About this item
From the author of The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron comes the definitive biography of Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, baseball's epic leadoff hitter and base-stealer who also stole America's heart over nearly five electric decades in the game.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. And it's a story of a sea change in sports, when athletes gained celebrity status and Black players finally earned equitable salaries.
About the Author
Howard Bryant is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine. He has also served as the sports correspondent for National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday since 2006. Prior to joining ESPN in 2007, Mr. Bryant spent the previous two years at The Washington Post. He has worked at the Boston Herald, The Bergen Record, The San Jose Mercury News and The Oakland Tribune. A native of Boston, Mr. Bryant is the author of three books: Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball and The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron. He has also contributed to five other books: Thinking Black: Some of the Nation's Best Black Columnists Speak Their Mind (1995) , Red Sox Century, Yankees Century, The Dodgers and The Good City: Writers Explore 21st Century Boston.
