70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great ballplayer, and a great person, March 24, 2005
This review is from: Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig (Hardcover)
If you're looking for an exhaustive biography of Gehrig, one of the best to ever grace a diamond, look no further. Eig has written a wonderful book that gives great insight into not only Gehrig the player, but also Gehrig the man.
It's obvious from the discussion of his upbringing that Gehrig was not a "typical" Yankee star, one who would enjoy the bright lights and fame. As a child, and continuing into his adult life, he was a shy, modest person who wanted only to work hard and do his best. His relationship, or lack thereof, with fellow superstar Babe Ruth, is given a lot of coverage, and is one of the more interesting aspects of the book. Given Gehrig's background and social anxieties, it's not really surprising that he and Ruth (along with other teammates) never seemed to mesh.
While the coverage given to his seasons with the Yankees is comprehensive, it's the anecdotes and off-the-field stuff that really add to the existing knowledge we have of Gehrig. And even when we know towards the end of the book exactly what's going to happen, Eig still manages to present the onset of his illness and eventual death dramatically, without simply playing on emotions. I was surprised to learn that his ALS had begun its onset in '38, and not a year later when he was forced to call it quits.
Eig presents Gehrig well, without romanticizing him or turning his book into a hagiography. While I think any baseball fan will love this book, I don't think being a fan of the sport is a prerequisite to enjoyment. This is a great biography of a genuinely good man, one who always seemed unsure about being in the spotlight. Highly recommended.
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82 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Definitive Book on Lou Gehrig, April 5, 2005
I have read other previous biographies on Lou Gehrig such as Ray Robinson's effort entitled "Iron Horse" and Frank Graham's book entitled "Lou Gehrig: A Quiet Hero". Both books are well done, but Jonathan Eig's book is the most in-depth effort on Gehrig to date. Gehrig had an over-bearing and protective mother and a passive insecure father. While Lou had great admiration and respect for his mother, her influence probably contributed to Lou's insecurities regarding himself. Lou's mother viewed his wife as a threat to her control over her son, and both mother and mother-in-law were in constant conflict over the son and husband. Even after Lou's death the wrangling continued over Lou's estate. The author provides ample coverage of Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day on July 4, 1939, when Gehrig delivered his Gettysburg Address speech at Yankee Stadium between games of a doubleheader between the Yankees and the Washington Senators. Significant coverage is also provided on ALS, the disease that now carries Gehrig's name. Gehrig always expressed his appreciation for the care he received at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and exchanged letters with physicians in charge of his care. He always looked for miniscule signs that may indicate the disease wasn't getting any worse, but by the spring of 1941 he knew it was just a matter of time before the inevitable took place. This book is also a rare treat in that it isn't laced with profanity. If you have a young reader around ten years old who is reading at an advanced level, feel free to give them this book as a gift. It will be one that will be appreciated for years to come.
P.S.--I don't know why Amazon lists this as from an "Audio CD." This review is from the hardcover book.
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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Gehrig Bio Ever, April 9, 2006
This review is from: Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig (Hardcover)
In his brief 37 years, Lou Gehrig couldn't catch a break. Incredibly shy, he never cashed in on his movie-star looks. He adored his mother, but she sabotaged the few relationships he had enough courage to persue. When he finally did marry, the two women in his life quarreled endlessly, a rift that would remain even after his death. As a ball player, Gehrig was too insecure to seek the salary he deserved, always fearing that his next paycheck might be his last. When he became a star, his personality and accomplishments were overshadowed by the larger-than-life presence of Babe Ruth, and after the Babe retired, it was a young Joe DiMaggio who caught the public's fancy. Struck by a fast-moving fatal illness, the Yankees held Lou Gehrig Day on July 4, 1939, but not a single media outlet recorded the entirely of his famous farewell speech. And when death came, two years later, even the birth date on his tombstone was wrong.
As a fellow journalist who routinely deals with rigorous fact-checking, I congratulate Jonathan Eig on one of the most meticulously researched -- and thoroughly sourced -- sports biographies I've come across. I am on my third reading, and each time I soak up something new from every chapter. "Luckiest Man" is a smooth-flowing, well-organized masterpiece that unearths precious new details about this admired, enigmatic, and intensely private figure.
Unlike the gushing Gehrig biographies of yesteryear, Eig goes beyond baseball, the statistics, and myth of the the Iron Horse, or Biscuit Pants as his teammates sometimes called him, to reveal an individual of tremendous character, but entirely human. Gehrig was a misfit. In an era when ballplayers were swashbuckling tough guys, "Columbia Lou" was a sensitive college boy. While his teammates were carousing, Gehrig's joy was to indulge in simple pleasures -- going to the movies, fishing on Long Island Sound aboard his little row boat, and returning home after a game to eat dinner with his parents. He was a loner who smoked too much and hated to part with a buck. When the Yankees lost or he failed in the clutch, he sulked, even cried.
Eig's year-by-year chronicle of Gehrig's maturation is fascinating. But what makes this book truly remarkable is the treasure trove of largely unknown correspondence the author has tracked down. It reminds us that Gehrig's real greatness had little to do with home runs and runs batted in. In a series of deeply personal letters he wrote to his wife, Eleanor, and the doctors who treated him in the final two years of his life, we get to peak inside the heart and mind of a man who knew he was going to die, yet one who showed no bitterness or anger -- only hope and concern for those around him.
Through his own words, we learn how ALS sapped Gehrig of his strength day by day, the treatments he sought, his unflinching optimism, the friendships he made, and how he tried to live a normal life as his body withered away.
For all of its sadness, "Luckiest Man" is an uplifting story of a role model for the ages. Jonathan Eig has given us a gift to cherish.
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