An excellent find. Reading Gehrig’s words transports the reader back to a simpler time, giving insight into the personalities involved in earlier years of baseball. We learn about the relationships between ball players, owners, managers, umpires, fans, and others. Huggins, Speaker, Cobb, and many more well-known Hall of Famers as well as lesser-known Major League ball players are highlighted with an emphasis on Babe Ruth, Gehrig’s idol. An important read for baseball fans.

This book was received as an ARC from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have heard so many stories about Lou Gehrig mostly about his death and the mysterious Lou Gehrig's disease. This book got right down to the bare bones and Alan Gaff held nothing back and it was everything Lou Gehrig. I was familiar with his career with the Yankees especially through my grandfather when he was at the game where he announced his retirement due to ALS. We got to learn a lot about Gehrig's childhood and I have read a lot of memoirs from professional athletes and a lot of them grew up poor striving to live but, that just motivated them and is part of who they are. That was the extreme case for Lou Gehrig. You feel you get to know the real Lou Gehrig when reading this book and a lot of our library community will really appreciate that.

We will consider adding this title to our Biography collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Much of this book was actually written by Lou Gehrig himself. There is so much I did not know about the man. I found it fascinating. It’s a great book for baseball fans and historians alike.
I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very good account of a bygone era. The second half of the book was more run-of-the-mill biography that didn’t really tell a baseball purist anything he/she didn’t already know about Gehrig, but the first half compensates for that. There are portions of the second half where it drifts into being more of a bio on Babe Ruth. The upside to that is that we do get a good glimpse of the relationship between The Babe and Lou and what a great on-field mentor he was to young players.

This is the closest thing we’ll ever get to an “autobiography”, and that makes it worth a read for true baseball fans.

Was given this doc for an honest review.

I read this book months ago but have gotten so far behind on my reviews. This book is really in two parts with the first part being a series of articles or shorts that Gehrig wrote himself during the 1927 season. He takes you to the different players of that time and some of the ones that have a storied past. What I really noticed is that his writing is a reflection of everything I have read about him over the years. Never having an unkind word or comment he offers light-hearted times or moments when one of the older players gives him words of encouragement. Even for the players who were thought to have played dirty, he would say that is the way the game was played when they started.
The second part of the book is another biography about Lou Gehrig which I did not learn anything from that I did not know from before. Much more interesting in the first half. The author did go into a little more detail about his diagnosis than other books that I have read so that was a little different. Still a good book.

I found Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir to be an interesting read. I think many baseball fans would enjoy reading more about this great.

Almost as tragic as Lou Gehrig’s untimely demise was is the fact that we’re slowly losing him as the icon that he once was. Possibly the best player of all time, the possibilities for his accomplishments on the diamond seem boundless had he not been struck down by ALS. How many more years could he have played? How many more dingers would he have clubbed, how many more hits in total, how many runs batted in? The answers, incomplete even in imagination, are 1) surely over 500 but possibly even more than 600, 2) certainly more than 3000 (which would have made Gehrig the first 500/3000 player) and 3) very likely more than any other player ever.

These questions aren’t answered in the memoir, nor could they be. The ‘memoir’ portion of the book is quite short, only about a quarter of the whole, which makes the title a tad misleading. More of it is the biographical essay that follows, which fills in the gaps of the choppy yet surprisingly eloquent prose by the player himself (should we be surprised? This ball player from the 20’s was a Columbia man after all). But the fact remains that today Gehrig is perhaps only the 5th or 6th most recognized name in Yankees lore, behind the great Babe himself, subsequent Yankees superstars DiMaggio and Mantle, and more recent stars like Jeter and A-Rod. Part of this is Gehrig’s ‘fault,’ as besides the movie turn mentioned in the pages, Gehrig didn’t seek attention like the other names on the list. He wasn’t the namesake of a candy bar, the paramour of a Hollywood starlet, the subject of a pop song, or on the 24/7 news cycle of cable sports and social media. Nevertheless, Gehrig endures, and this book is mandatory reading for anyone who’s a fan of America’s past time or of the man himself. Reading Gehrig’s recollections of the 1927 Yankees reminds one of the days when, in the words of John Cheever, a ‘river light’ illuminated New York City, and times were simpler.

A must read for all baseball history lovers and Lou Gehrig fans. Lou has such an interesting life story and this was a fun read for me. I especially enjoyed the first half of the book that was written by Lou. This was well written and a great tribute to the life of Lou Gehrig. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Excellent read for all-baseball fans and those who want to learn more about a man who had such a positive outlook on life.

In “Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir,” Alan D. Gaff collects and expands on a series of published columns written by Gehrig (but likely partially ghostwritten) for newspaper audiences. When the columns ran in 1927, Gehrig was part of the famous Yankees lineup known as “Murderers’ Row” for its infallibility. The media frequently compared the ball player to his world-famous teammate Babe Ruth, and thus the series was titled “Following the Babe.”

While others were eager to compare him to the Great Bambino, Gehrig did not even entertain the idea. To the gracious and humble Gehrig, there was only one Babe Ruth. These long-lost columns serve both as a time capsule into a past era of baseball and a window into the life of an athlete who epitomized the American dream.

Though Gehrig’s name is now tied to the neurological disease that ended his life, this book underscores the spirit of the man, within whom still waters ran deep.

This was a heart wrenching read for me. I'm a huge New York Yankees fan and was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this book. Lou Gehrig was a very inspirational man and this book showed just how inspirational he was. This is a must read for any baseball fan.

What a beautiful book. As a baseball fan, one can appreciate this book. The first half is the lost diaries that Lou G had written himself about his early baseball years and what it meant to Olay in the big league. The second half is his life and sadly his ailment and death.

I really wanted to read this book to see if it would make a good present for my dad. He is a big Lou Gehrig fan. I just wasn’t sure if there would be enough in this book to add to his collection. But it was very well written and for sure am going to be adding it to my dad’s shelves. It was entertaining and not boring at all. Even to those of us that might not list baseball as our favorite sport.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Lou Gehrig, one of the greatest baseball players that ever lived, is so much more than the horrible disease that killed him. The first half of this book is told by Lou in his own words. I found that to be the absolute treasure of this book! To be able to read his words describing his entrance into professional baseball was priceless and thanks to Alan D. Gaff collecting these forgotten newspaper columns we can. The second half of the book is a biography of this incredible athlete and his too short life. A must read for fans of baseball!

I'm not much of a baseball fan but I was interested in reading this because of Lou Gehrigs disease. Reading this, I learned a lot about Lou Gehrig and what a role he played in baseball back in the day. This book is a must read for any hardcore baseball fans.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that the first part of the book that dealt with the articles written by Lou Gehrig for the newspapers was quite interesting. It was an interesting book and I thought it was informative. I thought that the author could have elaborated on Gehrig's life a bit more in the years beyond 1927 when Lou stopped writing the articles for the newspaper. (I do wonder if the articles were totally written by Gehrig or helped by a ghost writer that was so common in that era.)

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written. I enjoyed how it told about how he got into baseball. He tells how Babe Ruth inspired him to be a Yankees fan even if he grew up being a Giants fan. It is good, yall need to get this book especially if you love baseball or Biographies. It is paced well and it is very informative. He is an inspiration to everyone. You guys have to get this book as soon as it comes out.

This long lost memoir recounting Gehrig’s early career and particularly the historic 1927 season provides an interesting, though sanitized, perspective on baseball and society during the mid 1920’s. Particularly interesting are his recollections of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. I mean where else can you find what Lou Gehrig thought of these baseball titans. Recommended.