When You Come To A Fork In The Road, Take It!

Berra, Yogi

ISBN 10: 1565114760 ISBN 13: 9781565114760

Publisher: Highbridge Audio, 2001

Synopsis

Everyone knows Yogi Berra for his famous non sequiturs : "It ain't over 'til it's over." "It gets late early out here." "The future ain't what it used to be." They seem like throwaway lines, but over time they reveal deeper meanings--playful truths, like Zen koans. Yogi's not trying to be mystical, but his seemingly simple phrases reveal the depth and wisdom of his mind.

In this book, Yogi takes his experiences as one of baseball's all-time heroes and turns them into funny, appealing, and moving essays on the game of life. His philosophy is plainspoken and down-to-earth, hones through more than 50 years of reflecting on the game of baseball: "Keep trying. Stay humble, Trust your instincts. Most importantly, act. When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

In his inimitable style, using apt examples from his personal trove of baseball stories, Yogi tells us what really matters in life; what it takes to win, how to learn from losses, how to remain true to yourself, and how to be happy even when life is throwing you nothing but knuckleballs.

About this title

Review:

Hall of Fame philosopher Yogi Berra's When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It! is another volume of musings and malaprops, and the advice implicit in the title is sound indeed. Just listen: "Throughout life you come to serious forks in the road--decisions," Yogi tells us. "Which path do you choose? Sometimes it's tough. People are always afraid of making the wrong choice." Not Yogi, who explains that tragedy lies in paralysis, not bad choices or regrets, and offers personal examples from on and off the field to prop up his profundity.

Like its predecessor, The Yogi Book, Fork is essentially a collection of Yogi's well-traveled observations from out of left field, but it's much more than just déjà vu all over again. Instead of explaining, as he has before, what prompted a particular Yogi-ism or what he was really trying to say, Yogi does his best to go deep. The charm is that Yogi's so guileless, he makes it work--there's sagacity in his simplicity. Each Yogi-ism gets its own short chapter in which Yogi riffs off the phrase to dispense a bit of homespun wisdom and inspiration. "It gets late early out there"--we get old before we're ready, but here's how to cope with it. "If you can't imitate him, don't copy him"--we all need to be true to ourselves. With Yogi's latest career as a successful author, not only ain't it over for him, there's happily no end in sight. --Jeff Silverman

About the Author:

YOGI BERRA is one of America's most beloved sports personalities. On the field, his exploits with the New York Yankees made him a vital part of the most successful sports franchise ever. Off the field, his wit and humor have made him a unique and ubiquitous part of American culture.

About this edition

• Publisher: Highbridge Audio
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1565114760
• ISBN 13: 9781565114760
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 150