--- product_id: 199535 title: "Pete Rose: An American Dilemma" price: "€ 43.69" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/199535-pete-rose-an-american-dilemma store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # Pete Rose: An American Dilemma **Price:** € 43.69 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Pete Rose: An American Dilemma - **How much does it cost?** € 43.69 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/199535-pete-rose-an-american-dilemma) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description "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 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 postbaseball 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? Review: REALLY INTERESTING WITH A LOT OF DETAIL - Great book, and after reading several books on Pete, and having watched the HBO four-part special "Charlie Hustle and the Matter of Pete Rose" I have to admit I am in favor of Pete getting into the Hall of Fame. Yeah, I know he gambled on baseball (clear violation of baseball rules), but he bet on his own team only and bet on them to WIN. Still, he broke the rules. But forget the betting scandal for a moment and leave aside his personal life issues which have NOTHING to do with his baseball career, but which seem to be the focus of many Pete Rose critics. If you look at his baseball career and stats ONLY, I don't think any rational fan, sportswriter or Hall of Fame Committe member, or any baseball commissioner could say Pete DOESN'T belong in the Hall of Fame. He holds a mess of MLB records, not the least of which is 4,256 hits, a record which will likely never be broken. Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame Committee itself appears to have pulled a fast one on him when they changed their own "rules" in 1991 to make players ineligible for the Hall of Fame if they are on baseball's "ineligible" list, which he had been since 1989 when he took a deal and signed the agreement to accept a ban. But in 1989 there was NO rule saying a player on baseball's "ineligible"" list after being banned from baseball itself cannot thereafter be considered or inducted into the Hall of Fame. Funny how they came up with this new "rule" in 1991 JUST BEFORE PETE ROSE WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE TO PLACED ON THE HALL OF FAME BALLOT. Inasmuch, this new rule became known as the "Pete Rose rule". As one famous sportscaster noted, the Hall of Fame Committe could just rewrite their own "rule" to make him eligible for the Hall of Fame again, get him on the ballot, and see how the votes go. Sounds fair to me. I'm hoping he gets inducted into the Hall at some point, because he deserves to be there. Bless you Pete, you were one of a kind, with the work ethic to give 100% every inning you played, and with loads of records as a result of your hard work and dedication to the game. Review: Pete Rose is one of the greatest athletes of all time....and he's also completely nuts..... - This is a good look into the life of "Charlie Hustle". It takes the reader through his entire life, from early childhood all the way into retirement and his ban from baseball and everything in between. It's an interesting read, and while it will never win a Pulitzer Prize, I enjoyed the book. I grew up in Philadelphia and was 10 years old when Pete Rose came to the Phillies in 1979, so some of my greatest childhood memories of the Phillies are of the those great years, especially the World Series Championship in 1980. A lot of the stuff in the book are stories that have already been told, but there's also a lot of new stories too. The one story that I will take from this book is a story about Pete's first press conference after signing with the Phillies in 1979. Right after the press conference, Rose asked Mike Schmidt to talk to him privately. Rose told Schmidt that he thought that Schmidt was the best player in baseball but he was struggling because he was too sensitive to the negative media coverage about him and that Rose had a solution. Rose told Schmidt to just go out and play as hard as he could and that, after every game, Pete would get the media over to his locker and talk to them as long as they wanted, which could give Schmidt an opportunity to just get dressed and get out of the locker room without being interviewed if he didn't want to, and Rose thought that would help Schmidt focus on just playing baseball. Schmidt told this story in the book and was very grateful to Rose, saying that he had the best statistics of his career during the years that Rose played for the Phillies, and a big part of that was because Pete took a lot of the pressure off Schmidt and allowed him just to relax and play baseball. So, for all of the bad things you can say about Pete Rose, you can't say that we was a bad teammate, because his actions over his career showed that he was a great teammate and a great leader in the clubhouse and on the field. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #591,396 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #62 in Baseball Biographies (Books) #125 in Baseball (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 444 Reviews | ## Images ![Pete Rose: An American Dilemma - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Miq1iEqLL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ REALLY INTERESTING WITH A LOT OF DETAIL *by D***3 on February 2, 2025* Great book, and after reading several books on Pete, and having watched the HBO four-part special "Charlie Hustle and the Matter of Pete Rose" I have to admit I am in favor of Pete getting into the Hall of Fame. Yeah, I know he gambled on baseball (clear violation of baseball rules), but he bet on his own team only and bet on them to WIN. Still, he broke the rules. But forget the betting scandal for a moment and leave aside his personal life issues which have NOTHING to do with his baseball career, but which seem to be the focus of many Pete Rose critics. If you look at his baseball career and stats ONLY, I don't think any rational fan, sportswriter or Hall of Fame Committe member, or any baseball commissioner could say Pete DOESN'T belong in the Hall of Fame. He holds a mess of MLB records, not the least of which is 4,256 hits, a record which will likely never be broken. Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame Committee itself appears to have pulled a fast one on him when they changed their own "rules" in 1991 to make players ineligible for the Hall of Fame if they are on baseball's "ineligible" list, which he had been since 1989 when he took a deal and signed the agreement to accept a ban. But in 1989 there was NO rule saying a player on baseball's "ineligible"" list after being banned from baseball itself cannot thereafter be considered or inducted into the Hall of Fame. Funny how they came up with this new "rule" in 1991 JUST BEFORE PETE ROSE WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE TO PLACED ON THE HALL OF FAME BALLOT. Inasmuch, this new rule became known as the "Pete Rose rule". As one famous sportscaster noted, the Hall of Fame Committe could just rewrite their own "rule" to make him eligible for the Hall of Fame again, get him on the ballot, and see how the votes go. Sounds fair to me. I'm hoping he gets inducted into the Hall at some point, because he deserves to be there. Bless you Pete, you were one of a kind, with the work ethic to give 100% every inning you played, and with loads of records as a result of your hard work and dedication to the game. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pete Rose is one of the greatest athletes of all time....and he's also completely nuts..... *by T***I on May 23, 2014* This is a good look into the life of "Charlie Hustle". It takes the reader through his entire life, from early childhood all the way into retirement and his ban from baseball and everything in between. It's an interesting read, and while it will never win a Pulitzer Prize, I enjoyed the book. I grew up in Philadelphia and was 10 years old when Pete Rose came to the Phillies in 1979, so some of my greatest childhood memories of the Phillies are of the those great years, especially the World Series Championship in 1980. A lot of the stuff in the book are stories that have already been told, but there's also a lot of new stories too. The one story that I will take from this book is a story about Pete's first press conference after signing with the Phillies in 1979. Right after the press conference, Rose asked Mike Schmidt to talk to him privately. Rose told Schmidt that he thought that Schmidt was the best player in baseball but he was struggling because he was too sensitive to the negative media coverage about him and that Rose had a solution. Rose told Schmidt to just go out and play as hard as he could and that, after every game, Pete would get the media over to his locker and talk to them as long as they wanted, which could give Schmidt an opportunity to just get dressed and get out of the locker room without being interviewed if he didn't want to, and Rose thought that would help Schmidt focus on just playing baseball. Schmidt told this story in the book and was very grateful to Rose, saying that he had the best statistics of his career during the years that Rose played for the Phillies, and a big part of that was because Pete took a lot of the pressure off Schmidt and allowed him just to relax and play baseball. So, for all of the bad things you can say about Pete Rose, you can't say that we was a bad teammate, because his actions over his career showed that he was a great teammate and a great leader in the clubhouse and on the field. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Do we sentence the crime or the man? *by H***E on November 18, 2014* This is a very fine biography that highlights the ups and down of an American enigma. The book is an easy read and fortunately doesn't dwell on minutiae as some biographies often do. It focuses on the personality of Rose as influenced heavily by his father Harry but there is no deep pycho- babble analysis of Rose. Indeed it appears that no one truly understands the man; not his brother Dave, his son Petey Jr. and perhaps not even his first two wives. Yet we can all agree from reading Kennedy's book that Rose is crude, coarse, and often a total jerk.(And yet he was never a drinker or one to stay up late) As former Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent said, " Rose is a man without a moral compass." Money seems to be the driving force behind the man since his 1989 banishment. And yet Rose will treat the average Joe or acquaintance with utmost respect at social events where the elite meet to drink and eat. He is in that sense the common man; a blue collar man of a different uniform who knows how to lick the hard times in life. And as a leader or cheerleader there can be no doubt of his prowess and commitment to his team and to the game of baseball. No man, except perhaps Cobb, ever played with as much intensity and desire to overcome his limited skills to become a living legend. He was so admired that he made the all-century team in 1999 despite his banishment from the game that was his life. Kennedy raises the often debated questions that still occupy Facebook/ Goodreads baseball discussions and provides a balanced take on them. Did Rose gratuitously crush Ray Fosse's shoulder unnecessarily in the 1970 All-Star game or was it a collision caused by Fosse's block of the plate in the 14th inning of a game with few opportunities to win. Was Jim Gray a jerk for his postgame interview(Hint- he still is) or was it newsworthy? Should the man who steadfastly lied about gambling on baseball for 15 years and who was sentenced to federal prison be permanently banned from eligibility to the Hall of Fame, or should a 25 year ban from baseball be sufficient deterrence and punishment? Should an ad hoc committee picked by the Hall's directors, stacked against Rose at its inception, continue to block admission to one of the greatest players of any generation? I can judge the man morally flawed and egocentric and still find that he belongs in baseball's shrine of honor. To do otherwise is to turn a blind eye to a man who humbled himself before hundreds at the 25th anniversary of his 4,193rd hit and begged for forgiveness for having disrespected the game that he loved. Rose never cheated the game: his numbers are not artificial. He belongs. Thank you again Mr. Kennedy for writing a very fine and timely book.( PS I loved "56" as well. ## Frequently Bought Together - Pete Rose: An American Dilemma - Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball - My Prison Without Bars --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/199535-pete-rose-an-american-dilemma](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/199535-pete-rose-an-american-dilemma) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-10-06*