If he played for the Yankees, Red Sox, Brewers, or any other MLB team, I doubt I would find the book as interesting, even though only a brief portion is devoted to his time with the Rangers. The one theme that extends beyond team affiliation is his faith, and those stories alone beg to be told.
