A dramatic and revelatory account of Joe Torre’s twelve years as manager of the New York Yankees. Joe Torre is the most successful–and most respected–baseball manager of the modern era, steering the Yankees to six American League pennants and four World Series championships. When he left the team in 2007, it was front-page news around the country. Famously diplomatic during his tenure with the Yankees, Torre finally speaks out about what it was like building and managing the dynasty during those twelve glorious and tumultuous years. Written as a third-person narrative with Sports Illustrated Senior Baseball Writer Tom Verducci, THE YANKEE YEARS is a thoughtful, utterly honest, and gripping behind-the-scenes look at the Yankees organization from top to bottom.
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"If you love the writing of Tom Verducci (SI) and the stoic leadership of Joe Torre (that didn't pigeon hole a genre, did it?), you'll really enjoy this book. The sports talk leading up to this book made it seem more titalating than it actually read, but it still was a terrific recap of Mr. Torre's unparalleled success in pinstripes."
— Dave (4 out of 5 stars)
[Filled with] many insights, some about human nature, many about the great American game.
— Bloomberg NewsFascinating reading.
— The New York Times Book ReviewCompelling. . . . A hybrid of insider reporting [and] autobiography.
— The Christian Science MonitorA capacious fresh account of [Torre’s] great run in the Bronx.... Verducci has range and ease; he's a shortstop on the page.
— The New YorkerA lively chronicle. . . . What this book does . . . very persuasively is chart the rise and fall of one of baseball's great dynasties, while showing the care and feeding it took to bring the city of New York four championships in five years.
— Michiko Kakutani, The New York TimesAn appealing portrait of a likable, hard-working man. One closes the book with a high regard for Mr. Torre, not least as a manager.
— Wall Street JournalThe consummate insider's view of what may be the last great dynasty in baseball history.
— Los Angeles TimesAn insightful and non-hagiographic look at a legendary manager and team during one of baseball's most transformational eras.
— Boston GlobeOne of the best books about baseball ever written.
— New York Daily News" I am loving the cd set there are 8 and its 4 hours long! Great book very indept! and alot of swears so not reccomended for children to listen to. "
— Michele, 1/25/2014" An interesting history, and fortunately nothing like the negative publicity it got on release. Verducci's writing with Torre's stories. A good baseball book. A great Yankee book. "
— Dward7272, 1/7/2014" Typical book for money story - I am perfect. The interesting parts is what a jerk A Rod is. "
— Daryl, 12/31/2013" I learned I was right to like Joe Torre so much and right to be luke warm on independent minded, non-leader, why's he playing a team sport Derek Jeter. "
— Nancy, 12/23/2013" Solid baseball book that gets into the mind of former Yankee manager Joe Torre. As a non-Yankee fan, I still was able to get a lot of enjoyment, and glean insights that I otherwise would not have learned. "
— Mark, 12/17/2013" Excellent book about the Yankees behind the scenes. "
— Wayne, 12/15/2013" If you love the Yankees, you'll love this book. "
— Tom, 12/15/2013" I was disappointed this was not written by Joe Torre as I assumed. The book had some good sections and some boring ones. It was an easy book to put down and pick up days later and I ended up taking a month and half to read. It would appeal to a die hard Yankee fan, however. "
— Kay, 12/13/2013" As both a Yankees fan, and a Joe Torre fan, I was looking forward to reading this. However, it was really written by Tom Verducci, and it kind of plods along slowly towards the end. Some interesting things, but it probably would have been better if Torre had wrote it himself. "
— Serge, 11/20/2013" Ex NY Yankee manager tell how being a manager in pinstripes is the 3rd toughest job in America...after the Presidency and NYC Mayor. "
— columbialion, 10/18/2013" I love this book not only because the yankees are my favorite team, but because I learned things that i never knew before about the yankees. "
— Erik, 10/11/2013" Fantastic. Quick read and very informative. Any Yankee fan will love this. "
— Kristin, 10/2/2013" Definitely more Tom Verducci than Joe Torre. I enjoyed this book, but much of what was written was already covered in Buster Olney's book, the Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty. "
— Jason, 10/1/2013" Sorta sucked but not entirely. "
— Antilawyer, 9/27/2013" Really interesting insider's view "
— Jenn, 9/13/2013" Great for re-living my younger years when I seriously followed baseball. "
— Emusam, 9/9/2013" If you like (love) the Yankees and Joe Torre, this is a must read. If, however, you're not a baseball fan, this is not the book for you. "
— Roseann, 7/13/2013" I hate the Yankees, but, I'm a big baseball fan. It's an ok book. It got a little tiring hearing the statistics being listed over and over again. All in all, it was ok. "
— Howard, 6/3/2013" okay, so I quit reading with about 50 pages left, but I got the gist. plus I've read so many other books on the Yankees/follow so much Yankee talk, that I felt like I already knew half the things mentioned in this book. "
— Jennifer, 5/17/2013" Good view of the Yankee mechanism from the inside. "
— Eric, 2/17/2013" I give it three stars just for that chapter on A-Rod. Wow, the man is a Shakespearean tragedy. Funniest chapter I read all year. "
— Jihae, 8/29/2012" There are a lot of bad baseball books out there. This is not one of those. Joe orre's view of his Yankee years is nicely wrought. One of the better works of this genre. . . . "
— Steven, 8/11/2012" Could not put it down. A great inside look at a Yankee dynasty and its hic-cups. "
— Kirk, 6/22/2012" Good book, sort of depressing in the early years, but got more rewarding in 2004. "
— Ray, 5/12/2012" Interesting read, but sometimes seemed to lend itself to sensationalism. And the book sometimes seemed to be less about Torre and more about the Yankees themselves....still a fun read. "
— Tim, 3/21/2012" Not just for Yankee fans, it's a great book that accounts for everything else going on in baseball during his reign, and the changes taking place. "
— Sylvan, 3/6/2012" This book truly made me realize how good we Yankee fans had it with Joe Torre at the helm. Outstanding read! "
— Bryan, 8/24/2011" A skewed perspective to be sure, but really entertaining from a walk-down-memory-lane perspective. Also, not NEARLY as controversial as the pre-release hype made it out to be. "
— Andrew, 6/3/2011" Good read. Interesting to see how he felt as mgt. wanted to get rid of him. His perspective of Cano was dead-on! "
— Joseph, 4/27/2011" Solid baseball book that gets into the mind of former Yankee manager Joe Torre. As a non-Yankee fan, I still was able to get a lot of enjoyment, and glean insights that I otherwise would not have learned. "
— Mark, 4/18/2011" I liked this book... I am not a Yankees fan, but it was nice to go behind the scenes. Really interesting information about clubhouse chemistry, the demise of Steinbrenner too. "
— Emily, 3/29/2011" I am not a Yankees fan, but I really got into this book. I loved the stats. "
— Sonny, 3/22/2011" Didn't pull any punches and exposed some of the larger egos in baseball over the past 15 years. "
— Todd, 3/9/2011" I love these book because Joe Torre went behind the scene with the yankees and talked about how he was treated and how he felt being the coach of the New York Yankees. By the way i am a Yankees fan so I recommened this book to those who love the yankees. "
— Erik, 3/3/2011" I was pretty against this book when it first came out. After finally reading it though, I have to admit, it was good . There were stories that might have not been told otherwise. While it did create some controversy (ie-Arod) it was interesting and I'm glad I read it. "
— Erica, 2/23/2011" This book went on too many tangents "
— Bob, 2/2/2011" A really interesting book that is not exactly what was advertised, and pleasantly so. Instead of a Joe Torre Yankee memoir it is a 1996-2007 era of baseball history book by a good sports writer with a special focus on the Yankees and insights from Joe Torre. "
— Marc, 1/31/2011" A MUST READ BOOK JOE TORRE IS AMAZING,, GREAT BOOK AND GREAT LESSON A ROD #1 "
— DODGERDAWG11, 1/10/2011Joe Torre played for the Braves, the Cardinals, and the Mets before managing all three teams. From 1996 to 2007, Torre managed the New York Yankees. He is currently the manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tom Verducci is the senior baseball writer for Sports Illustrated and SportsIllustrated.com, and a baseball analyst for the MLB Network. He coauthored Joe Torre’s first book, Chasing the Dream, and has also published an anthology of his work from Sports Illustrated, titled Inside Baseball: The Best of Tom Verducci.
Michael Kramer is an AudioFile Earphones Award winner, a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, and recipient of a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award. He is also an actor and director in the Washington, DC, area, where he is active in the area’s theater scene and has appeared in productions at the Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center, and Theater J.