Beyond Belief

Now that I ride the train everyday, I have needed something to pass the time, so I have been reading (I know shocking). The first book I read was "The Assist", which was a great book, and I suggest everyone reads it. The next book I read was the Josh Hamilton book called "Beyond Belief". It is the true story of Josh Hamilton, and his rise through baseball. The book has a general feel of the movie "The Natural". As a kid Hamilton was known as the kid who was going to be an MLB player, everything seemed to be going along as planned, until he got a $4 million signing bonus from the Rays (who drafted him #1 overall). While in the minors, boredom and lack of supervision over came him, and he ended up doing coke. The story goes on and he becomes a huge mess for a long time. Then it goes on to how he got to where he is today, which is one of the best players in the MLB.

The book overall is very good. The writing is a little shaky since it is written by Josh Hamilton (who didn't go to college), but you can tell what he is saying means a lot of him. The guy has been through so much, that you have to respect him for it. He does get a little Jesus crazy, but it is understandable. I was very pleased with the book, even though it can be a little repetitive, and I think it gives you serious insight into how hard it is to beat drugs. The great thing is that we can relate this book to other people, like Jeff Allison, who is going through a lot of the same troubles.

-BMack