The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth

(Paperback)

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National Bestseller He was the Sultan of Swat. The Caliph of Clout. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. 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. From the award-winning author of theNew York TimesbestsellerTed Williamscomes 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.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.

Reviews

A comprehensive look at a gargantuan life. People

Montville is refreshingly nonjudgmental about his superstar subject. First-rate biography. Los Angeles Times Book Review

Crisp analogies and astute observations, combined with a fluid writing style, are Leigh Montvilles strengths in this definitive biography of the Splendid Splinter. Montvilles writing is rich and full, like a Ted Williams swing. He connects solidly. A raw, no-holds-barred view of [Williamss] life. Tampa Tribune

An engaging, fascinating read. San Diego Tribune

Ted Williams is not only a first-rate sports biography, but also a first-rate biography, period. Baltimore Sun

Author Bio

Three-timeNew York Timesbestselling authorLeigh Montvilleis a former columnist at theBoston Globeand former senior writer atSports Illustrated. He is the author ofThe Mysterious Montague,The Big Bam,Ted Williams,At the Altar of Speed,Manute, andWhy Not UsHe lives in Boston.