The Last Folk Hero
The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
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The Last Folk Hero
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Narrated by:
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JD Jackson
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By:
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Jeff Pearlman
About this listen
By the New York Times bestselling author of Showtime—the source for HBO’s Winning Time—the definitive biography of mythic multi-sport star Bo Jackson.
From the mid-1980s into the early 1990s, the greatest athlete of all time streaked across American sports and popular culture. Stadiums struggled to contain him. Clocks failed to capture his speed. His strength was legendary. His power unmatched. Video game makers turned him into an invincible character—and they were dead-on. He climbed (and walked across) walls, splintered baseball bats over his knee, turned oncoming tacklers into ground meat. He became the first person to simultaneously star in two major professional sports, and overtook Michael Jordan as America’s most recognizable pitchman. He was on our televisions, in our magazines, plastered across billboards. He was half man, half myth.
Then, almost overnight, he was gone.
He was Bo Jackson.
Drawing on an astonishing 720 original interviews, New York Times bestselling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman captures as never before the elusive truth about Jackson, Auburn University’s transcendent Heisman Trophy winner, superstar of both the NFL and Major League Baseball and ubiquitous “Bo Knows” Nike pitchman. Did Bo really jump over a parked Volkswagen? (Yes.) Did he actually run a 4.13 40? (Yes.) During the 1991 flight that nearly killed every member of the Chicago White Sox, was he in the cockpit trying to help? (Oddly, yes. Or no. Or … maybe.)
Bo Jackson isn’t Jim Thorpe.
He’s not Deion Sanders, either.
No, Bo Jackson is Paul Bunyan.
The Last Folk Hero is the true tale of Bo Jackson that only “master storyteller” (NPR.org) Jeff Pearlman could tell.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Jeff Pearlman (P)2022 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 529
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 472
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
Gunslinger tells Brett Favre's full, definitive story for the first time, drawing on more than 500 interviews, including many from the people closest to Favre. Jeff Pearlman charts Favre's journey, from his rough rural childhood and lackluster high school football career to landing the last roster spot at Southern Mississippi to a late-night car accident that nearly took his life. Favre clawed back, getting drafted into the NFL, first to Atlanta, then to Green Bay, where he restored the Packers to greatness and inspired a fan base as passionate as any in the game.
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4 out of 5 stars
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No Aaron Rodgers by any Stretch
- By Rick on 11-12-16
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Showtime
- Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,045
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 923
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Story5 out of 5 stars 920
Best-selling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost 300 interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles. From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end - marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV - Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Offended at the style used to voice black characters.
- By NP on 01-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Sweetness
- The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 295
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 257
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 257
At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed “Sweetness” during his college football days, he became the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Honest Accounting Of A Fascinating Life
- By RevInTampa on 08-19-15
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Boys Will Be Boys
- The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 627
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 506
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 506
They were America's Team - the high-priced, high-glamour, high-flying Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, who won three Super Bowls and made as many headlines off the field as on it. Led by Emmitt Smith, the charismatic Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, and Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys rank among the greatest of all NFL dynasties.
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1 out of 5 stars
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This is a football book right?
- By Aaron on 12-07-09
By: Jeff Pearlman
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The Bad Guys Won
- A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform - and Maybe the Best
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Jeff Pearlman
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 210
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 192
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 192
It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how bad they were off it. Led by the indomitable Keith Hernandez and the young dynamic duo of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, along with the gallant Scum Bunch, the Amazin's left a wide trail of wreckage in their wake-hotel rooms, charter planes, a bar in Houston, and most famously Bill Buckner and the hated Boston Red Sox.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Maybe 3.5
- By Lifeisshort on 02-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Three Ring Circus
- Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 930
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 827
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 824
In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Ok I've finished it and have more thoughts
- By Bobby S on 09-24-20
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Gunslinger
- The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 529
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 472
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
Gunslinger tells Brett Favre's full, definitive story for the first time, drawing on more than 500 interviews, including many from the people closest to Favre. Jeff Pearlman charts Favre's journey, from his rough rural childhood and lackluster high school football career to landing the last roster spot at Southern Mississippi to a late-night car accident that nearly took his life. Favre clawed back, getting drafted into the NFL, first to Atlanta, then to Green Bay, where he restored the Packers to greatness and inspired a fan base as passionate as any in the game.
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4 out of 5 stars
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No Aaron Rodgers by any Stretch
- By Rick on 11-12-16
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Rickey
- The Life and Legend of an American Original
- By: Howard Bryant
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 270
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 251
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 250
Few names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. “If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,” the baseball historian Bill James once said. But perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson’s is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An All Time Grewt
- By Anonymous User on 10-09-23
By: Howard Bryant
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Barkley
- A Biography
- By: Timothy Bella
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
He's one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella's Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked about icons in the world of sports.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great insight to the big man’s life.
- By marci rodee on 07-03-23
By: Timothy Bella
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Football for a Buck
- The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 495
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 431
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Story5 out of 5 stars 429
The United States Football League was the last football league to not merely challenge the mighty NFL but also to cause it to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, featured as many as 18 teams, secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans, and launched the careers of legends - but then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner, a New York businessman named Donald Trump. Jeff Pearlman draws on more than 400 interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Ahhh the USFL
- By Film Lover on 10-11-18
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Why We Love Football
- A History in 100 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story5 out of 5 stars 28
After his bestselling home run books Why We Love Baseball and The Baseball 100, Joe Posnanski turns from the national pastime to the number one sport in America. Why We Love Football is Posnanski’s newest must-have deep dive into the archives and legends of the sport, and the result is a rousing tale of the 100 greatest moments in football lore. This is the best kind of sports writing. Entertaining, enlightening, heartbreaking, hilarious, and always fascinating, these stories of the sport offer a panoramic look across its history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I was a football coach and so is my son. The stories are told so well and bring back such wonderful memories.
- By Thomas J. Muench Jr. on 04-18-25
By: Joe Posnanski
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Showboat
- The Life of Kobe Bryant
- By: Roland Lazenby
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 21 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 602
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 523
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 523
The definitive portrait of Kobe Bryant, from the author of Michael Jordan. Eighteen-time All-Star, scorer of 81 points in a single game, MVP, and one of the best shooting guards in NBA league history: Kobe Bryant is among basketball's absolute greatest players, and his importance to the sport is undeniable. Third on the NBA career scoring list and owner of five championship rings, he is an undisputed all-time great, one deserving of this deep and definitive biography.
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5 out of 5 stars
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KOBE BEAN BRYANT
- By Allaeldien Abdelrahman on 12-14-18
By: Roland Lazenby
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Charlie Hustle
- The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
- By: Keith O'Brien
- Narrated by: Ellen Adair, Keith O'Brien
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Story5 out of 5 stars 147
Pete Rose is a legend. A baseball god. He compiled more hits than anyone in the history of baseball, a record he set decades ago that still stands today. He was a working-class white guy from Cincinnati who made it; less talented than tough, and rough around the edges. He was everything that America wanted and needed him to be, the American dream personified, until he wasn’t. Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies—the rise and fall of Pete Rose.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narrator not appropriate
- By Charles C. Dean on 06-03-24
By: Keith O'Brien
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Five Banners
- Inside the Duke Basketball Dynasty
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3
In Five Banners, Feinstein tells the inside history of Coach K’s forty-two-year career at Duke and its five NCAA championships, from the first, against Kansas in 1991, to the most recent, in 2015 against Wisconsin. With unparalleled access to Coach K, the team, and its staff, Feinstein takes listeners on a mesmerizing ride into the locker room and onto the court. Full of intimate details, personal memories, and previously untold on- and off-court stories, it is a book that only Feinstein could write.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect
- By T. Smith on 04-09-25
By: John Feinstein
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Swagger
- Super Bowls, Brass Balls, and Footballs - A Memoir
- By: Jimmy Johnson, Dave Hyde
- Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 377
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 343
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Story5 out of 5 stars 344
Hall of Fame football coach Jimmy Johnson’s house isn’t on the way to anything. Yet, his private sanctuary on the Florida Keys’ Islamorada islands is a popular destination to which college and professional coaches, general managers, and team owners regularly trek to seek advice—how to build a positive team culture, draft elite players, balance work and family life, and lead a team to win. Why? Because Jimmy Johnson has done it all. Now, written with sports journalist Dave Hyde, Johnson shares a candid account of his life experiences that have turned him into a legend in the coaching world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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AMAZING AND NECESSARY READ FOR FOOTBALL FANS EVERYWHERE
- By elaine clancy on 01-24-23
By: Jimmy Johnson, and others
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Yogi
- A Life Behind the Mask
- By: Jon Pessah
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 589
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 506
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Story5 out of 5 stars 502
Lawrence "Yogi" Berra was never supposed to become a major league ballplayer. That's what his immigrant father told him. That's what Branch Rickey told him, too—right to Berra's face, in fact. Even the lowly St. Louis Browns of his youth said he'd never make it in the big leagues. Yet baseball was his lifeblood. It was the only thing he ever cared about. Heck, it was the only thing he ever thought about.
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5 out of 5 stars
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"YOGI BERRA HITS A GRAND SLAM!"
- By USA VETERAN on 05-15-20
By: Jon Pessah
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October 1964
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 289
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 251
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 250
David Halberstam, an avid sports writer with an investigative reporter’s tenacity, superbly details the end of the 15-year reign of the New York Yankees in October 1964. That October found the Yankees going head-to-head with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series pennant. Expertly weaving the narrative threads of both teams’ seasons, Halberstam brings the major personalities on the field - from switch-hitter Mickey Mantle to pitcher Bob Gibson - to life. Using the teams’ subcultures, Halberstam also analyzes the cultural shifts of the '60s.
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5 out of 5 stars
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an excellent baseball book
- By Joe H on 12-31-18
By: David Halberstam
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Wooden
- A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and off the Court
- By: John Wooden
- Narrated by: Beau Bridges, BIll Walton
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 296
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 262
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Story5 out of 5 stars 260
Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden presents the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden. In honest and telling passages about virtually every aspect of life, Coach shares his personal philosophy on family, achievement, success, and excellence. Raised on a small farm in South-Central Indiana, he offers lessons and wisdom learned throughout his career at UCLA and life as a dedicated husband, father, and teacher.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen...
- By AML on 12-06-22
By: John Wooden
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Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 221
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 200
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Story5 out of 5 stars 200
New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Narration
- By Peter on 01-10-24
By: Joe Posnanski
What listeners say about The Last Folk Hero
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rodney
- 01-04-23
Amazing story telling…
I was a child in Alabama when Bo Jackson was a star at Auburn. I knew he was great, but this filled in all the blanks and made me feel like I finally know one of my childhood heroes. Thank you!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Ross
- 01-02-23
Fantastic, couldn’t stop listening
Really good story of a guy I thought I knew well. He was a superhero,
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Darren Jenkins
- 02-26-24
Great bio
Bo Jackson is truly the last American Folk hero.
It seems he's from Krypton.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 11-09-24
Bo knows
The narrator made it difficult to listen to. I wish it could have been anyone else.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Austin Rush
- 12-14-22
Slightly uninspiring
Loved the narrator, but the story kind of dragged on towards the end, and gave a very underwhelmed look at what i would have thought was a interesting character in American sports.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul Donnelly
- 11-16-22
Poor performance
Sad to say but the book is very poorly read. It sounds like the early days of text to speech on a computer. The writing is good, but the narrator seems inexperienced at reading audio books. One thing he does excel at though is relaying the quotes from various sources. Here he comes alive and does a wonderful job.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-10-23
Bo’s Life
Pearlman, again, does an amazing job of getting through the myth and finding the real person. This time; his focus is Bo Jackson. A fantastic book that shows the multilayers of who Bo Jackson is.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Allena
- 08-09-24
Bo the Tecmo Legend
Overall decent book. Should have been a 10hr book at most. Narrator was awful. Lots of great inside stories. I remember him being better than he actually was.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jonathan D Miller
- 11-02-22
BO, THE WHOLE STORY
One the biggest Icon's in sports history. A short history. Very detailed, but very interesting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- jwj
- 11-29-22
His usual great job
Pearlman is a must read or listen, and this book is no exception. The narrator is great, too.
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