Such a great autobiography of a player that should be even more known than he is. It's raw, honest and enlightening to those who would like to learn more about not just Paige, but baseball in the early to mid 1900's. A truly priceless telling straight from the man himself.

Not as good as [b:Catching Dreams: My Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues|2965871|Catching Dreams My Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues (Sports and Entertainment)|Frazier Robinson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267405341s/2965871.jpg|2995400], which along with a friend’s recommendation piqued my interest in reading more about Paige. It's still most definitely worth reading for all of Paige’s hilarious stories and experiences in baseball and his personal life. [b:Only the Ball Was White|728070|Only the Ball Was White A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams|Robert W. Peterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177713991s/728070.jpg|714272] is next.

I enjoyed the stories, the style and the presentation. It read like listening to tales around the living room or kitchen table. Memoirs are fascinating in that you get what the writer deems important and while I understand that in this instance, Paige was talking with his collaborator, the effect is much the same. The introduction and afterward added context and sense of place, bringing the book to date and in a sense completing it.

If you played a drinking game where you had to drink every time Satchel Paige called himself "Ol' Satch" you'd die of alcohol poisoning.

I found it a really enjoyable book, but one I couldn't take too seriously. Everything that ever happened on the mound, if all the things he claims happened even happened at all, he paints as being entirely in his control. Every hit he gave up was to make a point. Every strikeout was a sure thing, because he simply needed one. You get a good sense of what it would be like to hang out with Satchel Paige on a night he felt like B.S.ing.

I can't review this book without mentioning the much more credible and sober counterpart, Mark Ribowsky's [b:Don't Look Back Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball|523930|Don't Look Back Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball|Mark Ribowsky|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175531421s/523930.jpg|511798]. They're both worth reading, but if you only read one, go with Ribowsky's.

Pretty light read. Ol Satch gets the stomach miseries a lot and his arm gets sore off and on. He gets to the major leagues after a long time in the negro leagues and lots of barnstorming. He tells his story in a genial relaxed way. Not a ton of tension or tragedy and that was kind of refreshing.