Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yesterday a friend of mine recommended “The Luckiest Man” on Facebook and I decided to get it on audio. This is the first book I have ever listened to all in one day – staying up late to finish it.
I am a baseball fan, but I did not know much about Lou Gehrig the player. I was living and going to school in Baltimore when Cal Ripken was nearing and eventually bypassing his iron man record. That was really the limit of my knowledge.
Luckiest Man details the story of Gehrig’s early life and baseball career. Gehrig was a solid, mama’s boy who didn’t have any of the bad habits that some of the other players of the time may have had (e.g. Babe Ruth). Even in the book he was described as dull though I would prefer to use the word focused 🙂
The first portion of the book is very focused on his baseball career. There are lots of stats and play-by-play of various games. If you are not a baseball lover, you may find some of this off-putting. My only criticism of the book is that there is so much focus on his baseball persona and less information on the other aspects of his life. For example, he was very clearly a mama’s boy but the relationship he had with his mother was not discussed in detail. He clearly adored his wife, and she was seemingly devoted to him, but we didn’t learn much about their marriage. I found myself wanting to read her memoir, but it is no longer in print, so I’ll have to look around for it.
The second portion of the book focuses on his illness. For many people, me included, the name Lou Gehrig pulls up visions of ALS before it evokes images of baseball. As the author discussed how his baseball game began to change, I was overcome with emotion. I can imagine what this must have been like to feel yourself losing skills you have always had and not understanding what was happening to you. His decision to bench himself and end his storied ironman streak was a testimony to his integrity.
The book begins with Gehrig’s famous speech when the Yankees honored him after his diagnosis. Actual audio of his speaking was tear-jerking. In that speech he described himself as “The Luckiest Man” despite his diagnosis. It circles back to a fuller coverage of this day later in the story.
After baseball Gehrig worked as a parole commissioner for New York City until his death 2 years after his initial diagnosis.
I read another memoir recently (When Breath Becomes Air) where I discussed that I had very little emotional attachment to the story. This was not the case with this book. I found myself actively crying throughout the latter part of the book.
ALS better known to most of us as Lou Gehrig’s disease is a degenerative neurological disease that affects primarily voluntary movement ultimately leaving the patient unable to move, speak, swallow, and breathe on their own. Usually, the patient’s mind is not impacted so they are aware of the rapid decline they are experiencing. Many may remember the ice bucket challenge that made the rounds some years ago to raise awareness of this incredibly cruel disease. Sadly, though there have been advances in treatment since Lou Gehrig’s diagnosis there remains no cure. For more information on ALS: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c…
The Luckiest Man details the early life of Lou Gehrig, his storied baseball career, and his eventual diagnosis and early death. It is probably my favorite book of the year despite all my sobbing.
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