Book Description
This first book in a series about fictional encounters between children and their sports heroes features home-run legend Hank Aaron. In this gorgeously illustrated picture book, Mark, a young boy who idolizes Aaron, meets his hero and learns that there's more to being a great baseball player than hitting the ball out of the park. ... Read more

Book Description

The man who shattered Babe Ruth's lifetime home run record, Henry "Hammering Hank" Aaron left his indelible mark on professional baseball and the world. But the world also left its mark on him.

Customer Reviews (23)

Still the greatest home run hitter ever.
It doesn't matter how many home runs Berry Bond's or anyone of this aera of Baseball, what Hank AAron endured and the racial hatred he went through only proves that he is the BEST. These modern day players could not survive what he and others went through.

Mr Aaron is a very humble, decent man
I've been a fan from age seven, which is where I was in life when Henry hit number 715.His recounting of his life in baseball is captivating and highly educational.

Mr Aaron is one of the most skilled players in baseball history, and his telling of his story explains that he is much more than that.Mr Aaron is a man of dignity and class, his success through clouds of racist hate provides a shining example of what a man can be under extreme circumstances.Thank you Henry, for your marvelous career in baseball, and for your open, honest sharing of the story.

Great book about a true baseball hero:Hank Aaron.
"I Had A Hammer" is a wonderfully written autobiography about the struggles and the triumphs of one Henry(aka Hank) "The Hammer" Aaron, the career home run record holder, and one of the last of the "Negro League" players to make it big.Aaron describes his upbringing in Mobile well, and shows us the different levels of racism in the Deep South.The book reveals that Aaron fought against segregation in the minor leagues, helping to end "white-only" minor league teams, and shows us Aaron's love affair with the city of Milwaukee and it's long-gone Braves team, and the tense relationship between Aaron and Atlanta, which had the first Deep South major league team.This is recommended for lovers of baseball as well as those who want to know more about civil rights heroes.Atlanta is not cast in a good light in this book, but Aaron harbors little bitterness towards the city or the racism and death threats he had to endure while trying to break Babe Ruth's record.

A Legendary Man of Athletic Ability and Integrity for Mankind
The athletic proficiency of Hank Aaron is probably the greatest in the history of baseball if not all sports. He is a man of dignity, grace and the stuff legends are made of. This is an endearing and absorbing biography. This biography has captivated the legend of the man for me. It is well written with true fervor and endearment. One of the best.

One of the best sports autobiographies ever
In this baseball season where my favorite team is floundering in the cellar, and every good story(compelling divisional races) is counterbalanced by the bad (steroids), I have been trying to maintain interest by re-reading some baseball books that I have read over the years.After re-reading "I Had A Hammer", I remember why it remains one of the best biographies/autobiographies that I have ever read.

The sports genre in books is much harder than one would think to keep up interest in.There are very few gems in any sporting subject; mostly it's very mediocre to terribly vapid.Usually a fan becomes disappointed in their sports "heroes" when they read a biography about them, because the writing can be so bad.Fortunately, for a ballplayer as great as Hank Aaron, the work lives up to the character and legend of the man.

Mr. Aaron does a splendid job of taking the reader through his life in Alabama, his discovering the game of baseball, and - of course - his remarkable career.His writing style provides enough description to allow the reader to get a true mental "picture" of what his life was like without getting bogged down in minutiae.Throughout the book, I had the feeling like I really was there watching his career unfold.

Of course, that brings us to the real core - and most important part - of his life story.That is, what Mr. Aaron experienced as he neared and eclipsed Babe Ruth's home run record.Most celebrities or sports figures would relate this in that sensational, "woe-is-me", tabloid-tell-all sort of way.Not Mr. Aaron.He shares many of the truly hateful and despicable letters he received from people across the nation who saw the idea of an African-American breaking the record of a white man as egregious.Mr. Aaron relates how this inundation of hate mail affected him, but he manages to avoid expressing any hate towards the senders of those letters.One obviously gets the sense that Mr. Aaron steeled himself against those attacks with grace and dignity, allowing himself to still play the game the way it was supposed to be played, and to do it with class and personal enjoyment.

It is striking to return to Mr. Aaron's autobiography after the events in baseball over the past decade.We as a fan base in general express outrage over the strike, the steroids (and questions about those players that broke records), outrageous salaries, and the like.It seems to always elicit a response demanding a return to the "innocence" of baseball seasons and players gone by.However, Mr. Aaron's experience demonstrates that there was controversy in almost every era of the game.In his case, it was a despicable form of racial hatred expressed by a very vocal minority in this country.

Again, "I Had A Hammer" stands out as one of the great books in the sports genre, and stands out as one of my favorite biographies/autobiographies.I rate it the full five stars, and encourage readers of all interests to give this one their attention. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Hammering Hank NAILS It
I challenge even the most dedicated fan of 1960s and 70s baseball and Hank Aaron to read this book and not come away with an entirely new appreciation for the times that Hank had to endure while he was shattering baseball's most revered record.Mssrs. Kennedy and Stewart have crafted a thoroughly researched and wonderfully written book that baseball fans, especially Hank Aaron fans, will enjoy and refer back to.

A master work.

Don't waste your time or money
After reviewing the title and inside jacket, this book seemed like it would provide a critical look at an American hero and a personal favorite of mine.However, the book is a mere rehash of topics that have already been covered in other publications-- most notably, Hank Aaron's own autobiography, I Had A Hammer.This book offers no new insights into either the man or his career.Ironically, the authors state one of the reasons for doing this book is because Hank's previous books lacked sufficient insight into the man.I would stick with his 1991 autobiography and skip this.One last thing state that Hank's portrait somehow lacks substance and he is a caricature.These words are no only unfair and also I found no substantiation in the book for this conclusion.Interestingly enough, for a man supposedly lacking substance he was somehow selected as the Black Enterprise Magazine's Auto Dealer of the Year in 2004. ... Read more

Book Description

Baseball has witnessed more than 125,000 home runs. Many have altered the outcome of games, and some have decided pennants and become legend. But no dinger has had greater impact than Hank Aaron's 715th home run. His historic blast on April 8, 1974, lifted him above Babe Ruth on the all-time list, an achievement that shook not only baseball but our nation itself. Aaron's magnificent feat provoked bigotry and shattered prejudice, inspired a generation, emboldened a flagging civil rights movement, and called forth the demons that haunted Aaron's every step and turned what should have been a joyous pursuit into a hellish nightmare.

Customer Reviews (19)

Baseball History Comes Alive
In his usual, thorough and mesmerizing manner, Stanton takes us thru the times of one of baseball's true heroes.Aaron emerges at once a hero AND a normal man withwants, fears and determined expectations lived under the canopy of the race issue.This book is one that is easily read because Stanton makes the progression to the final home run go swiftly.But he includes statistics and surprises which make each page worth the close scruitiny required if a reader is to get the full meaning of Hank Aaron's life and his importance to America's Game.This is a book I'm saving for my young grandson to read and before he is old enough to appreciate it's impact, I'm going to enjoy reading it again!

Three reasons why it's the best
Early last summer, I walked out of a Vermont bookstore with a copy of Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America by Tom Stanton. I wanted to learn about Aaron and his quest to break Babe Ruth's all-time career home run record. About nine months later, I picked the book up and began reading it. I learned more about those two heart wrenching years than I ever thought I could. I also realized that I had just read one of the greatest sports books ever.
There are three main reasons why I consider this book to be one of histories greatest. The first is that it only chronicled the two years Aaron was chasing Ruth's coveted record. Most other sports books I've read, including Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy and Derek Jeter: The Life You Imagine By Jack Curry and Jeter himself both told of the life stories of the athlete the book portrayed. This book is one of the only sports biographies that doesn't tell about an athletes entire life. Although it did tell of Aaron's personal life during those two years, including his marriage to wife Billye Williams, and his childhood inspirations from Jackie Robinson in the first chapter, it is almost entirely about "the chase".
Another reason I enjoyed this book so much, is that it kept interviewing and talking to the same characters, including teammate Dusty Baker and manager Eddie Mathews. With this, not only were you connecting with and watching Aaron grow, but also you saw what happened to his friends throughout all of the two years. With other books, you'll be lucky to hear about a sub-character, or read an interview from the same person mabey on two pages tops.
The third and final reason this is the best sports novel ever is because it showed how hard it was to mentally survive the two record breaking seasons. It told of all the death threats, hate mail, and concerns Aaron had for his family. It also told about kidnappings that were going on at the same time that made him so cautious.
I hope by posting this book review that I have intrigued some of you sports fans to pick up a copy of Hank Aaron and the Home Run that changed America. After reading it you all will agree that this book is not only one of the greatest sports books ever, but one of the greatest books in history as well.

Solid, Readable Narrative
Author Tom Stanton provides a straightforward account of Hank Aaron's chase of Babe Ruth's home run record during the 1973-74 seasons.The book is partly about baseball but more about Aaron the man, plus his life under pressure from a combination of fan adoration, media crush, and racist hate mail.Imagine being constantly surrounded by adoring fans, and even having tour busses stop in front of your house.Imagine facing hordes of reporters before and after every game, or playing the outfield after receiving death threats.Most fans supported Aaron, but some responded in a vile manner. Like millions of other kids I watched his record-breaking homer on TV, and then was surprised to hear Aaron say moments later, "Thank God it's over."After reading this book, one can see why Aaron said that.

The author might have given more attention to U.S. life circa 1973-1974, the coming of free agency, and how most of the sellout crowd that night left the ballpark not that long after Aaron's fourth-inning homer.Still, this is a very readable look at one of baseball's most famous moments, and one of the game's most inspiring stars.

A good book, but not great
Three-and-a-half stars, actually.

Tom Stanton takes us back to 1973 (with a little of '72 and '74 thrown in, of course) to tells us the story of Hank Aaron and his record-breaking 715th home run to break Babe Ruth's record.We follow Aaron through the '73 season, tracking his progress and following the reaction of everyone to his home run.For the most part, the reaction is favorable, but there are many examples of hateful sentiments in the form of letters and catcalls.We also read background on Aaron's career and life, with emphasis on the unfortunate impact of race on not only Aaron, but also baseball in general.

Stanton's book was quite good, and I enjoyed reading it, but I couldn't help feeling like there was something missing.A good baseball book presents the story in a straightforward, professional manner that tells you what you need to know.A great baseball book, though, does that and then gives you more, a little bit of heart, something that takes the story beyond just what happened and gives you a feeling for the subject matter.Stanton just couldn't get to the level of great, he created a skillful portrait of Aaron and he effectively captured the time, but there was still something more he left out.I felt like everything turned out too sunny in the end, that there was more to the bad side (as much as many would not want to dwell on that) that would be key to capturing the story.

Despite my complaints, though, this was a good book and well worth any baseball fan's time.

Baseball's Greatest Record and the Man who Broke It!
Like author Tom Stanton, I was a little boy when Henry Louis Aaron was closing in on baseball's crown jewel record: Babe Ruth's 714 home runs.I lived in Forest Park, Georgia, about 12 miles south of Atlanta Stadium, and I had the good fortune to be able to see about a half dozen of Mr. Aaron's home runs in person.I played with the other boys in our neighborhood, and when the Braves were playing we always had the radio on.We could talk and joke and laugh through the rest of the game, but our voices would hush when Milo Hamilton would tell us "Aaron is on deck".Hank would come to the plate and our room would erupt with joy if we got to hear Milo's typical home run call."There's a long drive.... It's going back.... WAY back.... It's OUT of here! Home Run number 683 for Henry Aaron!"

Anyway - I had to begin this review by admitting what a HUGE hero Hank Aaron is in my life.

All that being said, this book is both very informative and disappointingly bland.It was good to hear the names of those Braves from the past - in particular Aaron progeny Dusty Baker and Ralph Garr.Darrell Evans and Davey Johnson who joined Aaron as the only 3 teammates in history to hit 40 home runs the same year. (1973, the year before historic #715).Eddie Matthews, who was once Hank's teammate, the two teammates with the most life-time home runs, then served as Hank's manager during the years that make up the bulk of the book.Hall of Fame teammates Phil Niekro and Warren Spahn.Hall of Fame opponents like Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver and Don Sutton.

Most enlightening were the details of the paths Hank followed behind Jackie Robinson as a ground-breaking African-American excelling in the National Pasttime.Most heart-breaking were the tales of hate mail and death threats that he received every day.To right-thinking people it is inconceivable that a man could receive death threats only because he was doing his job as well as any person had ever done it.

The four stars are because I didn't come close to receiving the same thrill that this same material could have given me if presented properly.Stanton is a terrific researcher, but his writing style feels clinically cold.If America is a country of "Tall Tales" and our best legends are the real living ones, then certainly Hank Aaron must be one of America's Greatest Heroes by any definition.Stanton says as much in this book, but there's what you say, then there's how you say it.Nonetheless, this is the best record I know of covering these events, and I'd call it "required reading" for anyone wanting to know about Hammering Hank. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Baseball Digest, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2007. The length of the article is 449 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Hank Aaron--exhibited amazing grace in his HR pursuit.(Baseball Notes)(home run)
Author: Tracy Ringolsby
Publication: Baseball Digest (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 66Issue: 6Page: 72(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Baseball Digest, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1665 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Satch Davidson: the game I'll never forget: former major league umpire was behind the plate for Hank Aaron's 715th career home run and Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.
Author: Al Doyle
Publication: Baseball Digest (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 64Issue: 8Page: 66(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not Bad
This was certainly not a bad baseball book, but it is not the totally forthcoming, critical review of Aaron's time in the game that came later. This book basically reviews the home run king's career up until the time he broke the Babe's all-time home run mark. It's a nice biography, just not a extremely revealing.

Great Book by Aaron himself
If your looking for a book about Henry Aaron, this is the one.Although it may be hard to find a copy, it is a must have for the Aaron fan.Aaron talks about his entire baseball career in this book, and it feels as if the reader gains a acurate insight.Overall, GREAT BOOK. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hank Aaron
Damon...
Mrs. Willis
Sunday, February 22, 2004
HANK AARON
By: Bill Gutman

Hank Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama, on February 5, 1934.His father was a boilermaker's assistant.He was luckier than many black men in Mobile.Jobs were hard to find.But he had a wife and seven children to support and he worked very hard for his family.

Hank wanted to be a baseball player from the time he was a little boy.He would always dream of becoming a big leaguer.It is good to dream.It makes you work harder to try to make that dream come true.Hank Aaron worked very hard.He practiced everyday and made that dream come true.He set many records in baseball.His batting average is over .300.He has over 3,000 base hits.He hit 755 home runs, 41 more than Babe Ruth.That is one of the things that made him a baseball legend.

The main character is Hank Aaron.He was not a confident person until he began to play Major League Baseball.He was caring and very sensitive.For example, it really hurt his feelings when they rejected him when he wanted to get into the Major Leagues.

The conflict for Hank Aaron was when they would not allow him into the Major League Baseball.That really put him down.They told him, "No blacks are allowed to play in this league.You will just have to play in the Negro League like the rest of the blacks."So, he did.He went to the Negro League and played for the Indianapolis Clowns, in 1952, making $200.00 a month.

To resolve his conflict, he was observed by the manager of the Milwaukee Braves.He saw that Hank batted cross handed, but that only mattered until he saw how powerful Hank's swing was.Also, he saw how Hank got a base hit almost every time he was up to bat.The manager asked him to be on his team.Of course, Hank said yes. He has gone on to become one of the greatest players in baseball history.And he has done it in a quiet, calm way.He just plays the game.

I would recommend this book especially to people who like baseball.I would give this book five star rating and two thumbs up.Hank Aaron's story will inspire you and sometimes make you want to cry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Aaron
This book is a one of a kind. You don't hear the details from some random author, you get the true facts from Hank Aaron. This book was not only filled with facts, it was also very amusing. You got to hear some behind the scene stories from Hank himself. It also left you sitting on the edge of your seat. You didn't want to put it down. If you want to read a great sports book that doesn't bore you to death, this is a book for you. ... Read more

Amazon.com
For decades 714 was the holiest number in baseball. When Hank Aaron began closing in on Babe Ruth's career home run record he also began receiving racist hate mail and death threats: "You are not going to break the record established by the great Babe Ruth if I can help it. My gun is watching your every black move."

In the midst of all the anger and hate, a white teenager named Sandy Tolan wrote a letter to Hank Aaron. "Don't listen to them, Mr. Aaron. We're in your corner. You're my hero. I believe in you." To his great surprise, several weeks later Tolan received a reply--from Hank Aaron himself. Tolan kept the letter, taping it into a scrapbook he was keeping to follow Aaron's home run record chase.

Twenty-five years later, Tolan, now a journalist, had the opportunity to finally meet Aaron. He recounts the meeting, and his decades-long admiration for the man in Me and Hank. No mere hagiography, Me and Hank lingers on a difficult question: Why was Hank Aaron's home run record less celebrated than Babe Ruth's? Or as Aaron himself put it in 1979, "Isn't it funny? Before I broke his record, it was the greatest of them all. Then I broke his record and suddenly the greatest record in baseball is Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak." Tolan uses Hank Aaron and the Babe's home run record as a prism through which to examine racial tensions in America--both in the 1970s and in the 1990s. Along the way he visits the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (where Ruth has a room all his own while Aaron has "a wall and a locker"), meets Charlie Danrick, who sells audio tapes of old baseball games (the tape ofnumber 715 "doesn't sell. It just lays there. People don't buy it."), and befriends a homeless black man from Atlanta who was in the stands on April 8, 1974 ("And when I seen him hit the ball ... it felt like he passed the civil rights bill to me.") At times angry but always thoughtful, Me and Hank provides a much-needed window into baseball, race relations, and even American history. --M. SteinBook Description

When Sandy Tolan was nine years old, his hero left town. In 1965 Henry Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, but unlike the other Milwaukee kids, Sandy continued to follow Aaron's career from afar, straining to hear the games at night through the crackle of distant AM radio stations. Aaron's heroics provided an anchor for Sandy in the turbulent late '60s and early '70s, and the young white fan felt a bond with the black superstar.

In 1973, Sandy began keeping a scrapbook to track his idol's approach to the greatest record in sports -- Babe Ruth's 714 career home runs. But he soon learned that Hank Aaron had become the target of racist hate mail and death threats. Shocked and wishing to help somehow, he wrote Aaron a letter, saying, "Don't listen to them, Mr. Aaron. You're my hero." To his astonishment, he got a letter back. "Dear Sandy," the baseball legend wrote, "Your letter of support and encouragement meant much more to me than I can adequately express in words."

Twenty-five years later, armed with his scrapbook and the old letter, Sandy Tolan went to Atlanta to meet his hero. Me and Hank is his account of baseball, heroism, race, and childhood dreams, as he taps the bittersweet recollections of the home run king and those around him. Among the people we meet are:

Amazon.com
He was a big man, and The Babe is a big book--a four-bag celebration of the Bambino,the greatest baseball legend of them all. Lawrence S. Ritter, author of The Glory of Their Times, the classic oral history of America's national pastime in the first decades of the 20th century, weaves together a workmanlike, often elegiac, narrative of Babe Ruth's life and career. But it is the all-star collection of photos--of the Babe in action, the Babe just hanging around being the Babe, and rare Ruth collectibles--that sends this volume where the Babe used to send high fastballs: out of the park. Hank Aaron, whosent a few out himself, pens a warm introduction to the idol whose career home-run record he ultimately surpassed.Book Description
The Babe celebrates the life and times of the man who most agree was the greatest baseball player ever. With hundreds of photographs, many of them rare, this book dramatically recounts Babe Ruth's classic rags-to-riches story in chronological sequence. Hank Aaron, who surpassed Ruth's career home-run record, contributes an affectionate preface. Includes 350 color and black-and-white photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Babe would have been proud.
If you like baseball, you will love this book.It's a "coffee table" type book that every true baseball fan needs in his/her sports library.

It comes with a Homerun Derby CD.For me, the game was a little hard to figure out because the directions are a little unclear.I'm working on it and will master it one day.

Enjoyed the book.Easy reading with great photos. ... Read more