This is a book for which I have been waiting since I first noticed Steve Dalkowski's stats in the 1962 edition pf the Sporting News Baseball Guide. Steve is one of those extraordinary individuals whose story becomes legend and about whom a constellation of myths revolves. There is also much of an inescapable Shakespearian doom about him, an erratic genius of unparalleled promise who comes close to touching the star but in the end falls away into the void.
Week written and well documented(with a few minor factual errors which have nothing to do with the protagonist), this book was both worth the wait and a must-read for any true baseball fan. ( )

DALKO, by William A. Dembski, Alex Thomas, Brian Vikander, is the biography of Steve Dalkowski, a career minor league pitcher who is remembered by anyone he met for his astounding fastball. What is almost as astounding is that he could never make it to the majors, partly from his own demons, partly unfortunate luck, and partly from no one understanding how to mold such a unique talent into a major league star.
The writers have done as excellent job of researching man who is hard to research. His interviews are sparse and minimal in content and there is little or no film of Dalkowski pitching ever. Even the managers and catchers he worked with have conflicting views on his pitching speed, his control, even his work ethic. The legendary stories of Dalkowski are captivatingly picked through and the writers attempt to divide truth from fiction. In the end, the writers clearly wish they had uncovered more concrete information, but that seems to be Steve Dalkowski in a nutshell; everyone has a story, but the true legend of the "fastest pitcher ever" will never be grounded in complete factuality.
A quick, fun baseball read for those of us that can never get enough great baseball history, DALKO is a book to embrace, enjoy, and charge the reader with finding their own true thoughts about the "fastest pitcher ever".
Thank you to Influence Publishers, William A. Dembski, Alex Thomas, Brian Vikander, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )