Title: His Bat is His Calling Card
Author: George Gilliam
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-5245-6276-2
Pages: 236
Genre: Biography
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit
His Bat is His Calling Card is a moving and touching memoir about the bond between a father and a son. George Gilliam’s memoir is a book that will inspire readers. His Bat is His Calling Card tells the story of how George Gilliam, an Air Force veteran who traveled the world, helped teach his son Isiah how to play baseball. Though Gilliam doesn’t have training in teaching baseball, he reads books about the Negro Leagues to teach Isiah. Gilliam’s guidance and discipline helps Isiah become a player for the New York Yankees. He also writes about how he used physics, chess, and other creative ways to teach Isiah baseball. Additionally, Gilliam details how parents can encourage their children in their budding careers as athletes.
Gilliam’s writing is conversational and enlightening as well. Gilliam offers a mixture of practical advice on raising well-adjusted children. He gives philosophical insight into the current lack of prominent African-American players. His Bat is His Calling Card is a blend of down-home advice and high-minded views on how to achieve success. Gilliam writes eloquently about the sacrifices he made to give his family a successful and happy life.
The memoir also offers heartwarming stories about how Gilliam and Isiah bonded while they played baseball together. Though the book details the father-son bond, the book has a chapter paying tribute to Isiah’s mother and how she helped shaped Isiah’s life as the matriarch of the Gilliam family. This book adds many photos of the Gilliam family and the many luminaries they met over the years, which adds depth to the memoir.
His Bat is His Calling Card would be best for fans of baseball and anyone who wants to know the intricate details of the life of a baseball player. The book is also best for fans of classic baseball memoirs like Jackie Robinson’s I Never Had it Made. Additionally, this memoir would be best for readers who want to read autobiographies by parents of athletes like Richard Williams’s Black and White about his life raising tennis legends Serena and Venus.
The memoir is a great book that will teach many readers about how baseball can be an important metaphor for life: practice and dedication can make a big difference in life. His Bat is His Calling Card is a short book, but will make a big impact on readers.
