Pete Rose Audiobook By Kostya Kennedy cover art

Pete Rose

An American Dilemma

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Pete Rose

By: Kostya Kennedy
Narrated by: Ben Bartolone
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Pete Rose played baseball with a singular and headfirst abandon that endeared him to fans and peers, even as it riled others--a figure at once magnetic, beloved and polarizing. Rose has more base hits than anyone in history, yet he is not in the Hall of Fame. Twenty-five years ago he was banished from baseball for gambling, then ruled ineligible for Cooperstown; today, the question "Does Pete Rose belong in the Hall of Fame?" has evolved into perhaps the most provocative in sports, a layered, slippery and ever-relevant moral conundrum.

How do we evaluate the Hit King now, at a time when steroid cheats appear on the Hall of Fame ballot even as Rose is denied? What do we make of this happily unrepentant gambler, this shameless but beguiling showman whose post-baseball journey has led him to a curious reality show and to the streets of Cooperstown to hawk his signature, his story, himself?

Best-selling author Kostya Kennedy delivers an evocative answer in his fascinating re-examination of Pete Rose's life; from his cocky and charismatic early years through his storied playing career to his bitter war against baseball's hierarchy to the man we find today--still incorrigible, still adored by many. Where has his improbable saga landed him in the redefined, post-steroid world? Do we feel any differently about Pete Rose today? Should we?

©2014 Kostya Kennedy (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Baseball & Softball Sports

Critic reviews

"Kennedy's book on the tarnished and enigmatic Rose is exceptional. Like the best writing about sport--Liebling, Angell--it qualifies as stirring literature. I'd read Kennedy no matter what he writes about." (Richard Ford)

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great reading and overall entertaining story, would recommend to any baseball fan, very informative and easy to follow, good job guys!

great book, easy listening, entertaining, A+++++

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Great book giving us a wide explanation of Rose. I found it very fascinating well written and read.
The only note can be that the author bragged a bit the material in the last 90 pages or so (I have the physical copy either) .
in my opinion could have been closed a bit before as a script.

But overall great read and listen!

Great Book just bragged a bit at the end.

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It would be nice if the producers took the time and effort to pronounce baseball players names correctly.

Good book, not so good production.

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I listened to this book in my car during a daily 2 hour commute. The story itself was enjoyable, but the horrendous narration made remaining engaged in the book very difficult when combined with focusing on the road.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The book needs a narrarator with more passion for the story and the ability to pronounce names. From Durocher to Selig to Oester, it was awful how many times names were botched. It truly drowned out a reasonably entertaining book.

How could the performance have been better?

See my comments on the story. The narration ruined this book.

Was Pete Rose worth the listening time?

If but for the narration, yes.

Good Story Terrible Narraration

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Where does Pete Rose rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I am a big Pete Rose fan and feel that Mr. Kennedy treated him fairly and objectively.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pete Rose?

Becoming the all time hits leader and leading the Big Red Machine

What didn’t you like about Ben Bartolone’s performance?

Very little as he apparently knows nothing about baseball. He totally butchered the names of many of the players names in the story. I can't believe someone didn't listen to this before is it released as it ruins the story for me. He called Bill Mazeroski (for example) Bill
"Mazurksi" to name a few. One of the poorest narration jobs ever and I have listened to approximately 500 + Audible books over the years.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many such moments in the book.

Any additional comments?

Again, good book hurt by poor narration

Narration and Mispronunciation Reduces my Rating

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One of my first memories of Pete Rose was seeing him on the cover of Sports Illustrated the week that his lifetime ban from baseball was announced. I am just young enough to really have no memory of seeing him play, much less in his prime. Because of this, I learned a ton about Rose including just how great of a player he was while simultaneously being sub par person. Overall, makes for a great story. Very informative and worth the Audible listen.

Quite a Story

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Where does Pete Rose rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

About average. The narrator goes a little too quickly and doesn't always pause to let some information sink in.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The story seems to skim over major events like, leaving The Reds and returning

Did Ben Bartolone do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The characters were easy enough to follow

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

An All American Story

Any additional comments?

This was overall a very interesting book. The author doesn't take sides and it is left up to the listener to make up their own mind and it is very difficult to decide if he is a victim or villan

I still don't know what to think of him

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Great book read by a narrator who had zero inflection. He reads like a robot as of every word should have the same value. Disappointing as I bought it to listen to for research.

Worst reading ever

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As a baseball fan and an even bigger Reds fan, I had to find a book that would satisfy my interests. This book will have to be one I actually read, because the narration is one of the worst, insufferable performances I’ve ever heard. It sounds like it’s being narrated by a computer and the inflection is used to disastrous effect. It sounds like a individual recordings were taken of each word and then spliced together in a single track. I would not recommend this audiobook to anyone.

Siri could narrate this better

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What did you like best about Pete Rose? What did you like least?

Bartolone ruined this book for me. Consistently mispronounces names. Leo Durocher (Da-row-sher, not Due-row-shay), Maury Wills (wills, not will-is).

Ben Bartolone--narrator--is terrible

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