Luckiest Man

The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig

By: Jonathan Eig

Narrated by: Dion Graham

The definitive account of the life and tragic death of baseball legend Lou Gehrig.

Lou Gehrig was a baseball legend—the Iron Horse, the stoic New York Yankee who was the greatest first baseman in history, a man whose consecutive-games streak was ended by a horrible disease that now bears his name. But as this definitive new biography makes clear, Gehrig’s life was more complicated—and, perhaps, even more heroic—than anyone really knew.

Drawing on new interviews and more than two hundred pages of previously unpublished letters to and from Gehrig, Luckiest Man gives us an intimate portrait of the man who became an American hero: his life as a shy and awkward youth growing up in New York City, his unlikely friendship with Babe Ruth (a friendship that allegedly ended over rumors that Ruth had had an affair with Gehrig’s wife), and his stellar career with the Yankees, where his consecutive-games streak stood for more than half a century. What was not previously known, however, is that symptoms of Gehrig’s affliction began appearing in 1938, earlier than is commonly acknowledged. Later, aware that he was dying, Gehrig exhibited a perseverance that was truly inspiring; he lived the last two years of his short life with the same grace and dignity with which he gave his now-famous “luckiest man” speech.

Meticulously researched and elegantly written, Jonathan Eig’s Luckiest Man shows us one of the greatest baseball players of all time as we’ve never seen him before.

Critic reviews

"Narrator Dion Graham and biographer Eig set the record straight on the triumphant and ultimately tragic life story of Lou Gehrig, one of the best first basemen and consistent hitters in baseball history. But the “Iron Horse,” as sportswriters dubbed him because of his consecutive game streak, had his career cut short when he was diagnosed with ALS in 1939 and forced into retirement. Graham delivers the moving scene with anguish and raw emotion as Gehrig stands at home plate in Yankee Stadium and declares himself the “luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Eig’s award-winning biography does more than focus on Gehrig’s tragic end. Graham portrays Gehrig’s shy and reserved side with empathy and slows his delivery as he succumbs to withering disease."

Excellent biography of a Baseball Legend

This book is a superb look at the life of Lou Gehrig and baseball in the 1920s and 30s, with a touching portrait of Gehrig during his dying years from ALS. He was a brave, bright and good man (with flaws, as we all have) but he really showed his strength of character in the last 2 years of his life. I enjoyed the entire book -- the narration by Dion Graham is wonderful -- and I would recommend it to anyone who loves old baseball and men who show courage and heroism during the worst time of their life. I'm so glad Audible finally made an unabridged version of this book available.

Too detailed

Too detailed want more details on his illness and untimely death In his prime of life