When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!: Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes

by Dale Berra and Yogi Berra

Book Overview

An exciting new collection of sublimely simple wisdom from a bestselling author, celebrated athlete, and a true American hero.

Three-time MVP and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra hit home runs twice in a row with his two previous books, The Yogi Book and It Ain't Over. Now, his winning streak will continue with this latest work -- a collection of appealing, funny, and surprisingly moving essays on life, happiness, and getting...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786867752
• ISBN13: 9780786867752
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 18 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Postsecondary to Grade 12

Customer Reviews

We can all learn a lot from Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra is an American treasure, epitomizing many of the things that make America great. As a legend in life as well as a legend in baseball, the common-sense pearls of wisdom that drop from his lips are as instructive as they are humorous. I consider Yogi the common man's philosopher. This book offers forty chapters, each containing helpful advice, based upon a famous Yogi-ism, as well as inspiration to the reader. Most of us already know most of these lessons, but we need to be reminded of them periodically. Yogi is the perfect teacher. He is humble and honest, perfectly willing to use his own failures as well as his successes as object lessons for the rest of us; he also speaks from the heart in plain language. I love the unpretentious nature of this book; maybe it breaks a few rules of proper grammar, but it comes across in such a way that you half believe Yogi is sitting in the room with you and just talking. Yogi does offer up a number of parallels between baseball and business, stressing the importance of true teamwork, loyalty, and the personal involvement and commitment of all involved, but most of the lessons he imparts here are lessons about life and the proper way to live it. All the inspiration and wisdom aside, though, I have to admit that what I enjoy the most is Yogi's baseball stories. Baseball was a different game back when Yogi was playing, and I'm sure I'm not the only fan whose love of the game has faded as the game has turned into an impersonal industry. Yogi represents baseball at its best.I also enjoyed learning a little more about Yogi's personal life - heck, I didn't even know how he got the name Yogi before I read this book. Here's a kid born in St. Louis to first-generation immigrants who quit school after eighth grade and pursued a dream that many people said he would never attain. All he did was play on ten World Series championship teams, earn three MVP awards, and become one of the most-loved baseball heroes of all time - heck, I bet there are even some Red Sox fans who love Yogi. He is also a war hero, having fought in the D-Day landing at Normandy. (He also played a brain surgeon on an episode of General Hospital back in the early 1960s, as I was quite shocked to learn.) With all of his success, though, he has always been remarkably humble and quick to thank those who made his good fortune possible. He is a great role model for kids as well as adults, and we all can learn a great deal about life by heeding his practical advice.

Wit and Wisdom abounds from this unlikely philospher!

You don't need to be a baseball fan to enjoy (and benefit from) the words of wisdom in Yogi Berra's book, "When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!". Yogi explains and refines the numurous malapropisms that he noted for is this short and quick read.Without going into the many "Yogi-isms" found in this book, let me suffice to say that you'll get a better perspective on life after reading it. Yogi does a great job giving advice and sharing his worldly experiences with the reader in his own inimitable way. This would be an outstanding graduation gift to share with young people ready to embark on their own life journey. I think it would especially appeal to young athletes who may already be somewhat familar with the Berra legacy.Older readers will certainly enjoy the "Yogi-isms" that are used as the chapter titles and the numerous pictures from Yogi's photo archive. Yogi is a lovable baseball figure who has furthered his appeal factor by putting his thoughts down in words. Here's hoping that each reader will take something a little different from the experience!

"He's Learning Me All His Experience"

This famous Yogi-ism not only is the subject of one of the chapters in this very entertaining book, but it could just as well be the title of the book itself. Reading this gem reminded me of getting to spend an afternoon discussing life and its simple lessons with a favorite uncle or a grandfather who wants to pass on the wisdom he's accumulated over the course of a long and interesting lifetime.The extent to which many of Yogi's malaprops have become ingrained in the American lexicon ("it ain't over til it's over," and "it's deja vu all over again") is testament to just how clearly and simply Yogi sees life. This book expands on that view with short 2-3 page chapters, each of which is titled by one of his famous sayings. Each chapter discusses how that particular malaprop can be applied to life in general. For example, in the chapter entitled, "It Gets Late Early Out Here," Yogi discusses how growing old happens to most people before they're ready for it and how so much can still be gained from life, even as the body begins to slow down.The humor in the book is not limited to the 30+ Yogi-isms that title the chapters. Real zingers are buried in the text throughout and make for a thoroughly enjoyable way to "learn all his experience." Even non-baseball fans or those with lifelong allegiance to a Yankee rival will find this book to be a wonderful, simple, humorous look at life.

One of a Kind Inspiration

For a man who only reached eighth grade, Yogi truly is an genuis. Applying a lot of common sense philosophies and ideas, he has put together at times a funny, inspirational, and entertaining book. He applies a lot of what he learned in baseball to business and life in general.Behind all his malaprops are some truly wise and meaningful remarks. I thought how some of his comments applied to my own life. Besides being a baseball legend who is still well-known almost four decades after he retired as a player, he is a truly intelligent man with an awful lot to say.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A BASEBALL FAN TO GET THE MESSAGE!

Yogi Berra was not your "fit in the mold" average academic student. As a matter of fact, he left at an early age, but the wisdom learned did not end with his scholastic studies; many of his lessons came from the school of hard knocks. With that in mind, Yogi has earned his degree. He has rolled with the punches, learned from his trials and tribulations and obviously has no regrets. His super-phenominal success aside, he is your typical, honest, humble Mr. Nice Guy. He has the innate ability to earn your trust, warm your heart and inspire one to reach for the stars, reminding us they are but a fraction away from our finger-tips.The Yogi-isms are ones you will find yourself repeating many times over in a variety of situations. Some are quite humourous, others rather thought provoking. Yogi has a way of making us see the importance of remembering who we are and where we came from; clearly, he has not forgotten. One does not need to be a die-hard baseball fan to enjoy this book or understand the wisdom contained among the pages. Yogi certainly hit a home-run with this one!