Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn't Want to Be One

Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn't Want To Be One was part of the Yale Jewish Lives series. A relatively short biography of Hank Greenberg by Mark Kurlansky, it was published in 2013.

It is less of a typical baseball biography than a look at Greenberg with an emphasis on his connections (and/or lack thereof) to Judaism and Jews. Well-written and well-researched, it notes some errors in myths about Greenberg and clarifies some points (ex. that Yom Kippur is not as important a day on the Jewish calendar as the Sabbath) while failing to clarify some others (stating that Greenberg didn't chase women in contrast like Babe Ruth; while he was not a womanizer like Ruth, his autobiography clearly portrays that he was far from perfect in this regards). Overall, it gives a new look at Greenberg relative to other sources.

Further Reading

• Mark Kurlansky: Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn't Want to Be One, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2013. ISBN 978-0300192469