Based on the ESPN series, this audiobook is helped and hindered by its television origins. It's helped because the listener is familiar with the subjects: basketball stars--from players Magic, Kobe, and LeBron to coaches Phil Jackson, Pat Summit, Gino Auriemma, and dozens more. Compiled from thousands of hours of oral histories, the stories provide much to learn and enjoy. But the production is hindered by its adherence to the sound-bite nature of TV. And the absence of the actual voices so present in the televised version can be distracting. No matter how earnest their effort, the various narrators come across as inauthentic. That said, those who made America's game a worldwide phenomenon are given their due.
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
Duration: 16 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780525529385
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
More books have been written about baseball than any other sport, and audiobooks such as this allow the genre to flourish. Former pitcher Ron Darling, now a broadcaster, had a distinguished career, primarily with the New York Mets. Darling has met just about everyone in the sport for nearly four decades and demonstrates his knowledge and connections with the anecdotes in this entertaining memoir. Narrator Malcolm Hillgartner's relaxed delivery sounds as though he is in the broadcast booth with Darling. Like most audio sports memoirs, this book succeeds because of the narrator's engaging style. Hillgartner recognizes that even the duller moments in baseball are bolstered by the legacies of so many who have played the game, and were fortunate to have crossed paths with the author.
Pub Date: April 2, 2019
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781721342457
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Willie Mays's baseball life was a long and rich one, worthy of multiple biographies. Known as a five-tool player--he could run, field, throw, hit, and hit for power--Mays enjoyed a long career. The tag-team narration here fits wonderfully: Larry Herron speaks in a serious and deep tone that is commanding, with appropriate doses of emotion. Julian McWilliams uses a higher voice for Mays who, in fact, does have a slightly high voice. Often, when people are quoted--like President Obama--imitations are used and fit seamlessly within the story. Off- and on-the-field anecdotes are interspersed with brief pieces of advice and mini-mantras from the baseball great.
Pub Date: May 12, 2020
Duration: 11 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781250240231
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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