Tom Stanton has written a pretty solid book. He has provided a in depth look at the immortal Hank Aaron as he chases the mystical number of 714, the number of career homeruns for perhaps baseballs most celebrated player, Babe Ruth. What I really found intriguing about the story are the personalities of the two legends. You have the brash, outspoken Babe Ruth who lived a life of excess clashing against the stoic, mild-manner Hank Aaron. There is also the different career paths led by each man. Ruth, starting as a pitcher in Boston and then traded to New York made baseball a spectacle in cities deep in baseball lore. Having been in the mecca of the American media, Ruth became a super-hero, a mythical god performing Herculean feats in front of thousands of Yankee fans. Ruth's nicknames almost match the number of his homeruns. Compare that to Hank Aaron. He played in the Midwest in front of home crowds in Milwaukee until the team packed up and moved to Atlanta. Even during the stretch run of his chase, Aaron played to paltry crowds in his home stadium. In Atlanta Stadium many crowds never surpassed 10,000 people to watch a piece of American history. Aaron had to fight just to keep his name in front of his other contemporaries like Johnny Bench, Willie Mays, and Roberto Clemente. Ruth was held to no one. Aaron was the model of consistency. Hardly without flash or flamboyance, he somehow upheld his homerun totals as he neared the age of 40 while keeping up his lifetime .300 average. These two men who stood atop the baseball mountain certainly took different routes seeking their baseball immortality.

What is at the forefront of this book, however, is the swirling issue of race that had surrounded Aaron's chase. Following in the footsteps of Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, Hank Aaron had entered baseball at a time where African-Americans were just beginning to ingrain themselves into the Major Leagues. Aaron carried the burden of his brothers as they passed the torch to him. Jackie Robinson himself implored Aaron to speak out against injustices by reminding him that he was now on a pedestal where he can make a difference.

I think the book does a great job of capturing the times and really getting into the darker side of the homerun chase. While we remember Aaron's shot of Al Downing, we may forget that the man chasing the record faced a challenge that many of us could never survive. Hate mail, death threats, bomb threats tried to slow Hank, but his resiliency pushed him past all the negativity to that magical night in 1974.

Baseball fans of all ranges will really get into this book. I think this story will also resonate with readers interested in the Civil Rights movement and those interested in studying race in sports. Overall, this is a quality book that is well researched and reads like a script. I think at times the transistions are sloppy as they aren't just written in chronological order. A little background with the people, places, and issues of the time will definitely help readers keep track of the extensive list of names and references. I'd recommend this book to most readers.