Howie Rose

Howie Rose’s “Put It in the Book!: A Half-Century of Mets Mania” is a fun, fast read. He nicely weaves together elements of childhood memoir (as a passionate Mets fan and aspiring broadcaster), his on-air career doing baseball games for the New York Mets and Rangers and Islanders hockey, and musings on the players, coaches, managers, and fellow broadcasters he has met along the way. Rose has written the book in much the same manner as he speaks on the air, with his affability and good show more humor well translated to the page. There are some very good insights and anecdotes – I only wish there were more! show less

Probably more like 2.5 stars. This book had a little of everything, especially good for the novice Mets fan. Unfortunately for me, I'm more of an experienced Mets fan. I didn't need the little history lessons, I've read them in books about Mets history, or experienced them myself. I enjoyed the personal history of Mr. Rose, and especially enjoyed the little nuggets of insider information. Those are what I hoped this book would be all about. I guess even the lists of Mr. Roses favorites show more (players, stadiums, etc) were ok, but didn't really do much for me. And the extreme Marv Albert love, well I understand he did a lot for Mr. Rose, but it seemed to come across more than a little weird.

All in all, probably a great book for a Mets newbie, not so much for a Mets veteran. show less

I've had this book since it was published, but just got around to reading it, so it felt a bit dated, as in: I wish it included his thoughts on events since then. Reading this is like visiting Howie Rose and letting him tell you all about his career. It makes for a pleasant storytime with a genial storyteller. There's nothing earthshaking here, but it is nice to get a broadcaster's perspective. In that sense, it's a must-read for Mets fans, myself included.