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  • House of Nails

  • A Memoir of Life on the Edge
  • By: Lenny Dykstra
  • Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
  • Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
  • 3.0 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

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House of Nails

By: Lenny Dykstra
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
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Publisher's Summary

"Tough, straight, upsetting, and strangely beautiful. One of the best sports autobiographies I've ever read. It comes from the heart." (Stephen King)

Eclipsing the traditional sports memoir, House of Nails, by former world champion, multimillionaire entrepreneur, and imprisoned felon Lenny Dykstra, spins a tragicomic tale of Shakespearean proportions - a relentlessly entertaining American epic that careens between the heights and the abyss.

Nicknamed "Nails" for his hustle and grit, Lenny approached the game of baseball - and life - with mythic intensity. During his decade in the majors as a center fielder for the legendary 1980s Mets and the 1990s Phillies, he was named to three All-Star teams and played in two of the most memorable World Series of the modern era. An overachiever known for his clutch hits, high on-base percentage, and aggressive defense, Lenny was later identified by his former minor league roommate, Billy Beane, as the prototypical "Moneyball" player in Michael Lewis' best seller. Tobacco stained, steroid powered, and booze and drug fueled, Nails also defined a notorious era of excess in baseball.

Then came a second act no novelist could plausibly conjure: After retiring, Dykstra became a celebrated business mogul and investment guru. Touted as "one of the great ones" by CNBC's Jim Cramer, he became "baseball's most improbable postcareer success story" (The New Yorker), purchasing a $17.5-million mansion and traveling the world by private jet. But when the economy imploded in 2008, Lenny lost everything. Then the feds moved in: Convicted of bankruptcy fraud (unjustly, he contends), Lenny served two and a half harrowing years in prison, where he was the victim of a savage beating by prison guards that knocked out his front teeth.

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, channeling the bewildered fascination of many observers, declared that Lenny's outrageous rise and spectacular fall was "the greatest story that I have ever seen in my lifetime". Now, for the first time, Lenny tells all about his tumultuous career, from battling through crippling pain to steroid use and drug addiction to a life of indulgence and excess, then an epic plunge and the long road back to redemption. Was Lenny's hard-charging, risk-it-all nature responsible for his success in baseball and business and his precipitous fall from grace? What lessons, if any, has he learned now that he has had time to think and reflect?

Hilarious, unflinchingly honest, and irresistibly listenable, House of Nails makes no apologies and leaves nothing left unsaid.

©2016 The Third Chapter, LLC (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

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Not bad

I may have enjoyed this book more if I had a greater interest in baseball but it was interesting enough. I got the impression that the author was holding back and he didn't reveal much about his feelings and emotions nor did he take much blame for the consequences of his arrogance and inflated ego. Overall it was OK but I wanted more and listened through the inconsequential paragraphs hoping they would lead to something a little more controversial but mostly was disappointed. If you are into MLB then this book would capture your attention. Otherwise, I saw through it as a last ditch attempt by the author to claw back some money lost due to his bad dealings with property investments

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Never followed Baseball, but absolutely loved this

What an exciting, intriguing story. Loved every bit. Lenny's a legend in my books and I would recommend this book to anyone. Baseball fan or not.

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