WHEN YOU COME TO A FORK IN THE ROAD, TAKE IT! Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes

The gentlemen Bartlett and Roget would have relished an evening's conversation with Lawrence Peter Berra, onetime ruler of the acreage directly behind Yankee Stadium's home plate and master of such "Yogi-isms" as "my later years came earlier than expected" and "if you can't imitate em, don't copy em." Okay, the great Hall of Fame catcher and pop philosopher did opine that "you can observe a lot by watching," and just about everything else attributed to him. But in this genial, gracious monologue, read by Dale Berra with a son's infusion of warmth and advocacy, Yogi explains, convincingly, what he was really trying to say when he waxed unwittingly witty. He was talking about loyalty, about family, about dedication to a craft, about decision-making, and about being true to oneself. Scattering tales here and there about his "lucky" life and career, from childhood on "the Hill" in St. Louis to retirement, he makes it crystal clear that there's just no one like him. M.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]