The Big Fella

Starred review from July 30, 2018
Sportswriter Leavy (Sandy Koufax) energetically narrates Ruth’s larger-than-life story in an entertaining and colorful biography. Troubled by their son’s misbehavior, Ruth’s parents sent the seven-year-old Ruth to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, across town from their home in Baltimore. There, Ruth developed his baseball skills thanks to Brother Matthias, who showed Ruth how to hit. Ruth joined the Baltimore Orioles in 1914, was sold to the Boston Red Sox a few years later, and a year later was traded to the Yankees. In his career Ruth had 2,873 hits, 714 home runs, and a lifetime batting average of .342, and as Leavy points out, Ruth lived as hard as he played; he “imbibed whatever life had to offer.” Ruth’s accomplishments and his appetites for drink and women (he had several extramarital affairs) coincided with the rise of sports journalism and marketing, and his manager, Christy Walsh, was instrumental in creating his public image. In 1927, Ruth slammed his 60th home run of the season, led the Yankees to a four-game sweep of the Washington Senators in the World Series, and embarked on a publicized three-week barnstorming tour of the country with Lou Gehrig to celebrate. Leavy’s captivating biography reveals Ruth as a man who swung his bat with the same purposeful abandon that he lived his life.

May 15, 2018

The New York Times best-selling biographer of Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle, former sportscaster Leavy takes on the biggest baseball legend of all, the man Roger Angell called "the model for modern celebrity." Not just the story of Babe Ruth but of how America came to create its heroes; with a 500,000-copy first printing

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2018

Babe Ruth, born George Herman Jr. (1895-1948), is one of the most famous names in baseball. Even more than a century after his major league debut, he remains one of the most celebrated baseball players of all time. Following his 60th home run and winning the World Series in September 1927, Babe Ruth decided to do a 21-day victory lap around the country along with fellow teammate Lou Gehrig. Leavy (Sandy Koufax) offers a more personal understanding of the baseball star through this lens, brilliantly describing his barnstorming tour and cross-country adventures. Readers experience the journey alongside the players, while also learning about the impact they left on the country, both positive and negative. VERDICT Well researched and well written, this book about one the most famous baseball seasons and players in history, is truly one of a kind. All baseball fans will enjoy. [See Prepub Alert, 4/23/18.]--Gus Palas, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2018
Few sports analysts explain the sabermetrics certifying Babe Ruth's baseball achievement more lucidly than Leavy. But readers will thank her for focusing on the personality?colorful and complex?behind the gaudy statistics. The same insight and verve that attracted readers to Leavy's portraits of Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax manifest themselves here as she traces the improbable transformation of the insecure Little George?surrendered by his father to a Catholic school for incorrigibles?into the imposing Sultan of Swat, master of the diamond and unparalleled national celebrity. Readers see the culmination of this transformation in Leavy's richly detailed account of the sensational October of 1927, when?fresh off a phenomenal 60-home-run season and a World Series sweep?Ruth joins forces with teammate Lou Gehrig on a barnstorming exhibition tour electrifying crowds from Providence to Los Angeles. Leavy recognizes in this tour Ruth's transformative assault on normal limits in sports and in life. This assault opens opportunities for Ruth's agent, Christy Walsh, to amplify the Babe's lucrative stardom, but also compels him to defuse scandals, including those generated by the slugger's unruly romantic life. Leavy, however, skillfully illuminates how the bad-boy traits of the swearing, boozing, brawling, womanizing Ruth ultimately intertwine with his explosive strengths. An American icon brought to life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)