By the Grace of the Game
The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream
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Narrated by:
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Chris Lutkin
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By:
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Dan Grunfeld
About this listen
When Lily and Alex entered a packed gymnasium in Queens, New York, in 1972, they barely recognized their son. The boy who escaped to America with them, who was bullied as he struggled to learn English and cope with family tragedy, was now a young man who had discovered and secretly honed his basketball talent on the outdoor courts of New York City. That young man was Ernie Grunfeld, who would go on to win an Olympic gold medal and reach previously unimaginable heights as an NBA player and executive.
In By the Grace of the Game, Dan Grunfeld, once a basketball standout himself at Stanford University, shares the remarkable story of his family, a delicately interwoven narrative that doesn't lack in heartbreak yet remains as deeply nourishing as his grandmother's Hungarian cooking, so lovingly described. The true improbability of the saga lies in the discovery of a game that unknowingly held the power to heal wounds, build bridges, and tie together a fractured Jewish family.
If the magnitude of an American dream is measured by the intensity of the nightmare that came before and the heights of the triumph achieved after, then By the Grace of the Game recounts an American dream story of unprecedented scale. From the grips of the Nazis to the top of the Olympic podium, from the cheap seats to center stage at Madison Square Garden, from yellow stars to silver spoons, this complex tale traverses the spectrum of the human experience to detail how perseverance, love, and legacy can survive through generations.
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The NBA has returned to prominence on the backs of phenoms like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett. The media promotes them, the shoe companies pay them, and America applauds. But how exactly do such players reach the pros? What do they give up to get there? And what happens to those who fall short?
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Amazing book, fantastic narration.
- By Randy on 11-03-10
By: George Dohrmann
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The Mannings
- The Fall and Rise of a Football Family
- By: Lars Anderson
- Narrated by: Ian Alan Carlsen
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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From New York Times best-selling author Lars Anderson comes a revealing portrait of the first family of American sports. What the Kennedys are to politics, the Mannings are to football. Two generations have produced three NFL superstars: Archie Manning, the Ole Miss hero-turned-New Orleans Saint; his son Peyton, widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game; and Peyton's younger brother, Eli, who won two Super Bowl rings of his own.
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The first family of football
- By Tyler Gordon on 09-08-18
By: Lars Anderson
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Their Life's Work
- The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers
- By: Gary M. Pomerantz
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s won an unprecedented and unmatched four Super Bowls in six years. A dozen of those Steelers players, coaches, and executives have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and three decades later their names echo in popular memory: "Mean" Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mike Webster, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth.
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Great Book
- By cap on 07-18-18
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Life Is Not an Accident
- A Memoir of Reinvention
- By: Jay Williams
- Narrated by: Jay Williams
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Like millions of kids before him, Jay Williams used to pretend he was making the game-winning shot while playing basketball in his Plainfield, New Jersey, backyard. Unlike almost all of those other kids, he kept right on making shots until he became an NCAA champion and two-time national player of the year at Duke and the number-two overall NBA draft pick in 2002.
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Taking ownership of mistakes
- By ladybug on 07-20-16
By: Jay Williams
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Sweetness
- The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed “Sweetness” during his college football days, he became the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.
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Honest Accounting Of A Fascinating Life
- By RevInTampa on 08-19-15
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Open
- An Autobiography
- By: Andre Agassi
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography. Agassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match and every relationship. Never before has the inner game of tennis and the outer game of fame been so precisely limned. In clear, taut prose, Agassi evokes his loyal brother, his wise coach, his gentle trainer, all the people who help him regain his balance and find love at last with Stefanie Graf.
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Just an Incredible Story!
- By Patrick on 12-13-09
By: Andre Agassi
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Molina
- The Story of the Father Who Raised an Unlikely Baseball Dynasty
- By: Bengie Molina, Joan Ryan
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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A baseball rules book. A tape measure. A lottery ticket. These were in the pocket of Bengie Molina's father when he died of a heart attack on the rutted Little League field in his Puerto Rican barrio. The items serve as thematic guideposts in Molina's beautiful memoir about his father, who, through baseball, taught his three sons about loyalty, humility, courage, and the true meaning of success.
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A book about life
- By P. Griswold on 06-11-15
By: Bengie Molina, and others
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Twelve Mighty Orphans
- The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football
- By: Jim Dent
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing bigger in Texas high school football than the Masonic Home Mighty Mites - a group of orphans bound together by hardship and death. These youngsters, in spite of being outweighed by at least 30 pounds per man, were the toughest football team around. They began with nothing - not even a football - yet in a few years were playing for the state championship on the highest level of Texas football. This is a winning tribute to a courageous band of underdogs from a time when America desperately needed fresh hope and big dreams.
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Great story!!
- By Damian McKeon on 06-14-21
By: Jim Dent
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This Love Is Not for Cowards
- Salvation and Soccer in Ciudad Juárez
- By: Robert Andrew Powell
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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As Mexico has descended into a feudal narco-state - one where cartels, death squads, the army, and local police all fight over billions of dollars in profits from drug and human trafficking - the border city of Jurez has been hit hardest of all. And yet, more than a million people still live there. They even love their impoverished city, proudly repeating its mantra: "Amor por Jurez." Nothing exemplifies the spirit and hope of Juarenses more than the Indios, the city's beloved but hard-luck soccer team.
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Loved it
- By Nathan & Kira Huggins on 04-14-15
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Slow Getting Up
- A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile
- By: Nate Jackson
- Narrated by: Nate Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Nate Jackson’s Slow Getting Up is an unvarnished and uncensored memoir of everyday life in the most popular sports league in America - and the most damaging to its players - the National Football League. After playing college ball at a tiny Division III school, Jackson, a receiver, signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, before moving to the Denver Broncos. For six seasons in the NFL as a Bronco, he alternated between the practice squad and the active roster, eventually winning a starting spot - a short, tenuous career emblematic of the average pro player.
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Almost unlistenable...AND I'M A DENVER DIEHARD!
- By JROD2133 on 07-02-14
By: Nate Jackson
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The Boys of Winter
- The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
- By: Wayne Coffey
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Once upon a time, they taught us to believe. They were the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, a blue-collar bunch led by an unconventional coach, and they engineered perhaps the greatest sports moment of the 20th century. Their "Miracle on Ice" has become a national fairy tale, but the real Cinderella story is even more remarkable. It is a legacy of hope, hard work, and homegrown triumph. It is a chronicle of everyday heroes who just wanted to play hockey happily ever after.
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Great, but...
- By S. B. G. on 02-13-18
By: Wayne Coffey
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Courage to Soar
- A Body in Motion, a Life in Balance
- By: Simone Biles
- Narrated by: Imani Parks
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In Courage to Soar, the official autobiography from four-time Olympic gold-winning and record-setting American gymnast Simone Biles, Simone shares how her faith, family, passion, and perseverance against tremendous odds made her one of the top athletes and record-breaking gymnasts in the world - and how you too can overcome challenges in your life. In this audiobook, Simone shares the details of her inspiring personal story - one filled with the kinds of daily acts of courage that led her, and can lead you, to even the most unlikely of dreams.
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A little thin
- By Rachel2450 on 11-24-16
By: Simone Biles
What listeners say about By the Grace of the Game
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- pboknows
- 12-19-21
Best basketball biography I’ve ever read
This book is one of the best you'll ever read on the Holocaust, immigrating to America, overcoming grief, the power of basketball, the unbreakable bond between a grandmother and grandson, Hungarian food, or what it's like for anyone who's tried to fill the massive shoes of a famous father.
I was blown away by this book on so many different occasions that I had to go back and write them all down. Buy it, read it, and gift it to someone in your family.
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- Colton Heward-Mills
- 12-02-21
Loved it!
Inspiring, uplifting, mournful and funny! Grunfeld tells an incredible story about family, passion overcoming adversity and discovering what matters most in life.
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- Patrick Messing
- 04-07-22
Exceptional
As a Jew and a former team manager during Ernie's senior year at Tennessee, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are many parallels to my family.
My parents are holocaust survivors. My dad was born in Budapest and also got to know Ernie as well as his parents while at UT. They spoke to one another in Hungarian. I'm so proud of the legacy of the Grunfeld family. Mazel Tov to you, Dan!
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-14-22
Great book
Dan writes a great story. He was nice enough to attend our bookclub meeting in Seattle and share additional thoughts and detail on the writing of his book. Can’t wait to see the miniseries! Thanks Dan for your great story.
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- Michael
- 01-19-22
Compelling
Well read but unfortunately a number of words were mispronounced. The family story is compelling though.
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- Jeremy A. Hyman
- 12-10-21
Amazing Story, Very Well Written
An amazing story written and told so well by Dan. Highly recommend for basketball and non-basketball fans alike
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- Brooke
- 01-28-22
No words do enough justice for this book
Just read it. I’ve not read such a compelling book in years. Inspiring. Educational. Soul-moving.
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- David
- 04-04-23
Absolutely Incredible!
Thank you for bringing this beautiful work to life! Please give us more! Blessings on you, your family & your family’s memory!
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- jolie
- 08-23-23
Great story! highly recommended
I really connected to this book as a granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. Likewise, the same grandparent feld communism (in Cuba) to start over in the United States. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. The writing is great. And I know very little about basketball--which didn't matter at all. It's a beautiful story about family and ancestestry.
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- Jeremy
- 01-29-22
powerful and great storytelling
powerful and great storytelling
amazing job of taking the reader through the highlights of some of the inner thoughts and fears and drives of humans
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1 person found this helpful