Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball

What uncanny timing, to read this lauded biography just before Pete Rose died on September 30, which reignited conversations about whether his longtime ban from baseball should be lifted so as to clear the way for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky in a baseball-loving family, not even 90 minutes away from the Cincinnati Reds’ stadium. I’m not much of a fan these days, but I was interested in learning more about the man, the city, and the baseball culture that loomed so large in my childhood. And while it was interesting, to have so many blanks filled in that completely escaped me as a child, it was also very, very sad. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Ellen O’Dair.