Ty Cobb

A Terrible Beauty

De: Charles Leerhsen

Narrado por: Malcolm Hillgartner

Finally - a fascinating and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, Ty Cobb.

Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don't tell half of Cobb's tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: "Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam," one columnist wrote. When the Hall of Fame began in 1936, he was the first player voted in.

But Cobb was also one of the game's most controversial characters. He got in a lot of fights, on and off the field, and was often accused of being overly aggressive. In his day, even his supporters acknowledged that he was a fierce and fiery competitor. Because his philosophy was to "create a mental hazard for the other man," he had his enemies, but he was also widely admired. After his death in 1961, however, something strange happened: his reputation morphed into that of a monster - a virulent racist who also hated children and women, and was in turn hated by his peers.

How did this happen? Who is the real Ty Cobb? Setting the record straight, Charles Leerhsen pushed aside the myths, traveled to Georgia and Detroit, and re-traced Cobb's journey, from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time, to America's first true sports celebrity. In the process, he tells of a life overflowing with incident and a man who cut his own path through his times - a man we thought we knew but really didn't.

©2015 Charles Leerhsen (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Bravo!

This book is extremely well written. Any fan of baseball or early twentieth century popular history will want to read it. Well done!

Leerhson not only writes...

...a compelling biography, but corrects a terrible injustice. Almost certainly like most casual baseball fans, I knew little about Ty Cobb. Worse, having previously relied on the sensationalistic - if not shoddy - revelations of Ken Burns (what a eye-opening disappointment!), "A Terrible Beauty" set the record straight on this unjustly maligned man. Unfortunately, it also confirmed that purveyors of fake news/reporting/history have corrupted our most esteemed and (sadly) trusted sources of information...Public Television. Hats off to the author and his subject!

THANK YOU BOTH!!

Thank you Charles Leerhsen!!
and Great job Malcom.
So glad you wrote this!
Thank you.

A great story that corrects the myths about Cobb

Much of what I thought I knew about Cobb had been the fictions of Al Stump. I'm so glad I listened to a book that corrected those stories and gave me a more accurate understanding of this complicated man.

My favorite athlete!!

Since I was a little boy I've thought Ty Cobb was one of the best! I never believe the story's told about him and for one am glad that someone finally got to the bottom of "the real Cobb!

History in context

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This was an important book in that it looks a on of Baseballs greatest stars in the concept of the times he lived in. As often is found in history, he modern day perception of Ty Cobb is very much the opposite of the mans real actions.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ty Cobb. It is his biography.

What does Malcolm Hillgartner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Tones inflections, etc

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Ty Cobb in his time

Any additional comments?

A strong presentation

A good listen

Truths, if we can find them, are harder to insure than one might imagine.

Well researched and seemingly the only factual book out there

It is an exciting book to listen to for every baseball fan and tragic to think how much this man's name and character has been disparaged since his death. Kudos for a well researched, factual book. Anyone who is a fan of baseball needs to read this biography of Ty Cobb.

Easy Listen

Huge baseball fan here. And like many others I’ve only ever heard one side of Mr. Cobb. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Leerhnsen’s reading of the book was great!

Everything I thought I knew about Cobb was wrong

What a book. From start to finish I was intrigued. No dull moments. If you read Al Stumps book on Cobb, you have to read this one. This one actually did research.