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The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth Audiobook
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(3.05) - 638 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
He was the Sultan of Swat. The Caliph of Clout. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. From the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Ted Williams comes the thoroughly original, definitively ambitious, and exhilaratingly colorful biography of the largest legend ever to loom in baseball—and in the history of organized sports. “[Montville is] one of America’s best sportswriters.” —Chicago Tribune Babe Ruth was more than baseball’s original superstar. For eighty-five years, he has remained the sport’s reigning titan. He has been named Athlete of the Century . . . more than once. But who was this large, loud, enigmatic man? Why is so little known about his childhood, his private life, and his inner thoughts? In The Big Bam, Leigh Montville, whose recent New York Times bestselling biography of Ted Williams garnered glowing reviews and offered an exceptionally intimate look at Williams’s life, brings his trademark touch to this groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the Babe. Based on newly discovered documents and interviews—including pages from Ruth’s personal scrapbooks —The Big Bam traces Ruth’s life from his bleak childhood in Baltimore to his brash entrance into professional baseball, from Boston to New York and into the record books as the world’s most explosive slugger and cultural luminary. Montville explores every aspect of the man, paying particular attention to the myths that have always surrounded him. Did he really hit the “called shot” homer in the 1932 World Series? Were his home runs really “the farthest balls ever hit” in countless ballparks around the country? Was he really part black—making him the first African American professional baseball superstar? And was Ruth the high-octane, womanizing, heavy-drinking “fatso” of legend . . . or just a boyish, rudderless quasi-orphan who did, in fact, take his training and personal conditioning quite seriously? At a time when modern baseball is grappling with hyper-inflated salaries, free agency, and assorted controversies, The Big Bam brings back the pure glory days of the game. Leigh Montville operates at the peak of his abilities, exploring Babe Ruth in a way that intimately, and poignantly, illuminates a most remarkable figure.
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"Baseball's most Legendary Athlete explodes from the pages...A Biography that captures the Complete Story...from Ruth's Hard Scrabble days as an orphan thru his meteoric rise as perhaps the most iconic Figure in the Game of Baseball....Truth eclipses Fiction as the story comes alive thru a thorough exploration of the Man, Myth, and Legend...The headlines everyone has come to be familair with...PLUS a behind the scenes exploration into his Vices; and those hidden commentaries regarding the REAL relationships both on the Field and Off that keep you turning the pages until his tragic struggle with Cancer ended his Storybook Life on 8/16/48 at the age of 53...."
— Patrick (4 out of 5 stars)
The Big Bam Listener Reviews
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" i've read a lot of baseball books. This was up there with the best. "
— Luigib, 2/17/2014 -
" Good choice if you need a concise bio on the Babe. Compact and streamlined, The Big Bam covers his entire life in as much detail as the casual baseball fan needs. Biography buffs will want something that digs deeper into his personal life, while rabid baseball fans will desire more in depth analysis about his career, and for those in the middle with little-to-no knowledge of the man beyond the basics that everyone and their grandma already knows, this will be just right. "
— Jason, 2/14/2014 -
" The Sultan of Swat, the King of Crash, the Colossus of Clout, the Great Bambino! Babe Ruth is an American cultural icon. And this book is a very revealing look at his life. Definitely a flawed character blessed with amazing talent. "
— Jared, 2/11/2014 -
" Fair to middlin'. Fair because of the subject and middlin' because of the writing. "
— Rob, 1/31/2014 -
" A credible and focused recap of all that has been written and researched on the Babe. However, I fault Montville for not going much beyond his main character. He briefly colors his myopic biography with local events but fails to tell the social science study of why Ruth became so much more in the eyes of a troubled nation (War, Depression, etc.) I bet he described the infamous infidelity of Ruth 500 times... but alas, no details. If you are going to be preoccupied by a character flaw, dive into it my boy. Jan 17, 2006. "
— Dave, 1/29/2014 -
" So far this is everything that I had hoped for in a sports bio... "
— Mike, 1/27/2014 -
" A thorough, well-researched story of the life of the most famous baseball player of all time. Though The Babe died less than a year before I was born, I always felt as if he was from the "olden days". I had read and heard many stories about him over the years. But intelligently written, entertaining book tells the whole story probably better than anyone else has ever told it. "
— Phil, 1/22/2014 -
" I loved this book ... "
— Thomas, 1/16/2014 -
" It seems like Babe Ruth a part of the fabric of the American story of the underdog who makes good. He's more than a baseball hero; he's an American hero. "
— Todd, 1/3/2014 -
" A terrific follow-up to Montville's previous baseball bio of Ted Williams. A must read for baseball fans with an interest in the history of the game. The Babe truly was a larger than life character. "
— Raimo, 12/19/2013 -
" Interesting read. I remember when he died, I was ten years old. He certainly was a larger-than-life character! "
— Carol, 12/14/2013 -
" Great read. Really great portrayal of Ruth, good and bad. "
— David, 12/10/2013 -
" Fun book, not too terribly serious, but gives both a fine overview of Ruth and his life and times, and also a nice feel for New York City in the Roaring '20s. Montville works the vernacular a bit harder than is necessary, but has mastered the material. "
— Jack, 12/10/2013 -
" I wanted to read a book about baseball - and babe ruth is baseball! an intersting story but i probably could have watched the Biography special on him and i would have learned about the same... "
— Stacy, 11/19/2013 -
" Terrific telling of the Bambino's saga. Loved the Babe's cat trick story. Really makes you understand what made the Babe so unique in his era. "
— Lewis, 7/4/2013 -
" A warts and all view of Babe Ruth. No sugar coating. Good read. "
— Kent, 7/1/2013 -
" Babe Ruth as a real human rather than a larger-than-life Tall Tale. Funny thing is, he really was larger than life in several respects. "
— Paul, 3/26/2013 -
" Biography of the Babe. Reads like a novel. "
— Kris, 8/12/2012 -
" Very interesting look into the Babe, and really Baseball in the teen's and twenties. "
— Jim, 6/4/2012 -
" A very good story about a unique person. Great details about a very, very interesting individual. "
— Tim, 11/20/2011 -
" Truth is stranger than fiction. The Babe was the Babe. "
— Matt, 4/27/2011 -
" A warts and all view of Babe Ruth. No sugar coating. Good read. "
— Kent, 1/27/2011 -
" i've read a lot of baseball books. This was up there with the best. "
— Luigib, 12/27/2010 -
" It seems like Babe Ruth a part of the fabric of the American story of the underdog who makes good. He's more than a baseball hero; he's an American hero. "
— Todd, 5/17/2010 -
" Biography of the Babe. Reads like a novel. "
— Kris, 1/28/2010 -
" i;m a yankee fan so perhaps biased "
— Goatville9, 9/29/2009 -
" Fair to middlin'. Fair because of the subject and middlin' because of the writing. "
— Rob, 7/16/2009 -
" I wanted to read a book about baseball - and babe ruth is baseball! an intersting story but i probably could have watched the Biography special on him and i would have learned about the same... "
— Stacy, 6/21/2009 -
" Very interesting look into the Babe, and really Baseball in the teen's and twenties. "
— Jim, 3/15/2009
About Leigh Montville
JD Jackson is a theater professor, aspiring stage director, and award-winning audiobook narrator. He is a classically trained actor, and his television and film credits include roles on House, ER, Law & Order, Hack, Sherrybaby, Diary of a City Priest, and Lucky Number Slevin. He is the recipient of more than a dozen Earphones Awards for narration and an Odyssey Honor for G. Neri’s Ghetto Cowboy, and he was also named one of AudioFile magazine’s Best Voices of the Year for 2012 and 2013. An adjunct professor at Los Angeles Southwest College, he has an MFA in theater from Temple University.
About Scott Brick
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.