cover image Damned Yankees: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Life with ""Boss"" Steinbrenner

Damned Yankees: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Life with ""Boss"" Steinbrenner

Bill Madden. Warner Books, $0 (292pp) ISBN 978-0-446-51544-3

New York Daily News reporter Madden and Klein, of the Newark Star-Ledger , who have covered the Yankees for years, here join forces on a history that may send fans to their handkerchiefs and opponents into laughter. The authors chiefly discuss the period 1977 to 1989, when principal team owner George Steinbrenner converted a stable, conservative, successful franchise into a club characterized by ``chaos, confusion, and craziness'' to the point that some top players refuse to sign with the team. Control of the Yankees, argue Madden and Klein, has been ruled by the whims of a tyrant; as a result, the era they survey has seen 18 managers, 11 presidents, 10 PR agents and innumerable here-today, gone-tomorrow players. Such volatility makes for a rollicking though dismaying tale, related here with gusto. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)