Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: The Last Hero
Subtitle: A Life of Henry Aaron
Author: Howard Bryant
Narrator: Dominic Hoffman
Format: Abridged
Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
Language: English
Release date: 05-11-10
Publisher: Random House Audio
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 14 votes
Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Celebrities
Publisher's Summary:
In the 34 years since his retirement, Henry Aaron's reputation has only grown in magnitude: he broke existing records (rbis, total bases, extra-base hits) and set new ones (hitting at least 30 home runs per season 15 times, becoming the first player in history to hammer 500 home runs and 3,000 hits). But his influence extends beyond statistics, and at long last here is the first definitive biography of one of baseball's immortal figures.
Based on meticulous research and interviews with former teammates, family members, two former presidents, and Aaron himself, The Last Hero chronicles Aaron's childhood in segregated Alabama, his brief stardom in the Negro Leagues, his complicated relationship with celebrity, and his historic rivalry with Willie Mays, all culminating in the defining event of his life: his shattering of Babe Ruths all-time home-run record.
Bryant also examines Aaron's more complex second act: his quest to become an important voice beyond the ball field when his playing days had ended, his rediscovery by a public disillusioned with todays tainted heroes, and his disappointment that his career home-run record was finally broken by Barry Bonds during the steroid era, baseball's greatest scandal.
Bryant reveals how Aaron navigated the upheavals of his time, fighting against racism while at the same time benefiting from racial progress and how he achieved his goal of continuing Jackie Robinsons mission to obtain full equality for African-Americans, both in baseball and society, while he lived uncomfortably in the public spotlight. Eloquently written, detailed and penetrating, this is a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who through sports became an enduring American icon.
Critic Reviews:
"An eye-opening biography of the Braves outfielder, the real home-run king...but Bryant makes clear that this slugger's story was always about more than merely overcoming blazing fastballs. Plenty of baseball for the fan, but even more insight into why Aaron matters beyond the game." (Kirkus)
"Not just another book on Hank's prodigious ability to elevate baseballs over the fences....the postcareer exploits of Aaron will inspire all readers. Bryant evokes the apparently distant world marked by cruel segregation, racism, and poverty of the soul, as well as reliving some of the greatest moments of baseball. A most welcome book, most highly recommended." (Library Journal)
Members Reviews:
Good, but should have been better.
Is there anything you would change about this book?
I would have done a better job of editing & fact checking before recording the narration. I'm a 65 year old Milwaukee Braves fan. I grew up living & dying with every Henry Aaron at-bat, as well as the Braves' games. I'm only about a quarter of the way through this audio book & I've already cringed at a couple of gross mis-pronunciations and a blatant identity error. Billy Bruton was a major influence oh Henry's early days as a Brave, yet the narrator never once pronounced his name correctly. A major oversight, IMO. He also mis -pronounced the Braves' spring training city ... Bradenton, and named Carl Sawatski as a pitcher (he was a catcher) when I presume he meant Carl Willey. These are unforgivable errors to us true fans.
Also, this book hasn't gotten to me emotionally as did Henry's autobiography, I Had A Hammer.
