Includes bibliographical references (p. [325]-348.

This first biography of Roger Clemens is an account of the rise and fall of one of the greatest modern-day baseball players and arguably the best pitcher of all time. From his obscure youth as a pudgy, unremarkable nobody in suburban Ohio to the mounds of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, Roger "Rocket" Clemens is an American icon. His athletic prowess aside, Clemens also embodies a fascinating dichotomy in American culture. To thousands of fans, Clemens is a tobacco-chewing, fastball-throwing legend who walks with the giants of the world. To many others, he is a gun-toting, Republican-voting, steroid-using pedophile who stalked Charlize Theron. Here, sportswriter Jeff Pearlman delivers an exhaustively researched biography that explores who Roger Clemens is; what he means to our country; and how his rise to baseball stardom and fall to personal humiliation speaks volumes about the current state of sport in America.--From publisher description.