Rickey

“Seldom does a sports biography – especially a page-turner – so comprehensively explain the forces that made an icon the way they are.” – Sports Illustrated

“I’ve been saying this for years: Rickey wasn’t just great. That doesn’t say enough for me. He’s one of the top 10 to 12 players of all time. That’s how good Rickey was.” – Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson

“Bryant’s vivid and extensive account, written with access to Henderson and his wife, Pamela, shines a light on this unique and charismatic legend.” – Washington Post

“Thanks to Howard Bryant’s new biography, we can peel back a few of those inscrutable layers and find the man beneath the swagger…. Bryant does some of his best work along the fault line of race and culture, an area he covers well in most of his writing…. Henderson ultimately had the last laugh: Today he’s seen as an all-time great. Bryant’s book shows how he got there, and the hits he had to take along the way.” – San Francisco Chronicle

”[Bryant] lays out the player’s coming-of-age in the cauldron of racism, athletic talent, and Black self-expression that was 1960s Oakland; Henderson’s once-in-a-generation gifts; and his role on the nine teams–notably the Oakland A’s and the New York Yankees–for whom he played over his 25-year career. A worthy addition to the sports collection, like almost any book by this author.” – Booklist

“A solid and comprehensive take on the life and career of Rickey Henderson…. The book most succeeds in its rich historical context, underscoring Rickey’s outsize influence in a new vanguard of ‘great Black talents’ that shook up the hallowed white halls of baseball. The result is an indelible account of a one-of-a-kind player and personality.” – Publishers Weekly

“Satisfying… a readable, appropriately fast-moving portrait of a baseball giant.” – Kirkus Reviews

Howard Bryant is the author of nine previous books, including The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, and The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism. He is a senior writer for ESPN and the sports correspondent for NPR’s Weekend Edition. He is a two-time nominee for the National Magazine Award for Commentary.