“A skillful separation of truth, legend, and what lies between in a canonical American story.”
Kirkus Reviews: The Ride, 2025
“Pete Rose is too rich a character to fit on a bronze plaque. He requires a good, trenchant, poignant (ah, Petey) book, and this is it.”
Roy Blount Jr.
“He is an immensely talented writer who knows what he is doing, and he does it better than just about anybody else.”
Scott Ferkovich. CASEY Award judge
“Kennedy brings literary grace to his subject, illuminating Robinson’s sizzling style on the ballfield, his colossal significance in American culture, his complex humanity and his enduring legacy.”
The Washington Post
“Kennedy’s book on the tarnished and enigmatic Rose is exceptional. Like the best writing about sport–Liebling, Angell–it qualifies as stirring literature. I’d read Kennedy no matter what he writes about.”
Richard Ford
“Kostya Kennedy has given us the real Pete Rose at last. Perhaps Pete does not deserve him, but baseball fans and readers who appreciate superb and subtle writing will be grateful.”
David Maraniss
“This is a wonderful, clearly written book about a dark and complicated tragedy that continues to beset the purity of our national pastime. The whole story is here: the deeply talented, passionate ballplayer, ‘Charlie Hustle,’…”
Ken Burns
“Pete Rose is too rich a character to fit on a bronze plaque. He requires a good, trenchant, poignant (ah, Petey) book, and this is it.”
Roy Blount Jr.
“He is an immensely talented writer who knows what he is doing, and he does it better than just about anybody else.”