Dinner with DiMaggio - Memories of an American Hero

Rock Positano, John Positano

Summary

A revealing account of the great Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio from the man who knew him best in the last ten years of his life—“a rare, intimate portrait…that pries open Joltin’ Joe’s perpetually buttoned-up privacy” (The New York Times) with stories about the Yankees, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and other celebrities.In 1990, Dr. Rock Positano, a thirty-two-year-old foot and ankle specialist, met Joe DiMaggio. Despite the forty years between them, an unlikely friendship developed after the doctor successfully treated the baseball champ’s heel spur injury. Joe mentored Rock but came to rely on his young friend to show him a good time in New York, the town that made him a legend. In time, the famously reserved DiMaggio opened up to Dr. Positano and talked about his joys, his disappointments, and his sorrows as he reflected on his extraordinary life. The stories and experiences he shared with Dr. Positano comprise an intimate portrait of one of the great stars of baseball and icon of the twentieth century. “Readers do not have to be baseball fans to be captivated by this memoir, which explores such universal themes as friendship, celebrity, aging, and mortality” (Library Journal, starred review). DiMaggio was a complicated figure—sometimes demanding, sometimes big-hearted, always impeccable, loyal, and a true stand-up guy. This memoir of a decade-long friendship reveals the very private DiMaggio as “a wholly human portrait of an American icon navigating his way through an adoring yet relentlessly demanding public” (Booklist, starred review), while serving up illuminating stories and rare insights about the people in his life, including his teammates, Muhammad Ali, Sandy Koufax, Woody Allen, and many more.

Available since: 05/09/2017.

Print length: 369 pages.

Other books that might interest you

Grace Gold and Glory - My Leap...

Gabrielle Douglas, Michelle Burford

The inspiring autobiography from Gabrielle Douglas—the first African-American gymnast in Olympic history to become the individual All-Around champion—revealing her journey from the time she first entered a gym to her gold-medal-winning performances. 
In the 2012 London Olympics, US gymnast Gabrielle Douglas stole hearts and flew high as the All-Around Gold Medal winner and the brightest star of the US gold-medal-winning women’s gymnastics team. That same year, Gabrielle was also named the 2012 Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation. 
In this personal autobiography, Grace, Gold, and Glory My Leap of Faith, Gabrielle tells her story of faith, perseverance, and determination. Walk with Gabby Douglas through her journey of faith and what her family overcame, from the time she first entered a gymnasium to her gold-medal-winning performances, demonstrating to readers ages 13 and up that they can reach their dreams when they let themselves soar. 
Grace, Gold, and Glory My Leap of Faith:Is the official autobiography of renowned US gymnast Gabrielle DouglasChronicles Gabrielle’s journey from her first practice to becoming a 2012 gold-winning US gymnastCelebrates Gabrielle as the first African-American gymnast in Olympic history to become the individual All-Around champion, and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual All-Around and team competitions at the same Olympics.Is one of the most inspiring books on the market today for reader ages 13 and up

Show book

The Life and Loves of Laurie Lee

Valerie Grove

Millions of readers know and love him for his lyrical portraits of his life, from the moving and nostalgic tales of childhood and innocence found in the pages of Cider with Rosie, to the nomadic wanderings through Spain retold in As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, to his dramatic experiences fighting Franco's forces in A Moment of War. As a poet, playwright, broadcaster and writer, Laurie Lee created a legend around himself that would see him safely secured in the literary canon even within his own lifetime. Yet, though he wrote exclusively about his own life, Lee never told the whole story. His readers know him as a man devoted to two women: his wife and his daughter, 'the firstborn'. Among the pages of his published works there is little trace of the girls he left behind. He never identifi ed in print the girl who inspired him to go to Spain, or the woman who supported him there. He never named the beautiful mistress he came home to, who was the great love of his young life and who led him into literary London, bore his child and broke his heart. In The Life and Loves of Laurie Lee, acclaimed biographer Valerie Grove delves into the letters and diaries he kept hidden from the world, building on her magisterial study of the charismatic poet to capture the essence of this romantic, elusive enigma and bring him to life once more.

Show book

The Washingtons Volume 7 Part 1...

Justin Glenn

This is the seventh volume of Dr. Justin Glenn’s comprehensive history that traces the “Presidential line” of the Washingtons. Volume one began with the immigrant John Washington, who settled in Westmoreland Co., Va., in 1657, married Anne Pope, and became the great-grandfather of President George Washington. It continued the record of their descendants for a total of seven generations. Volume two highlighted notable members of the next eight generations, including such luminaries as General George S. Patton, the author Shelby Foote, and the actor Lee Marvin. Volume three traced the ancestry of the early Virginia members of this “Presidential Branch” back to the royalty and nobility of England and continental Europe. Volumes four, five, and six treated respectively generations eight, nine, and ten.  Volume Seven presents generation eleven, comprising more than 10,000 descendants of the immigrant John Washington. Although structured in a genealogical format for the sake of clarity, this is no bare bones genealogy but a true family history with over 1,200 detailed biographical narratives. These strive to convey the greatness of the family that produced not only The Father of His Country but many others, great and humble, who struggled to build that country.  Volume Seven, Part One covers the descendants of the immigrant’s children Lawrence and John Washington, Jr. Volume Seven, Part Two covers the descendants of the immigrant’s child Anne (Washington) Wright.

Show book

The Real Dirt on America's...

Jim Motavalli

Learn the real stories behind the infamous renegades of the West with “Motavalli’s entertaining treatment of this bunch of baddies” (HistoryNet.com). 
 
The rebels and bandits of the American West—like Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—have always made for thrilling tales of gunfights, heists, and outlaws. From the beginning, penny dreadfuls, Wild West shows, dime novels, and urban legends romanticized and magnified these renegades and their wild American spirits. These tales, however, don’t capture the truth of the West’s outlaws—nor do we hear about other lawless individuals, such as Pearl Hart, Belle Starr, or the Bloody Espinosas. Jim Motavalli returns with The Real Dirt on America’s Frontier Outlaws to give a real and more inclusive look at the old West and the dangerous figures that immortalized it.

Show book

Hard Way Home - A Woman's...

Mike Nappa, Amy Nappa, James Taylor

Cancer May Have Taken Her Life, But Not Her LegacyThis is a story about the biggest things in life, which is ironic because it ends with a death.When Amy Nappa was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage IV-B uterine cancer, her life and that of her husband's, Mike, changed forever. But they weren't the only ones whose lives were touched by Amy's courageous journey into the waiting arms of her loving Savior.What started out as a private Facebook group intended to keep family and close friends apprised of Amy's medical condition grew to include hundreds, with thousands more reading publicly about Amy daily on social media. And now, Mike wants to share those poignant posts with you, so you can come to know the amazing woman he adored for thirty years (and still does).So, this is Amy's story, mostly in her own words. It's a love story, a loss story, but most of all it's a life story. You'll quickly discover that Amy's life, especially the way she lived the end of it, will inspire your own.

Show book

The Longest Road - Overland in...

Philip Caputo

In The Longest Road, one of America's most respected writers takes an epic journey across America, Airstream in tow, and asks everyday Americans what unites and divides a country as endlessly diverse as it is large.Standing on a wind-scoured island off the Alaskan coast, Philip Caputo marveled that its Inupiat Eskimo schoolchildren pledge allegiance to the same flag as the children of Cuban immigrants in Key West, six thousand miles away. And a question began to take shape: How does the United States, peopled by every race on earth, remain united? Caputo resolved that one day he'd drive from the nation's southernmost point to the northernmost point reachable by road, talking to everyday Americans about their lives and asking how they would answer his question.So it was that in 2011, in an America more divided than in living memory, Caputo, his wife, and their two English setters made their way in a truck and classic trailer (hereafter known as "Fred" and "Ethel") from Key West, Florida, to Deadhorse, Alaska, covering 16,000 miles. He spoke to everyone from a West Virginia couple saving souls to a Native American shaman and taco entrepreneur. What he found is a story that will entertain and inspire readers as much as it informs them about the state of today's United States, the glue that holds us all together, and the conflicts that could cause us to pull apart.

Show book