The Big Bam

The Life and Times of Babe Ruth

By: Leigh Montville

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

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 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

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

Big Bam review

What made the experience of listening to The Big Bam the most enjoyable?

This was a very interesting book. I enjoyed the Narrater Adam Grupper his voice was smooth and easy to listen to!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Big Bam?

The book covered many things that I did not know about the Babe and for that reason it was work listening to.

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

This was my first time listening to Grupper, and I found him one of the best I have heard so far!

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

Yes I found myself not wanting to stop

Any additional comments?

All in all a great listen, but I wish it would have covered more. It seemed to me that it rushed through his early years to fast. Short read.

A Sad Legend

Amazing book filled with insights and many details I did not know about the Babe. Listened to it with my 9yr old son who is big baseball fan. It lays out life of Babe Ruth and the course he took. Many ups and more downs then are known. In the end the legend was better then the life he lived. Important read to understand who myth and truth make up the life of celebrity.

the Babe in all his humanity and presence

I found this book to to be refreshing and thoughtfully written. I like the premise that the author Leigh Montville uses to let us have a glimps into the life that was Babe Ruth.

The life of Babe Ruth has always been one of great memories for me as I had the stories told to me by my father about Babe and the New York Yankees. To this day the goose bumps arise when I recall the hundreds of different stories I was told by my father about the Babe !!

This book re-woke many of those memories of my childhood, my father, and of course the Babe!!

This is a terrific read and I must highly recommend this book for your enjoyment. There will never be another Babe !!

Baseball then and now - NO comparison!!

terrific book, great narrator

Not only was this book chock full of facts as well as "fog," but the narrator really brought it to life. The author does a good job of bridging the "holes" in the story. When you are listening to the Babe's performance in a game, the narrator makes you feel as if you are there. My only regret is that I listened to the abridged before noticing that Audible also has the unabridged version.