Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time [Paperback]

Ray Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 1991

A captivating biography of the legendary ball player Lou Gehrig, known for both his prowess on the field and his courage in life.

Lou Gehrig will go down in history as one of the best ballplayers of all time. With a career average of .340 and 493 home runs, he played in a record-setting 2,130 consecutive games and was elected to the Hall of Fame. He was robbed of his superb physical skills as a relatively young man by ALS, the degenerative disease now known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease", and died in 1941. Ray Robinson re-creates the life of this legendary ballplayer and also provides an insightful look at baseball through the Depression years, including all the great players of that era -- Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Miller Huggins, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gehrig, who played baseball for the New York Yankees from 1925 to 1939, is best known for having participated in a record 2130 consecutive games--and for having died at 37 (in 1941) of what is now called Lou Gehrig's disease. His career was a triumphant one, even though he labored for many years in the shadow of Babe Ruth, but Gehrig's personal life was not without problems. He was born into near-poverty in New York City, the son of an unambitious father and a driving, domineering mother. His immigrant parents wanted him to earn a college degree, but he left Columbia when the big money of baseball beckoned. Exceedingly shy and inarticulate, he was seen by many as sullen and unfriendly, although all respected him. He had a happy marriage but his mother hated his wife. This biography by Robinson ( Oh Baby, I Love It! ) is sensitive and moving. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- The shy and reserved Lou Gehrig, overshadowed by Babe Ruth, played for the New York Yankees from 1925-1939 and earned the nickname "Iron Horse" for playing in 2130 consecutive games. Robinson traces Gehrig's life from his poverty-stricken childhood with a domineering mother until he drops out of Columbia to play baseball. His happy marriage is covered, plus an insight into baseball during the 1920s and 1930s. His death at the age of 37 from a rare disease, now called Lou Gehrig's disease, completes a carefully researched biography. Appendices follow his baseball record and list winners of the Lou Gehrig Award.
- Mike Printz, Topeka West High School, KS
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (June 19, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060974087
• ISBN-13: 978-0060974084
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book about Lou worth reading, June 15, 2000

By 

Ernest Boehm (Des Plaines, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time (Paperback)

Even though I am a Cubs fan, my favorite baseball player is Lou Gehrig. This book has a lot of baseball information that My Luke and I did not have.

If you want to read about Gehrigs baseball career this is a great book to read. I suggest if you really want to read about Gehrig get a copy of My Luke and I By Elenor Gehrig even if it is out of print.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A RARE TREAT, September 1, 1998

By 

Randy Pathe ([e-mail]) (Northbrook, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time (Hardcover)

Ray Robinson gives us a different look at Lou's life. The often strained relation with fellow teammate Babe Ruth. The softness in Lou's heart that touches many as well as the outstanding performances Lou achieved in his brillant baseball career that were often over shadowed by Ruth. A definate must read for Yankees fans, baseball fans and anyone one interested in a remarkable man.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Highly informative, poorly written, May 22, 2000

By 

B. Walsh (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time (Paperback)

Many traps are set for the baseball biographer. S/he can fall into biased hero-worship; lapse into the recitation of dusty, Biblical lists: "And in 1930 he hit .379, which begat an average of .341 the following year, and verily an average of .349 in the year 1932, and ..."; bombard us with information of questionable value; bore us.

Ray Robinson falls into every one of those traps. There are pages and pages of dry as dust technical stuff which reads poorly. If a biographer wishes to get into the details of how a player learns to hit to the opposite field or how he adjusts his grip or how he deals with left-handed sinkerball pitchers going to the outside of the plate, it has to be presented well. Present it as a measure of personal growth, wrap it up in interesting anecdotes, surround it with spicy quotes, offer it as a baseball primer or an insider's tip. What we get in "Iron Horse" are pages of dull, drab detail.

The writing does not help. Right from the start, we know we're not in good hands with a meaningless, clichéd subtitle like "Lou Gehrig in His Time". Of course he's in his time. Who else's time is he going to be in? Bad word choices drop like clumsy anvils: we are told that Lou "experienced" a five-for-five game.

There is also a fan's bias pervading the book that gets tiresome. Yes, the author nails his colors to the mast as a Gehrig devotee from the start, but after a while his determination to interpret everything Lou ever did in the best possible light makes one suspicious. If Gehrig were allowed to have a few human flaws, instead of the author defensively explaining away anything conceivable as a lapse, he - and the book - would be more accessible.

I'm not dwelling on the positives of this book, because the negatives are a real concern for anyone embarking upon it. In the author's defense: in all honesty, Lou Gehrig is not the most scintillating subject. He does not attract anecdotes and legends the way the Babe did. Even his nickname speaks of solidity and dependibility rather than flash or style. Having a detailed, well-researched biography of the man is useful, and this book certainly fits that description. As a reference book to have in one's library it is useful and information. As a book to sit down and read, though, it is turgid and often boring.