Lou Gehrig: The Story Of A Great Man

TERRITORIAL TATTLER: the newsletter of Territory Tellers, Oklahoma's association of story tellers and listeners. August, 2003, Special Edition. Review by Rosemary Czarski.

This is an outstanding biography of Lou Gehrig told in oral story form. Carol Birch has taken the essences of his life and made an interesting and compelling story not only of his career but also of how his spirit overcame the obstacles of the disease which destroyed him. This CD could be expected to be a treat for any baseball fan. However, Carol has presented this story of a man who fought a disabling and finally fatal illness with courage so well that even a non-sports oriented person like me listen to the CD again and again.

This is an excellent biography to introduce reluctant middle school and high school readers to the world of non-ficiton. It teaches valuable life lessons in such a way that they are absorbed painlessly and almost without realizing one is absorbing them.

New Recording Celebrates Life by Connie Rockman [italics added]
HEARSAY - Spring 2003 - Volume 10.3

"...Recent recording is unique and inspiring."

Some stories grow slowly and carefully, but beg to be told. Carol Birch first became aware of Lou Gehrig's story through a biography she read in 1997, and knew immediately she wanted to tell this story. From his background of poverty and shyness to his years as a star of the NY Yankees to his diagnosis with a debilitating and fatal disease on his 36th birthday, Lou Gehrig comes to life for us in Carol's telling. But those are just the facts, and Carol goes far beyond the facts to help us see into the soul of this shy hero and to appreciate his noble spirit. His dedication to excellence, his fine athleticism, his devotion to team work, and his sweet marriage to wife Eleanor are all chronicled in this hour-long story. We see a young man defying his mother to pursue a career in sport rather than business. We see a stellar athlete, always exlipsed by his more flamboyant teammate, Babe Ruth, but never complaining. We see a husband, turned on to opera, literature and poetry by his devoted wife, but entering the theater after the lights are dimmed to avoid teasing about his new-found culture.

As Paul Gallico says in a quote in the liner notes: "We need stories like that of Lou Gehrig, tales of honest, trustworthy men with life patterns that are not crossed by deceit or chicanery, whose careers are not poisoned by double-dealing, jealousy, or opportunism..." And we need storytellers like Carol Birch, dedicated to bringing all their talents to telling the tales that inspire us ultimately to be better than we thought we could be -- tales like that of Lou Gehrig, a true American hero.

Appleseed Quarterly, The Canadian Journal of Storytelling
Review by Mary-Eileen McClear. Summer, 2003.

How about heading out for that most North American of all summer pastimes: the ball game. Connecticut storyteller Carol Birch has turned out a fine recording called Lou Gehrig, The Story of a Great Man, just in time for the 100th anniversary of Gehrig's birth. Here's what I knew about Lou Gehrig before I listened to this CD: he was a baseball player, a contemporary of Babe Ruth, and he died tragically young of ALS. After listening to the story which Carol has written, and which she tells here, Gehrig has become a real person to me, three dimensional, complex and yet straightforward, honest, dependable and a real hero.

This was a man who was shy, quiet and determined. He had to overcome lack of confidence but once he became a part of the baseball world he played an amazing career, often in the shadow of other flashier players. It looked like a storybook life. The only living child of poor immigrants, Gehrig had risen from a childhood of poverty to immense success on the baseball diamond. He was devoted to his parents and when he married, at a fairly late age, it was a fairy tale marriage to a woman who opened new worlds of literature, music and culture to him. ALS cut short the happily ever after ending he deserved, but Gehrig proved himself a winner to the very end.

There is enough in the way of statistics to satisfy true baseball fans, and enough explanation of those statistics so that neophytes like myself are not left wondering what an RBI is. In listening to Carol tell the story you cannot help but share the depth of feeling she has for Gehrig. Liner notes include a bibliography, and several websites to visit as well as this quote from Paul Gallico, author and friend of Gehrig: "We need stories like that of Lou Gehrig, tales of honest, trustworthy men with life patterns that are not crossed by deceit or chicanery, whose careers are not poisoned by double-dealing, jealousy, or opportunism and with love stories that are simple and virtuous and true."

Carol Birch agreed that this was a story that needed to be told and she has done it proud. Buy this one for baseball fans of all ages, for school and public libraries, give it to your child's baseball coach as a thank you. Carol Birch holds a place in the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence and has been recognized as a master teller. She has three other recordings, two books, and more awards and national media appearances than you can shake a stick at.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the ALS Association.

Booklist by John Sigwald
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's birth, this oral biography features storyteller Carol Birch recounting the baseball hero's life story, beginning with his impoverished youth in New York City as the only child of immigrant parents. Birch describes Gehrig's baseball career with carefully enunciated incredulity, unintentionally emulationg her subject's famous humility. This informative audio introduces listeners to the man whose "creeping paralysis" disease now bears his name and whose farewell speech continues to define grace and humility.