Once in a great while there appears a baseball player who transcends the
game and earns universal admiration from his fellow players, from fans,
and from the American people. Such a man was Hank Greenberg, whose
dynamic life and legendary career are among baseball's most inspiring
stories. The Story of My Life tells the story of this extraordinary
man in his own words, describing his childhood as the son of Eastern
European immigrants in New York; his spectacular baseball career as one
of the greatest home-run hitters of all time and later as a manager and
owner; his heroic service in World War II; and his courageous struggle
with cancer. Tall, handsome, and uncommonly good-natured, Greenberg was
a secular Jew who, during a time of widespread religious bigotry in
America, stood up for his beliefs. Throughout a lifetime of anti-Semitic
abuse he maintained his dignity, becoming in the process a hero for Jews
throughout America and the first Jewish ballplayer elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame.