The Big Bam Audiobook By Leigh Montville cover art

The Big Bam

The Life and Times of Babe Ruth

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The Big Bam

By: Leigh Montville
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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He was the Sultan of Swat. The Caliph of Clout. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. From the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Ted Williams comes 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.

“[Montville is] one of America’s best sportswriters.” —Chicago Tribune

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.

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. Montville explores every aspect of the man, paying particular attention to the myths that have always surrounded him. Did he really hit the “called shot” homer in the 1932 World Series? Were his home runs really “the farthest balls ever hit” in countless ballparks around the country? Was he really part black—making him the first African American professional baseball superstar? And was Ruth the high-octane, womanizing, heavy-drinking “fatso” of legend . . . or just a boyish, rudderless quasi-orphan who did, in fact, take his training and personal conditioning quite seriously?

At a time when modern baseball is grappling with hyper-inflated salaries, free agency, and assorted controversies, The Big Bam brings back the pure glory days of the game. Leigh Montville operates at the peak of his abilities, exploring Babe Ruth in a way that intimately, and poignantly, illuminates a most remarkable figure.©2006 Leigh Montville; (P)2006 Books on Tape Baseball & Softball Biographies & Memoirs Sports History Celebrity Biography Sports Boston

Critic 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 Montville’s strengths in this definitive biography of the Splendid Splinter. Montville’s writing is rich and full, like a Ted Williams swing. He connects solidly. A raw, no-holds-barred view of [Williams’s] 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

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Comprehensive Biography • Insightful Content • Brilliant Narration • Baseball Historical Perspective • Special Performance

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Scott Brick proves why he is the best narrator again. The story written here was read brilliantly by Scott Brick. The story itself was extremely well written as well. I will definitely come back to revisit this one again and again. Thank you for a great book and an amazing read.

Amazingly read.

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I haven’t read a baseball book in a long while but when I saw the narrator was Scott Brick - I’m in. The story moves along quickly, more focused on the man than on his baseball prowess. There is enough about baseball to keep fans reading, but enough character study to keep avid readers enthralled.

Scott Brick narrates the book. Enough said - he’s the best in the business.

It’s the Babe!

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What did you love best about The Big Bam?

It was interesting, well written and recited.

What did you like best about this story?

All the details of Babe Ruth's life.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, absolutely.









Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book.

A wonderful book!

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The book's first chapter is largely spent owning up to its biggest problem: There's a whole lot we don't know - and will probably never know - about Babe Ruth. In some cases there are major turning points in his life, or major figures in it, which aren't known to any historian. Look elsewhere online and you won't find more than a couple of other details about the subjects. In some cases it simply feels as though we're watching a celebrity from afar, because the small anecdotes and thoughts of private life weren't recorded. Some famous people record all of their mundane thoughts and feelings in letters and diaries, or have hordes of associates eager to blab about them in interviews. Some barely ever wrote a sentence and kept their real circle of trust fairly small. Ruth is in the latter category. I don't blame the author, but it does at times make the book less exciting or fulfilling than other historical biographies I've read.

A Biography Flawed by the Unknowable Facts

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This was an excellent book on the life of Babe Ruth. Every baseball fan should read. Babe Ruth was probably one of the greatest or the greatest ever to play the game. This book tells a story not only about baseball of this era but the life he lived.

Outstanding book

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