Letters to Mickey

(Book summary from inside jacket cover)

He was a national hero who epitomized the golden age of American sports, a legend whose image is eared into the fabric of American culture.   He counted among his anonymous fans the very young and the very old, professional people and blue-collar workers, men and women, boys and girls.  When Mickey Mantle died, he left legions around the world whom he'd never met, to whom he was everything: inspirational idol, father figure, and friend.

Following Mickey's courageous public acknowledgement of his battle with alcoholism and through his liver transplant and valiant fight against cancer, he received tens of thousands of letters from people whose faith in their hero never faltered.  Written with honesty, warmth, and humor, these letters form a patchwork quilt that comes straight from the heart of America: from a nine-year-old Texas girl who proudly wears number 7 emblazoned on her hometown uniform, to a seventy-two-year-old grandmother who has raised her children and grandchildren on baseball as an American legacy to be passed down through the generations.  Mickey Mantle received an outpouring of love and support that surprised, overwhelmed, and profoundly affected this man who never realized how much he had meant to so many.

With an introductory letter written by Mickey just four days before his death in which he movingly tells his fans, "Thanks for being there," Letters to Mickey offers hope and inspiration; it reflects the deep, heartfelt gratitude for what this very human sports star has meant to his fans in all their diversity, painting a colorful portrait of America and its abiding love for this very modest man from Oklahoma who became and idol to millions.