Juiced book review
by Gene X Hwang
March 6, 2006 - With the Arnold Classic weekend came another traveling weekend and 
without a direct flight to Columbus,
I was going to have a lot of time in flight and in the air
so I picked up Juiced, Jose Canseco's expose on Major
League Baseball (MLB) and steroid use.
The
book is a very light read and goes by very quickly over it's
nearly 300 pages. Essentially it strives to show that steroids
can be used for good and extending
life, and lobbies MLB to embrace steroids instead of villifying
them.
While
the focus is on steroids and their involvement with baseball,
Canseco also makes it a biography of himself and a chance to
offer a different perspective on what kind of a person he really
is. He tries to show how the media often portray people in a
specific light to create 'roles' for them and as such, he was
often cast as a villain.
He
bring up race as one of the issues in baseball, especially with
regards to his former teammate Mark McGwire and also Cal Ripken
who he
calls
golden boys and untouchables. There is an unspoken
double standard against the non-whites he asserts with many details
to back up his claim.
One
of the more interesting things about the book is that there
are a lot of things explained about the inside world of baseball
including industry lingo about women and strippers (check out
the definitions of "road beef" and "slump breaker").
We
also find out that Canseco is a lover of female muscle.
In
his own words: "As I mentioned, I happen to have a very
specific taste for women who are very fit... I like fitness models
- not
to the point where they are bodybuilders, but lean and ripped.
It's just what I enjoy."
There
are a few photos in the middle of the book and one reminded me
of a cover possibly of Max Sports and Fitness or a similar publication.
Not sure if it was or not but it is of him and his then wife
Jessica, who is showcasing a pretty decent physique.
He
also blames the negative imagery associated with
steroid abuse on the bodybuilding
industry: "But
the average baseball player shouldn't really be ashamed of his
steroid use. Because the people who really abuse steroids
aren't baseball players at all. It's the bodybuilders, football
players and contenders in world's strongest men competitions
who have pushed things too far and given steroids a bad name.
They're the ones who apparently believe that more is always better
- when actually more is usually too much."
In
the end, the book is a nice easy read that gives insight into
the world of professional sports from the minor leagues to the
top of the majors and also is a pretty interesting look inside
the head of one of baseball's more memorable and colorful characters.
MORE:
You
can purchase Juiced at Amazon.com or Powells.com.
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