"Juiced" Book Reiview

"Juiced" Book review essay

"Juiced" Book review essay
Jose Canseco’s book Juiced was written to alert all fans of the truth and make his voice heard regarding the current situation (1995) with steroids and how steroids were introduced into the game of baseball. Having personally introduced steroids into the sport, Jose Canseco who was also known as “the chemist” was consistently sought out for advice and guidance from many of his fellow co-workers on the proper use of steroids and human growth hormone to build bigger and faster bodies which would consequently deliver enhanced performance, increased fan base, more sponsorships and bigger contracts.
In this controversial book, Jose Canseco exposes many other players who allegedly used steroids, but most of them deny ever doing so. Jose Canseco’s writings discover a high level of hypocrisy at all levels within the sport, from the players, to owners, league officials and even fans. Jose Canseco’s information proves to be very damaging to the players, immediately after he personally named them as users, they were labeled as cheaters. Major League Baseball also suffered as an organization as well for having consciously looked away for many years and never addressing the issue because the inflated batting averages, stolen bases and especially the Home Runs were bringing many more fans and consequently more revenue.
Critics view this literary work as an attempt to cash in on a highly controversial and ethical issue. Jose Canseco is characterized as bitter, and angered for having been pushed to the side by the league, owners, and players. His unchanged opinion on the use of steroids and his “irrational” believe that the use of steroids is beneficial, makes critics become furious and they claim Jose Canseco made the allegations to not gain respect or credibility, but to drag down many others with him to include Major league Baseball. The former rookie of the year who was the first player in history to hit forty home runs and steal forty bases in a single season does not help his own cause and enforces his critics’ views as he makes allusion of his past problems with the law and his lack of interest for the game during his college days. His use of steroids and the unapologetic admission is viewed as not only immoral, but as a reprehensible socially unconscious decision that can have a negative effect in the youth of America to include possible death due to the use of steroids because the players are viewed as role models.
Jose Canseco’s personal courage to come forward and tell the truth about the prolific use of steroids and human growth hormone as performance enhancers in Major League Baseball resulted in his alienation from the sport by the organization and the players association. His divulgations of facts were viewed as an attempt to bring down the sport. Over the past few years the league’s denial of knowing of steroid use and many other players’ denial of using performance enhancing drugs have been exposed as lies, thus giving Jose Canseco Vindication of the truthfulness of his words in this book. His new Book is titled “Vindicated”.