Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil

Description

As the New York Yankees' star centerfielder from 1936 to 1951, Joe DiMaggio is enshrined in America's memory as the epitome in sports of grace, dignity, and that ineffable quality called "class." But his career after retirement, starting with his nine-month marriage to Marilyn Monroe, was far less auspicious. Writers like Gay Talese and Richard Ben Cramer have painted the private DiMaggio as cruel or self-centered. Now, Jerome Charyn restores the image of this American icon, looking at DiMaggio's life in a more sympathetic light. DiMaggio was a man of extremes, superbly talented on the field but privately insecure, passive, and dysfunctional. He never understood that for Monroe, on her own complex and tragic journey, marriage was a career move; he remained passionately committed to her throughout his life. He allowed himself to be turned into a sports memorabilia money machine. In the end, unable to define any role for himself other than "Greatest Living Ballplayer," he became trapped in "a horrible kind of minutia." But where others have seen little that was human behind that minutia, Charyn in Joe DiMaggio presents the tragedy of one of American sports' greatest figures. Contents Preface Chronology Prologue: Pinocchio In Pinstripes Part I. The Player One. “Our National Exaggeration” Two. The Walloping Wop Three. Joltin’Joe And The Ghost Of Lou Gehrig Four. “C’Mon, Joe, Talk To Me” Five. The Wounded Warrior Part II. The Demon Lover Six. The Princess Of Yankee Stadium Seven. Mr. Marilyn Monroe Eight. “Bigger Than The Statue Of Liberty” Nine. The Greatest Living Ballplayer Ten. The Biggest Fan Of Them All Finale: An Outfielder’s Sky Notes Selected Bibliography Index