Acre - George Johnson

“Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work” 

This is a simple book, written straight from the heart. It tells the story of a talented baseball player's journey to success and the obstacles he faces along the way. It manages to interest and inspire its readers, most of whom, specially the baseball lovers, won't put it down without finishing it.

The author's love for baseball and his firm belief in working hard is apparent while reading this book. His protagonist, Acre, is superman in disguise (figuratively of course!). Acre works hard, stays disciplined and relentlessly pursues his dream of playing baseball. He keeps his promises, helps the poor, isn't greedy etc etc. Not sure if such a person could actually exist, but he is definitely the ideal we all unconsciously strive to achieve. His hard work and determination bring him the success he deserves but they also make the other players jealous of him. They taunt Acre, ignore him. With his professional career taking off, Acre is informed of the death of his sweetheart, Sharon. The way he deals with these issues and doesn't let them interfere with his career makes this book interesting and different from others in this genre. His father's penchant for tweaking and his creation of an unique baseball cage (the description's given in the book) is another interesting part of this story.

There are parts of this book that do seem repetitive and at times the story seems too slow. The various baseball statistics and plays simple went over my head* and I would have appreciated it if the author had, either provided more graphic descriptions or gone easy with the stats et al.Still the pros far outweigh the cons and I would suggest this book as a leisure read, specially to baseball fans and sports lovers around the world.

Reasons to Read it:

• Its a feel good book. Keeps things simple, concentrates on essentials like love, family and work. No silly plots and no murky twists.
• Like most sports books, this one also motivates readers (at least the ones like me) to try and emulate these athletes and set up our own fitness regime. ( I have started jogging again after reading this :D)
• Baseball stats and plays might interest baseball fans and those who follow the sport closely.

 

Memorable Quotes :

“Always be a student”

“Once an engineer, always an engineer”

“The more he practiced, the more he loved it” [about baseball]

In an era of spicy reads and fast paced novels, this is one book that takes you back to the old days when family dinners were common and the neighbors were more than just names. It concentrates on core values of life and would make a nice Sunday read. Do comment if you have any other views.

* The only sport I watch is cricket. So, you may not find that part as mind boggling as I did.