A biography of the Hall of Fame baseball player who broke Babe Ruth's career home run record.

A picture book biography of African-American baseball player Hank Aaron.

The Classic New York Times Bestseller 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. I Had a Hammer is much more than the intimate autobiography of one of the greatest names in pro sports—it is a fascinating social history of twentieth-century America. With courage and candor, Aaron recalls his struggles and triumphs in an atmosphere of virulent racism. He relives the breathtaking moment when, in the heat of hatred and controversy, he hit his 715th home run to break Ruth's cherished record—an accomplishment for which Aaron received more than 900,000 letters, many of them vicious and racially charged. And his story continues through the remainder of his milestone-setting, barrier-smashing career as a player and, later, Atlanta Braves executive—offering an eye-opening and unforgettable portrait of an incomparable athlete, his sport, his epoch, and his world.

* Captivating portraits that will appeal to baseball lovers of all ages * Contains thrilling accounts of pivotal games * Filled with action photographs & statistics

This definitive biography of Henry (Hank) Aaron—one of baseball's immortal figures—is a revelatory portrait of a complicated, private man who through sports became an enduring American icon. “Beautifully written and culturally important.” —The Washington Post “The epic baseball tale of the second half of the 20th century.” —Atlanta Journal Constitution After his retirement in 1976, Aaron’s reputation only grew in magnitude. But his influence extended beyond statistics. Based on meticulous research and extensive interviews The Last Hero 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 eye.

In 1965, when Sandy Tolan was nine, his hero left town. Unlike other Milwaukee Braves fans, Sandy continued to follow Hank Aaron and his teammates, even though they were now seven hundred miles south in Atlanta. In 1973, as Aaron closed in on Babe Ruth's career home run mark, the black slugger received racist hate mail by the ton. Shocked, Sandy wrote his hero a letter of support. A few weeks later, Aaron responded. Dear Sandy, Aaron wrote. Your letter of support and encouragement meant much more to me than I can adequately express in words. Twenty-five years later, Tolan embarked on a journey to meet his oldhero and to understand, through family, teammates, and civil rights leaders, a legacy of courage and dignity that resonates far beyond the playing field. Me and Hank explores the landscape between a hero's aspirations and the reality of his struggle; between a young fan's wishes and their delivery, a generation later, to a middle-aged man; and between the starkly different ways blacks and whites experience and remember the same events.

In the days before performance-enhancing substances, the great Hank Aaron hit a career-record 755 home runs, a mark he held for 33 years. Hammerin' Hank began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues when black players were still banned from Major League Baseball. Hank played for 23 years in Milwaukee and Atlanta and made the All-Star team in both the National and American Leagues for 20 straight years.