The Rocket That Fell to Earth: Roger Clemens and the Rage for Baseball Immortality

“Pearlman’s book develops a stark, unsparing picture of Clemens’s life that surpasses anything that’s come before.” —Boston Globe

New York Times bestselling author Jeff Pearlman reconstructs pitcher Roger Clemens's life—from his Ohio childhood to the mounds of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium—to reveal a flawed and troubled man whose rage for baseball immortality took him to superhuman heights before he crashed down to earth.

A fearless, hard-nosed Texan with a 98-mph fastball and a propensity to throw at the heads of opposing hitters, Roger “the Rocket” Clemens won 354 games, an unprecedented seven Cy Young Awards, and two World Series trophies over the course of twenty-four seasons. But the statistics and hoopla obscured a far darker story—one of playoff chokes, womanizing (including a long-term affair with a teenage country singer), violent explosions, steroid and human growth hormone use. . . and an especially dark secret that Clemens spent a lifetime trying to hide: a family tragedy involving drugs and, ultimately, death.

A fearless, hard-nosed Texan with a 98-mph fastball and a propensity to throw at the heads of opposing hitters, Roger “the Rocket” Clemens won 354 games, an unprecedented seven Cy Young Awards, and two World Series trophies over the course of twenty-four seasons. But the statistics and hoopla obscured a far darker story—one of playoff chokes, womanizing (including a long-term affair with a teenage country singer), violent explosions, steroid and human growth hormone use...and an especially dark secret that Clemens spent a lifetime trying to hide: a family tragedy involving drugs and, ultimately, death.

In The Rocket That Fell to Earth, New York Times bestselling author Jeff Pearlman reconstructs the pitcher's life—from his Ohio childhood to the mounds of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium—to reveal a flawed and troubled man whose rage for baseball immortality took him to superhuman heights before he crashed down to earth.

“In this well-crafted bio, author Jeff Pearlman...produces a rich character study, revealing a complex figure ultimately undone by the ambition that made him great.” - Sports Illustrated

“A scathing indictment of the nation’s sports media’s fawning coverage of Part II of Clemens’s career.” - Boston Phoenix

“Pearlman’s book develops a stark, unsparing picture of Clemens’s life that surpasses anything that’s come before.” - Boston Globe

“Bulldog effort, exceptional book.” - Time magazine

"Devastating." - Chicago Tribune

"A tragic, all-encompassing look at the life of a man who captured the hearts of baseball fans. . . only to lose it through deep-seated character flaws and bad decisions." - Detroit Free Press