Henry aaron biography book

I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story

July 25,
Henry Aaron broke the home-run record set by Babe Ruth at a time when the thought of a Black man doing anything that a white man had done was considered impossible and unwarranted by bigots. He faced a stream of racist attacks in the mail and threats against his life and the lives of those he loved, and even after he broke the record in he had to live with second-guessing every time he took a stand for social justice and for the rights of Black players to be more than just on the field in baseball. When he passed away in , he was rightly hailed as the man who broke Ruth's record of all-time home runs, but he was much more than that.

"I Had a Hammer," co-written with Lonnie Wheeler, is Aaron's story from his own mouth, and as honest and unflinching a memoir as a former athlete is likely to write. It was originally published in (this edition is a reissue from ), and I actually had a paperback of that book (I was a huge Braves fan in my youth), but I never got far into it. Having read Howard Bryant's brilliant biography of Aaron last year, I came across this and decided I'd read it.

Henry Aaron was one of the second generation Blac

The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron

This definitive biography of Henry (Hank) Aaron—one of baseball's immortal figures—is a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who through sports became an enduring American icon.

“Beautifully written and culturally important.” —The Washington Post

“The epic baseball tale of the second half of the 20th century.” —Atlanta Journal Constitution

After his retirement in , Aaron’s reputation only grew in magnitude. But his influence extended beyond statistics. Based on meticulous research and extensive interviews The Last Hero 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 Robinson’s mission to obtain full equality for African Americans, both in baseball and society, while he lived uncomfortably in the public eye.


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Free Online Biography Books &#; Subjects A and B

The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron

Bryant, Howard
Pantheon Dewey Dec.

Aaron, Henry Louis &#;Hank&#; ()

Charles Francis Adams (American Statesmen series)

Adams, Charles Francis Jr.
Houghton, Mifflin Dewey Dec. Biography

&#;Tells little of personal traits. Narration of services while minister to England; sheds valuable light on relations between England and America during the Civil war.&#;
&#; Standard Catalog for Public Libraries: Biography Section ()

Adams, Charles Francis ()

The Education of Henry Adams. An Autobiography

Adams, Henry
Houghton Dewey Dec. Biography

&#;An important autobiography interesting in itself and because it is a criticism of cherished American institutions as they affected a brilliant man who had every advantage they could give. Valuable also as history.&#;
&#; A.L.

The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron

October 30,
Hank Aaron is an American hero, and he deserves respect. He also deserves a decent biography by a man who doesn't smother his subject with an avalanche of faint praise, backhanded compliments, and and endless stream of defensive apologies from the author. Howard Bryant tries so hard to make Henry Aaron into a transcendent figure, and yet the harder he tries the more Hank just looks like a nice, not-too-bright guy who hit a lot of home runs. Mind you, I'm sure there's more to Mr. Aaron than that. But Howard Bryant is not the man to tell you so.

This book is long and dull. You learn nothing about Henry Aaron's real personality. You get a lot of black history, but no insight into how it formed this one individual's character. Bryant keeps saying things like, "Henry wanted change, and he was angry about how America was. But just because he felt things deeply doesn't mean he was prepared to speak out." That's fine for an ordinary guy. But if you're trying to sell Henry Aaron as a hero (the last hero, no less) you've just got to come up with something out of the ordinary for proof. (Aside from hitting homeruns, that is.) Howard Bryan

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