This Ain't Brain Surgery: How to Win the Pennant Without Losing Your Mind - Softcover

"[Larry Dierker] came to be known as one of the brightest and most engaging minds in baseball ... and his book shows why. It's an unvarnished insider's view of what goes on within the game at many levels and a refreshingly honest exercise in self-discovery... Dierker's observations remain as fresh and as stimulating as they were when the book was first published in 2001."-Dan McGrath, Chicago Tribune -- Dan McGrath Chiago Tribune "[Dierker] has a healthy perspective about the game and his role in it, as reflected in the title of this literate, humorous, and entertaining memoir. As he recounts his tenure as manager, he splices in anecdotes from his playing days, effectively contrasting the life of the ballplayer in both eras."-Booklist Booklist "There's a richness to the language in This Ain't Brain Surgery that isn't typically found in a book with an ex-player's (or ex-manager's) name on the cover."-Rob Neyer, ESPN.com -- Rob Neyer ESPN.com "Dierker's prose is witty and easy-reading."-Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly "A breezy collection of anecdotes and insights, carefully crafted and presented with a mixture of humor and thoughtfulness."-Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle -- Richard Justice Houston Chronicle "It's a book that ... has reenforced everything I love and have always loved about baseball. Above all else, baseball is a game that inspires wonder and Dierker-former player, broadcaster, and manager for the Houston Astros-Illuminates that nicely."-William Boyle, Sports Literature Association -- William Boyle Sports Literature Association "Needless to say, a book entitled This Ain't Brain Surgery makes no pretence to scholarly profundity, but it is a witty, breezy, intelligent account of baseball as experienced by Larry Dierker."-William M. Simons, Journal of Sports History -- William M. Simons Journal of Sports History

Nearly everyone in major-league baseball was surprised when longtime Houston Astros player and then broadcaster Larry Dierker was hired to manage the Astros following the 1996 season without previous managerial experience at any level of the game. In the five years that followed, however, Dierker confounded the experts and led the team to four National League Central division titles and four playoff appearances, and was named the National League Manager of the Year in 1998. Adroitly handling every sort of distraction and disaster than can befall a team-including suffering a nearly catastrophic seizure during a game-Dierker excelled like no other manager in Astros history, until resigning at the end of the 2001 season. In This Ain't Brain Surgery, Larry Dierker draws on his vast experience of nearly four decades in baseball to reflect on his tenure as Astros manager, telling the reader along the way that the game isn't so simple, that personalities clash, and that intuition isn't everything. Woven into the narrative of this book are thoughtful and humorous anecdotes from his playing days.