Audiobook (abridged)5 hours
Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
Written by Jonathan Eig
Narrated by Edward Herrmann
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
The definitive account of the life and tragic death of baseball legend Lou Gehrig.
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Drawing on new interviews and more than two hundred pages of previously unpublished letters to and from Gehrig, Luckiest Man gives us an intimate portrait of the man who became an American hero: his life as a shy and awkward youth growing up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.
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Drawing on new interviews and more than two hundred pages of previously unpublished letters to and from Gehrig, Luckiest Man gives us an intimate portrait of the man who became an American hero: his life as a shy and awkward youth growing up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.
Author
Jonathan Eig
Jonathan Eig is a former senior special writer for The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of several books, including two highly acclaimed bestsellers, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season. Visit him at JonathanEig.com.
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Reviews for Luckiest Man
Rating: 4.315126008403361 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
119 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. The book was written perfectly. Thanks again. Steven
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was excellent. I always was a fan of Gehrig, but never knew the full story. Great listen, narrator was superb. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the most inspiring lives in American History, Lou Gehrig was a true legend. Baseball lovers need to know his story. History lovers need to know his story. Americans need to know his story!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Terrific bio of the Iron Horse. Not just for Yankee fans; worthwhile reading for any devotee of America's Pastime.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A straightforward biography of Lou Gehrig.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very well-written life of the great Gehrig.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm not what one would call a fan of baseball, so I learned a lot about Lou Gehrig and the world of baseball in the 20s in particular. Easy to read, interesting, my main complaint was the way the author went off on flights of fancy that involved lots of statements like "he must have" or other things that the author had no way of knowing.