Judith Regan Takes on 'The Mick'
by Dermot McEvoy and Michael Coffey, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 12/13/2006
 The cover of 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel |
Two media insiders who have read the galley, each of whom asked not to be identified by name, used words like "porn," "debased," "exploitative" and "vile" to describe the book's contents. One of them said the book left him "speechless." (Click here to read exceprts from the book.)
In the novel, Golenbock, author of dozens of sports titles, tells Mantle's story in the first person—"in Mickey's own words," as he said by telephone to PW, "so that readers will get a better idea of who Mickey was."
It is the authenticity of those words, however, and the raunchy stories and inflammatory jokes they tell, that will be at issue. Mantle, considered one of the top three or four players of all time, retired in 1968. His prodigious athletic talents and legendary social carousing were all part of his mystique. He died of cancer in 1995, but by then had charmed fans with his candid self-criticism and mordant wit. Bob Costas spoke for a generation of baseball fans in the eulogy he delivered at Mantle's funeral: "There was greatness in him, but vulnerability, too. He was our guy."
In an "author's note" in the galley of 7, Golenbock refers to his book as "inventive memoir," and says his publisher calls it "reality fiction." Asked why he didn't just write a straight biography, Golenbock said, "Every time I sat down to outline it, I knew that all of the stories that were told to me over the years were not documentable, and it concerned me, especially after what happened with Jim Frey. My choice then became to write a biography and leave these stories out—but that wouldn't be Mickey Mantle. It really didn't leave me any other choice."
Golenbock said he cadged many of his Mantle stories from ex-teammates like Jim Bouton, Whitey Ford, Hank Bauer and Joe Pepitone. Ex-Yankee player and manager Billy Martin, who figures prominently in the novel, both on the field and in the bedroom, was a friend of the author. "Since I was close with Billy, I had a very good relationship with [Mantle]. He figured anyone who could work with Billy is somebody he could trust." Yankee great Yogi Berra, when asked what he knew about the Golenbock book, said through a spokesman, "I won't dignify it with a comment."
Fans of Mantle may wonder how trustworthy Golenbock is when they read some the salacious episodes related in Mickey's voice, which range from long descriptions of oral sex, a sexual conquest of Marilyn Monroe, and an offhand accusation that the late Billy Martin was a rapist, all interspersed with jokes set off from the text that are sure to offend everybody from minorities to the handicapped. possibly put click through the excerpts here
On the legal question, experts agree that "the dead cannot be libeled," as Jeremy Pomeroy, v-p/associate general counsel with Reed Business Information [PW's corporate parent], put it. Another lawyer familiar with manuscript vetting, agreed: "The rule of thumb is, don't worry about what you say unless something you say has direct effect on the reputation of people living." The Mantle family, however, which oversees the Mantle estate and manages licensing projects, might stand to incur financial damage if Mantle's reputation is irreparably sullied. Danny Mantle, Mickey's son, is thanked in the book, though Golenbock is unclear on whether Mantle has approved the final product. "I actually sent him an early draft," Golenbock told PW, "which doesn't mean anything. Whether he knows or doesn't know doesn't make any difference."
Normally, said one lawyer, a book clearly labeled as fiction puts an enormous burden on a plaintiff in the cause of libel. But "reality fiction," he said, "makes for a gray area—somewhere north of Scarlett O'Hara and south of a docudrama. It does push it closer to something that a publisher would want to vet as if it is a nonfiction book."
Doug Glad, Golenbock's editor at Regan, did not respond to PW's inquiries.
Sure to be among the most controversial scenes in the book is Mantle's alleged affair with Marilyn Monroe behind husband Joe DiMaggio's back. When asked if this was strictly fiction, Golenbock said, "It was based on one sentence that Billy said to me. One sentence. It was something like, 'When Mickey and I were in San Francisco one day, Mickey and Marilyn got together.' Something like that. That was the sentence. A very intriguing sentence."
A former baseball executive with intimate knowledge of the Yankees told PW flatly that the Mickey-Marilyn liaison "never happened."
As it happens, HarperCollins expects to publish a full-scale biography of Mantle in 2009, to be written by Jane Leavy, author of the bestselling Koufax. The book's editor, David Hirshey, calls Leavy's book "a serious, journalistic account of Mantle's life, and this won't affect it one bit." Interestingly, Hirshey had not seen the Regan Books galley, despite their shared corporate address.
Publishing endured three prominent scandals this year—James Frey, Kaavya Viswanathan and the aborted O.J. hypothetical tell-all. By March, when 7 is set to publish, Judith Regan may well again be in the news, pushing the envelope as to what the American public will accept as viable storytelling. Costas noted in his eulogy, "We didn't just root for [Mickey], we felt for him." Time will tell how the public feels about Golenbock's, and Regan's, handling of their "guy."
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