The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America's Hero

In 1941, with "war spreading like a fever through Europe," the heroics of Joe DiMaggio offered a summertime respite as he began a hitting streak that would beat all previous records and has yet to be surpassed. Widener is a master at capturing the larger-than-life spirit of baseball through his perfectly attuned acrylic illustrations, and the text matches the art in its exuberance. Bib.

In 1941, when headlines "shouted about the war spreading like a fever through Europe," the baseball heroics of Yankees great Joe DiMaggio offered a summertime respite. Starting on May 15th, he began a hitting streak that would beat all previous records and has yet to be surpassed. He hit in fifty-six straight games and, game by game, he brought excitement to the stadiums, as fans flocked to see if this would be the game the streak ended or if they would be able to boast that they were there to see number 41 or 42 or 43. DiMaggio and his bat "Betsy Ann" were legends in the making, and Rosenstock ably places baseball fever in the context of DiMaggio's times: "That summer, the crack of Joe's bat mixed with the swing-band rhythms on the radio and the drumbeats of the world at war. Streak, Streak, Streak." In his perfectly attuned acrylic illustrations, Widener is, as always, a master at capturing the larger-than-life spirit of baseball, and the text matches the art in its exuberance: "This was the United States of Baseball and Joe DiMaggio was its President." Back matter includes an author's note, streak statistics, and an extensive bibliography. dean schneider