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Luckiest Man (Abridged): The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig Audiobook
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(4.11) - 18 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Lou Gehrig was the Iron Horse, baseball's strongest and most determined superstar, struck down in his prime by a disease that now bears his name. But who was Lou Gehrig, really?
Lou Gehrig is regarded as the greatest first baseman in baseball history. A muscular but clumsy athlete who grew up in New York City, he idolized his hardworking mother and remained devoted to her all his life. Shy and socially awkward, Gehrig was a misfit on a Yankee team that included drinkers and hell-raisers, most notably Babe Ruth.
Gehrig and Ruth formed the greatest slugging tandem in baseball history. They were the heart of the first great Yankee dynasty. After Ruth's retirement, Gehrig and a young Joe DiMaggio would begin a new era of Yankee dominance. But Luckiest Man reveals that Gehrig was afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) much sooner than anyone believes, as early as the spring of 1938. Despite the illness, he didn't miss a game that year, keeping intact his astonishing consecutive-games streak, which stood for more than half a century.
In Luckiest Man, Jonathan Eig brings to life a figure whose shyness and insecurity obscured his greatness during his lifetime. Gehrig emerges as more human and more heroic than ever.
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"The first book I ever really read in my life was about Lou Gehrig and that started my love for him an a baseball player and even more as a human being. This is a great book that unfolds his life in great detail and takes the reader from boyhood to death to the aftermath of his great career. "
— Matt (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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As my consecutive games streak grew, my curiosity about Lou Gehrig also grew and I wanted to learn more about him and what kind of person he was. Jonathan Eig's book, Luckiest Man, really helped me put all of the pieces together and gain a solid understanding of Lou, both on and off the field. I thought it was a wonderful book that provided insights about Lou, his amazing life and outstanding career." -- Cal Ripken, Jr.
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This is a book for Yankee fans, baseball fans, and anyone who wants to read about a man whose determination and heroism inspire us today." -- Rudolph W. Giuliani
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Jonathan Eig's portrait of Lou Gehrig is as elegant, understated, and powerful as the Iron Man himself." -- Jane Leavy, author of Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy
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With splendid results, Jonathan Eig separates fact from fantasy in his stirring portrait of an athlete dying young. The Lou Gehrig he presents is more subtle, nuanced, and indeed more neurotic than the stiff, cardboard figure we previously knew. All of which makes Gehrig¹s tragic final struggle more moving and profound. A wonderful book." -- Roger Kahn, author of The Boys of Summer
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The ancient maxim 'Never get to know your heroes' does not apply to Lou Gehrig, the tragic Yankee whose life is so deftly and thoroughly examined by Jonathan Eig in this superb biography." -- Fay Vincent, former commissioner, Major League Baseball
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“Eig's triumph lies not only in illuminating the man, bringing out his full, human tragedy, but also in framing the America Gehrig lived in—both a harder and a more innocent place, where ballplayers were considered barely a notch above carnies, but would sing '’The Sidewalks of New York’ after winning a World Series and give a teammate a trophy with a poem inscribed on it. Eig is obviously knowledgeable about baseball, and doesn’t slight the game, but nonfans will find this story captivating nonetheless. Luckiest Man stands in the first rank of sports biographies.”
— New York Times -
“It is entirely appropriate that, after all these years, Gehrig is the subject of a full biography that treats him not just as a superb athlete but also as an admirable, if far from flawless, human being…His research is thorough, and he pays due attention to Gehrig’s few shortcomings as well as his many strengths…[A]good, solid work.”
— Washington Post -
“A wealth of new information on Gehrig’s life and times, retrieving the real Gehrig from the mists of legend.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Admirably thorough, richly detailed and nicely written…Luckiest Man is a compelling and haunting read.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“A first-class biography, thoroughly researched and nimbly written.”
— Sports Illustrated -
“As my consecutive games streak grew, my curiosity about Lou Gehrig also grew and I wanted to learn more about him and what kind of person he was. Jonathan Eig’s book, Luckiest Man, really helped me put all of the pieces together and gain a solid understanding of Lou, both on and off the field. I thought it was a wonderful book that provided insights about Lou, his amazing life and outstanding career.”
— Cal Ripken, Jr. -
“One of those sports biographies that transcends sport.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of the 2006 Audie Awardfor Nonfiction, Abridged
Luckiest Man Listener Reviews
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" So interesting how he words it. I hate biographys but this is an exception. "
— Dj, 5/17/2011 -
" Lou was shy. He appears to have been almost socially inept at times. That makes his speech that much more remarkable. He let his play do the talking. This work tells you about the man. "
— F., 5/4/2011 -
" A great book about a great man! "
— Sarahb., 10/19/2010 -
" the historic year ruth hit 60HRs, gehrig batted .374 with 47HRs and 175 rbis. <br/> <br/> "
— Goatville9, 8/23/2010 -
" Lou Gehrig is one off my all time favorite players and this biography shed some light on things I didn't know before.<br/> "
— Dpare71, 7/24/2010 -
" As a RedSox fan, I only read this because I wanted to know more about Gehrig and was looking for a good baseball read. certainly learned much about Gehrig, but also about Ruth, the Yankees, and early 1900s baseball in general. "
— Mark, 7/5/2010 -
" Bio of Lou Gehrig. An appreciative bio for a hard working soul. "
— Kris, 1/28/2010 -
" I liked this as much as any baseball book other than Moneyball. Fascinating to read about the life of Gehrig and also to get more perspective on a crippling disease and life in the 1920s/30s "
— Matthew, 1/19/2010
About Jonathan Eig
Jonathan Eig is the New York Times bestselling author of five critically acclaimed books, including the Pulitzer Prize winner King: A Life. He is a former staff writer for the Wall Street Journal, and he remains a contributing writer there. He has written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, Esquire, the Washington Post, and other publications. He has appeared on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and in two Ken Burns films for PBS. He also worked with Burns to develop a documentary on Muhammad Ali that aired in 2021.
About Jonathan Eig
Edward Herrmann (1943–2014) was one of America’s top audiobook narrators. He won multiple Audie Awards and twenty-two Earphones Awards, and his narration of the King James version of the Bible remains a benchmark in the industry.