Richard Ben Cramer's Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life presents an unconventional and often shocking portrait of the baseball icon, focusing on the disconnect between his public image and private life. The book explores DiMaggio's rise from an immigrant Italian family to national fame, his iconic 56-game hitting streak, and his marriage to Marilyn Monroe, but ultimately portrays him as a complicated, lonely, and sometimes selfish man driven by greed and a sense of entitlement, a stark contrast to his public persona of grace and dignity. It details his struggles with fame and relationships, showing a man who was both a public hero and a private, hidden "shame" to some.