The Last Hero

A Life of Henry Aaron

By: Howard Bryant

Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman

In the thirty-four years since his retirement, Henry Aaron’s reputation has only grown in magnitude: he broke existing records (rbis, total bases, extra-base hits) and set new ones (hitting at least thirty home runs per season fifteen times, becoming the first player in history to hammer five hundred home runs and three thousand hits). But his influence extends beyond statistics, and at long last here is the first definitive biography of one of baseball’s immortal figures.

Based on meticulous research and interviews with former teammates, family, two former presidents, and Aaron himself, The Last Hero chronicles Aaron’s childhood in segregated Alabama, his brief stardom in the Negro Leagues, his complicated relationship with celebrity, and his historic rivalry with Willie Mays—all culminating in the defining event of his life: his shattering of Babe Ruth’s all-time home-run record.

Bryant also examines Aaron’s more complex second act: his quest to become an important voice beyond the ball field when his playing days had ended, his rediscovery by a public disillusioned with today’s tainted heroes, and his disappointment that his career home-run record was finally broken by Barry Bonds during the steroid era, baseball’s greatest scandal.

Bryant reveals how Aaron navigated the upheavals of his time—fighting against racism while at the same time benefiting from racial progress—and how he achieved his goal of continuing Jackie Robinson’s mission to obtain full equality for African-Americans, both in baseball and society, while he lived uncomfortably in the public spotlight. Eloquently written, detailed and penetrating, this is a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who through sports became an enduring American icon.

Great work by Howard Bryant

Bryant did a great job of taking me back in time. At times it felt like I was in that moment. The narrator is easy to listen to and presented the material well. The only critique I have is that the narrator is obviously not a baseball fan, which became apparent as he often mispronounced the names of famous players. Overall, this was well worth the 21+ hours I invested.

Excellent biography, largely well read.

Audible really should have the author brief the readers on the pronunciation of names. Many players’ names were mangled—-all of them from the 1950s and early 60s. I know because I have listened to the games on radio and tv since the mid-1950s. Examples:

Billy Bruton is pronounced BROO-ton, not Brutton
Red Schoendienst is pronounced SHAYNE-deenst, not SHOW-en-dynst
Johnny Podres is pronounced PAh-dres, not POH-dres
Carl Furillo is not pronounced Foorilyo
Bill Skowron is not pronounced SKOH-ron
Ryne Duren’s first name: RYNE, not Ryan
Tony Cloninger is pronounced CLAH-ninger, not CLOH-ninger
Sal Maglie is not pronounced MAY-glie
It’s a pity to soil a great book and good reading voice with such easily avoidable gaffs.

All time great

Loved it. You knew Henry as the HR King, but Bryant really peels back the onion and paints the picture of a man who endured a lot while cementing himself in baseball history. Great read about a great man.

Solid Autobiography

Like the depth of the Henry Aaron story. Many things I never knew or heard about growing up during the arc of his career,

The Last Hero; A Life of Henry Aaron

The truth be told, I am a huge baseball fan so I love these books about the players I watched as I grew up. This book is a really interesting story, includes lots of baseball detail, and offers insight into the history of the sport during Aaron's great career. The reader is good, though someone should have checked the pronunciation of well-known player's names before releasing this audiobook (thus the 4 out of 5 stars). For example, it was distracting and irritating to hear the reader mispronoun Red Schoendienst (I didn't recognize who he was talking about at first) and Bill Virdon's names. Still, this is a small glitch, overlook it and enjoy this book. If you like this, read the wonderful biographies of Clemente and Koufax too.