Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero by Leigh Montville

I was a teenage Red Sox fan more than two decades after Ted Williams retired, but he still loomed large over my love for the team. Maybe because he was arguably the greatest player of his generation. Maybe because bad luck had robbed him of a World Series win. Or maybe because no one else in baseball was as ornery or as obsessed with the science of hitting as Teddy Ballgame.

 Williams was a famously distant figure, even to his longtime teammates, so understanding what drove the man might seem like an impossible task. Enter this excellent biography by Leigh Montville, a longtime sportswriter and columnist at The Boston Globe, who delivers a rich and complete story of Williams told like never before.

 It’s a pure American drama, chock-full of ambition, success, tragedy, and redemption. It’s also a 360-degree view of the best hitter the game has ever seen, warts and all. Williams never lived to see the Sox actually break the Curse of the Bambino, but he still casts a long shadow over the Fenway faithful. Montville’s fine biography explains why. —Ian Aldrich, Yankee executive editor

The Kid. The Splendid Splinter. Teddy Ballgame. One of the greatest figures of his generation, and arguably the greatest baseball hitter of all time. But what made Ted Williams a legend – and a lightning rod for controversy in life and in death?  

With unmatched verve and passion, and drawing upon hundreds of interviews, acclaimed best-selling author Leigh Montville brings to life Ted Williams's superb triumphs, lonely tragedies, and intensely colorful personality, in a biography that is fitting of an American hero and legend.

• Publisher:‎ Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Paperback
• Print length:‎ 560 pages
• Item Weight:‎ 15.5 ounces
• Dimensions:‎ 5.5 x 1.27 x 8.25 inches