Welcome to the June #LibraryLoveChallenge post, The Library Love Challenge is hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Brooke Blogs.
For my library love challenge I'm posting a review for the book my in-person library book club read, this month the selection was an autobiography of Joe Buck called, Lucky Bastard.The name Buck is St. Louis Royalty and I was so glad that we got to read and discuss it.
Enjoy!
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date:11-15-2016
Length: 304pp
Overview:
In this New York Times bestselling memoir, the announcer of the biggest sporting events in the country—including the 2017 Super Bowl and this century's most-watched, historic, Chicago Cubs–winning World Series—reveals why he is one lucky bastard.
Sports fans see Joe Buck everywhere: broadcasting one of the biggest games in the NFL every week, calling the World Series every year, announcing the Super Bowl every three years. They know his father, Jack Buck, is a broadcasting legend and that he was beloved in his adopted hometown of St. Louis.
Yet they have no idea who Joe really is. Or how he got here. They don’t know how he almost blew his career. They haven’t read his funniest and most embarrassing stories or heard about his interactions with the biggest sports stars of this era.
They don’t know how hard he can laugh at himself—or that he thinks some of his critics have a point. And they don’t know what it was really like to grow up in his father’s shadow. Joe and Jack were best friends, but it wasn’t that simple. Jack, the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals for almost fifty years, helped Joe get his broadcasting start at eighteen. But Joe had to prove himself, first as a minor league radio announcer and then on local TV, national TV with ESPN, and then finally on FOX. He now has a successful, Emmy-winning career, but only after a lot of dues-paying, learning, and pretty damn entertaining mistakes that are recounted in this book.
In his memoir, Joe takes us through his life on and off the field. He shares the lessons he learned from his father, the errors he made along the way, and the personal mountain he climbed and conquered, all of which have truly made him a Lucky Bastard.
My Review of Lucky Bastard
Lucky Bastard review
Growing up the last name Buck is St. Louis royalty so
when I saw Lucky Bastard, Joe Buck’s autobiography an available selection from
my library for a book club read choosing it was a no brainer.
I’ve loved Jack Buck the beloved announcer for the St.
Louis Cardinals (Go Redbirds) since I was old enough to get my dad a Budweiser
while he listened to Harry Caray and Jack Buck call the Cardinals games on KMOX
but I never really knew too much about Jack’s son Joe. Yes I’ve seen Joe
broadcasting any number of FOX sports games, yes I knew he started his career
broadcasting for the Cardinal organization but that’s about it.
Lucky Bastard follows Joe’s life chronologically tells
about his family life, growing up in St. Louis, his relationship with his father’s
other family and about his
relationship to his dad Jack, plus his marriage(s) and his unconditional,
all-consuming love for his daughters. It also follows his broadcast career from
his simple beginnings broadcasting for the Cardinal’s minor league team the
Louisville Redbirds, to his sharing the booth with his dad and Mike Shannon,
his breaking into network sports casting with a then brand new television
network FOX and his tenure with FOX sports broadcasting NFL and MLB games plus
other sports including golf from 1994 to present day.
The thing that surprised me most about Joe after I
finished reading the book was his love of his job, his humility, his work ethic
and his personal integrity. It’s not a tell-all book but he does go into detail
about his strengths, his weaknesses and his fears. And his take on sports
casting in the age of social media is really interesting too. Fans of
non-fiction, biographies and sports enthusiasts will enjoy this read.
On a side note Joe and his wife Michelle had twin boys
born on 4-26-2018 Congrats to the new parents!
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