In 1999, when the editors of The Sporting News ranked baseball's all-time greatest players, Hall of Fame outfielder Hank Aaron garnered the fifth spot. His accomplishments were many (he was, for instance, a 25-time All Star), but he is best remembered as the man who broke Babe Ruth's longstanding lifetime homerun record. At the time, racists responded to the idea of a black man breaking the mark with death threats. Today, in the aftermath of steroids revelations, Aaron stands as a true hero, a dignified man who transcended poverty, segregation, and hate to become a hero truly worth revering. Howard Bryant's absorbing biography pays homage to this gentle "Hammerin' Hank."