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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 796.357092 EAN: 9780743268936 Edition: illustrated edition Format: Illustrated ISBN: 0743268938 Label: Simon & Schuster Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 432 Publication Date: March 28, 2006 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Studio: Simon & Schuster Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Lou Gehrig started his professional baseball career at a time when players began to be seen as national celebrities. Though this suited charismatic men such as Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio, Gehrig avoided the spotlight and preferred to speak with his bat. Best known for playing in 2,130 consecutive games as well as his courage in battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a disease that now bears his name), the Iron Horse that emerges from this book is surprisingly naïve and insecure. He would cry in the clubhouse after disappointing performances, was painfully shy around women (much to the amusement of some of his teammates), and particularly devoted to his German-immigrant mother all his life. Even after earning the league MVP award he still feared the Yankees would let him go. Against the advice of Ruth and others, he refused to negotiate aggressively and so earned less than he deserved for many seasons. Honest, humble, and notoriously frugal, his only vices were chewing gum and the occasional cigarette. And despite becoming one of the finest first basemen of all time, Jonathan Eig shows how Gehrig never seemed to conquer his self-doubt, only to manage it better. Jonathan Eig's Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig offers a fascinating and well-rounded portrait of Gehrig, from his dugout rituals and historic games to his relationships with his mother, wife, coaches, and teammates. His complex friendship with Ruth, who was the polar opposite to Gehrig in nearly every respect, is given particularly vivid attention. Take this revealing description of how the two men began a barnstorming tour together following their 1927 World Series victory: "Ruth tipped the call girls and sent them on their way. Gehrig kissed his mother goodbye." Eig also shares some previously unknown details regarding his consecutive games streak and how he dealt with ALS during the final years of his life. Rich in anecdotes and based on hundreds of interviews and 200 pages of recently discovered letters, the book effectively shows why the Iron Horse remains an American icon to this day. --Shawn Carkonen Product Description: Lou Gehrig was a baseball legend -- the Iron Horse, the stoic New York Yankee who was the greatest first baseman in history, a man whose consecutive-games streak was ended by a horrible disease that now bears his name. But as this definitive new biography makes clear, Gehrig's life was more complicated -- and, perhaps, even more heroic -- than anyone really knew. Drawing on new interviews and more than two hundred pages of previously unpublished letters to and from Gehrig, Luckiest Man gives us an intimate portrait of the man who became an American hero: his life as a shy and awkward youth growing up in New York City, his unlikely friendship with Babe Ruth (a friendship that allegedly ended over rumors that Ruth had had an affair with Gehrig's wife), and his stellar career with the Yankees, where his consecutive-games streak stood for more than half a century. What was not previously known, however, is that symptoms of Gehrig's affliction began appearing in 1938, earlier than is commonly acknowledged. Later, aware that he was dying, Gehrig exhibited a perseverance that was truly inspiring; he lived the last two years of his short life with the same grace and dignity with which he gave his now-famous "luckiest man" speech. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, Jonathan Eig's Luckiest Man shows us one of the greatest baseball players of all time as we've never seen him before. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Awesomeservice was excellent. and i am so glad i have this book. price exceptional. go to Cooperstown and compare price. this was a bargain. and i received it quickly... thanks. Rating: - even a sox fan recommendsI read this book while in middle school and it inspired me. Yes even a Red Sox fan enjoyed this book. This is not a book about a Yankee or baseball but a story about an amazing person. Rating: - An outstanding biographyAuthor Jonathan Eig has written a fantastic character study of New York Yankees great Lou Gehrig, a shy, Momma's boy who always followed the rules and didn't want to let anyone down. A proud man, Gehrig always handled himself with class. He had few equals on or off the field. Eig paints a sensitive portrait of Gehrig while discussing his relationships with his mother, his wife, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and his other teammates as well as Yankees management. Never considered ... Read More Rating: - Outstanding, detailed accountLou Gehrig has always been an interesting subject for me. I'm a so-so baseball fan, but I am a fan of individual's who appear to have the same values and morals that I hold. Jonathan Eig does a very nice job in this book of focusing on Gehrig's baseball qualities and his qualities as a man. I really enjoyed the book that gave a tremendous insight into how Gehrig acted behind closed doors. A few things that really interested me: I didn't know he was nearly that good ... Read More Rating: - The best biography I've ever read!I'm a Yankee hater, but I loved this book. I always found the story of Lou Gehrig to be an inspirational one. Jonathan Eig did a great job of not only telling Gehrig's story, but also making you want to root for Gehrig to survive. At times I found myself forgetting that he dies in the end, only wanting to read more about his amazing feats on the ball field. A great book that everyone should read. |
