From Barnes & NobleMickey Mantle (1931-1995) was a baseball legend determined to remain a legend. He wrote or pretended to write six baseball autobiographies, each of which presented a stylized portrait of the switch-hitting Yankee centerfielder. What remained obscured behind the imposing statistics and the diamond myth was the real Mantle himself. That absence was filled partially by a family confessional that described their collection descent into alcoholism and drug abuse, but in many ways, the mist still remained. Finally, after decades, Washington Post sportswriter and author (Sandy Koufax) has given us a vibrant biography of the man behind the pinstripes, drawing on more than 500 interviews with The Mick's family, friends, teammates, and other players.