
Dinner with DiMaggio
Memories of an American Hero
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Fred Sanders
About this listen
The real Joe DiMaggio, remembered by the man who knew him best in the last decade of his life - candid and little-known stories about icons from Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and his Yankees teammates on the field to Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and other great celebrities off the field.
Dr. Rock Positano, an internationally renowned foot specialist in New York City, was introduced to Joe DiMaggio by the dean of New York sports writers, Bill Gallo, in 1990. The Yankee Clipper's career-ending heel spur injury and botched surgeries brought them together. During the time Dr. Positano successfully treated the Yankee Clipper, a friendship slowly developed. As Dr. Positano would learn, DiMaggio moved very carefully and deliberately.
Dinner with DiMaggio follows the story of their friendship from its starstruck beginning through all its highs and lows over the next decade. Forty years younger than DiMaggio, Dr. Positano became a surrogate son at a time when his actual son was suffering from substance-abuse problems. Positano's accounts of their times together reveal DiMaggio's many rituals and quirks: the same meals at the same restaurants, the same pals in New York and Florida, jacket and tie everywhere. At the pinnacle of his fame, DiMaggio had learned to be guarded and carefully managed his image and private life. As his trust in his young friend grew, DiMaggio opened up about Marilyn but also about his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, the mother of his son and the real love of his life. The Yankee Clipper knew everyone, and Positano shares never-before-told stories of famous people DiMaggio admired and those he didn't.
This is DiMaggio as he really was: sometimes cranky and calculating but more often charming, generous, and loyal and always big-hearted when it came to kids. The stories and experiences he shared with Rock Positano comprise an intimate portrait of one of the great stars of baseball and one of the icons of the 20th century.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 Rock Positano (P)2017 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Phil
- The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar
- By: Alan Shipnuck
- Narrated by: Alan Shipnuck
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among the best golfers in the world, and his unmatched longevity was exemplified at the 2021 PGA Championship, when Mickelson, on the cusp of turning fifty-one, became the oldest player in history to win a major championship. In this raw, uncensored, and unauthorized biography, Alan Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats, and countless controversies.
-
-
Not what I’d hoped for.
- By Chad Smed on 07-04-22
By: Alan Shipnuck
-
When Pride Still Mattered
- By: David Maraniss
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 28 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than any other sports figure, Vince Lombardi transformed football into a metaphor for the American experience. The nine seasons during which he led the Green Bay Packers to five world championships is the most storied period in NFL history. Lombardi became a legend, a symbol to many of leadership, discipline, perseverance, and teamwork, and to others of an obsession with winning. Maraniss captures the myth and the man, football, God, and country in a thrilling biography that has become an American classic.
-
-
What's in a name?
- By Brian W. Barton on 05-05-17
By: David Maraniss
-
Team of Rivals
- The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war.
-
-
Beautiful, Heartbreaking, and Informative
- By JJ on 09-10-12
-
Unscripted
- The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy
- By: James B. Stewart, Rachel Abrams
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2016, the fate of Paramount Global’s entertainment empire hung precariously in the balance. Its founder and head, ninety-three-year-old Sumner M. Redstone, was facing a very public lawsuit brought by a former romantic companion, Manuela Herzer, which placed Sumner’s deteriorating health and questionable judgment under a harsh light.
-
-
I could t wait for it to end
- By Abbie L. Smith on 03-01-23
By: James B. Stewart, and others
-
The Boys of Summer
- The Classic Narrative of Growing Up Within Shouting Distance of Ebbets Field, Covering the Jackie Robinson Dodgers, and What's Happened to Everybody Since
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a story about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a story by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is the story about what happened to the team when their glory days were behind them.
-
-
Classic book!
- By Christopher Arthur on 11-19-17
By: Roger Kahn
-
And There Was Light
- Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Jon Meacham
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hated and hailed, excoriated and revered, Abraham Lincoln was at the pinnacle of American power when secessionists gave no quarter in a clash of visions bound up with money, race, identity, and faith. In him we can see the possibilities of the presidency as well as its limitations. This book tells the story of Lincoln from his birth on the Kentucky frontier to his leadership during the Civil War to his tragic assassination: his rise, his self-education, his loves, his bouts of depression, his political failures, his deepening faith, and his persistent conviction that slavery must end.
-
-
A Winner
- By Diane Moore on 10-31-22
By: Jon Meacham
-
Phil
- The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar
- By: Alan Shipnuck
- Narrated by: Alan Shipnuck
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among the best golfers in the world, and his unmatched longevity was exemplified at the 2021 PGA Championship, when Mickelson, on the cusp of turning fifty-one, became the oldest player in history to win a major championship. In this raw, uncensored, and unauthorized biography, Alan Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats, and countless controversies.
-
-
Not what I’d hoped for.
- By Chad Smed on 07-04-22
By: Alan Shipnuck
-
When Pride Still Mattered
- By: David Maraniss
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 28 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than any other sports figure, Vince Lombardi transformed football into a metaphor for the American experience. The nine seasons during which he led the Green Bay Packers to five world championships is the most storied period in NFL history. Lombardi became a legend, a symbol to many of leadership, discipline, perseverance, and teamwork, and to others of an obsession with winning. Maraniss captures the myth and the man, football, God, and country in a thrilling biography that has become an American classic.
-
-
What's in a name?
- By Brian W. Barton on 05-05-17
By: David Maraniss
-
Team of Rivals
- The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
- By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war.
-
-
Beautiful, Heartbreaking, and Informative
- By JJ on 09-10-12
-
Unscripted
- The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy
- By: James B. Stewart, Rachel Abrams
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2016, the fate of Paramount Global’s entertainment empire hung precariously in the balance. Its founder and head, ninety-three-year-old Sumner M. Redstone, was facing a very public lawsuit brought by a former romantic companion, Manuela Herzer, which placed Sumner’s deteriorating health and questionable judgment under a harsh light.
-
-
I could t wait for it to end
- By Abbie L. Smith on 03-01-23
By: James B. Stewart, and others
-
The Boys of Summer
- The Classic Narrative of Growing Up Within Shouting Distance of Ebbets Field, Covering the Jackie Robinson Dodgers, and What's Happened to Everybody Since
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 15 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a story about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a story by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is the story about what happened to the team when their glory days were behind them.
-
-
Classic book!
- By Christopher Arthur on 11-19-17
By: Roger Kahn
-
And There Was Light
- Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Jon Meacham
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hated and hailed, excoriated and revered, Abraham Lincoln was at the pinnacle of American power when secessionists gave no quarter in a clash of visions bound up with money, race, identity, and faith. In him we can see the possibilities of the presidency as well as its limitations. This book tells the story of Lincoln from his birth on the Kentucky frontier to his leadership during the Civil War to his tragic assassination: his rise, his self-education, his loves, his bouts of depression, his political failures, his deepening faith, and his persistent conviction that slavery must end.
-
-
A Winner
- By Diane Moore on 10-31-22
By: Jon Meacham
-
October 1964
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Halberstam, an avid sports writer with an investigative reporter’s tenacity, superbly details the end of the 15-year reign of the New York Yankees in October 1964. That October found the Yankees going head-to-head with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series pennant. Expertly weaving the narrative threads of both teams’ seasons, Halberstam brings the major personalities on the field - from switch-hitter Mickey Mantle to pitcher Bob Gibson - to life. Using the teams’ subcultures, Halberstam also analyzes the cultural shifts of the '60s.
-
-
an excellent baseball book
- By Joe H on 12-31-18
By: David Halberstam
-
Killing Jesus
- A History
- By: Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Bill O'Reilly
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of people have thrilled to best-selling authors Bill O'Reilly and historian Martin Dugard's Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, works of nonfiction that have changed the way we view history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth. Nearly 2,000 years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God.
-
-
The Jesus story in context
- By Kimberly on 10-01-13
By: Bill O'Reilly, and others
-
Joe DiMaggio
- The Hero's Life
- By: Richard Ben Cramer
- Narrated by: Richard Ben Cramer
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this groundbreaking biography, Richard Ben Cramer presents a stunning, often shocking portrait of the hero nobody knew. It is a story that sweeps through the 20th century, bringing light to America's national game, movie stars, mobsters, as well as the birth - and the price - of national celebrity.
-
-
Joe DiMaggio
- By Patrick on 08-22-03
-
Like a Rolling Stone
- A Memoir
- By: Jann S. Wenner
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris, Jann S. Wenner
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rolling Stone founder, co-editor, and publisher Jann Wenner's deeply personal memoir vividly describes and brings you inside the music, the politics, and the lifestyle of a generation, an epoch of cultural change that swept America and beyond. The age of rock and roll in an era of consequence, what will be considered one of the great watersheds in modern history. Wenner writes with the clarity of a journalist and an essayist. He takes us into the life and work of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Bono, and Bruce Springsteen, to name a few.
-
-
Name-dropping on steroids
- By Tim on 09-19-22
By: Jann S. Wenner
-
I'd Like to Play Alone, Please
- Essays
- By: Tom Segura
- Narrated by: Tom Segura
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tom Segura is known for his twisted takes and irreverent comedic voice. But after a few years of crazy tours and churning out podcasts weekly, all while parenting two young children, he desperately needs a second to himself. It’s not that he hates his friends and family — he’s not a monster — he’s just beat, which is why his son’s (ruthless) first full sentence, “I’d like to play alone, please,” has since become his mantra.
-
-
Hot sauce is the best!
- By Michael Bowen on 06-15-22
By: Tom Segura
-
The Last Boy
- Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood
- By: Jane Leavy
- Narrated by: Jane Leavy, John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on more than 500 interviews with friends and family, teammates, and opponents, she delivers the definitive account of Mantle's life, mining the mythology of The Mick for the true story of a luminous and illustrious talent with an achingly damaged soul.
-
-
The Man Behind the Myth
- By Ray on 11-12-10
By: Jane Leavy
-
Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story
- A Blind Broadcaster's Story of Overcoming Life's Greatest Obstacles
- By: Ed Lucas, Christopher Lucas, Ed Lucas - introduction
- Narrated by: Christopher Lucas
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Soon to be a major motion picture, Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story is the incredible true tale of a beloved Emmy-winning blind broadcaster who refused to let his disability prevent him from overcoming many challenging obstacles and achieving his dreams.
-
-
Outstanding motivational book!
- By D. Whatley on 03-16-20
By: Ed Lucas, and others
-
Still Foolin' 'Em
- Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys
- By: Billy Crystal
- Narrated by: Billy Crystal
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Billy Crystal is 65, and he's not happy about it. With his trademark wit and heart, he outlines the absurdities and challenges that come with growing old, from insomnia to memory loss to leaving dinners with half your meal on your shirt. In humorous chapters like "Buying the Plot" and "Nodding Off," Crystal not only catalogues his physical gripes, but offers a road map to his 77 million fellow baby boomers who are arriving at this milestone age with him. He also looks back at the most powerful and memorable moments of his long and storied life.
-
-
Disarmingly Honest
- By David Shear on 09-12-13
By: Billy Crystal
-
Tiger Woods
- By: Jeff Benedict, Armen Keteyian
- Narrated by: Roger Casey
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2009, Tiger Woods was the most famous athlete on the planet, a transcendent star of almost unfathomable fame and fortune living what appeared to be the perfect life - married to a Swedish beauty and the father of two young children. Winner of 14 major golf championships and 79 PGA Tour events, Woods was the first billion-dollar athlete, earning more than $100 million a year in endorsements from the likes of Nike, Gillette, AT&T, and Gatorade. But it was all a carefully crafted illusion. As it turned out, Woods had been living a double life for years.
-
-
Schadenfreude For Non-Fans
- By Dubi on 02-16-19
By: Jeff Benedict, and others
-
Calico Joe
- By: John Grisham
- Narrated by: Erik Singer
- Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the summer of 1973, and Joe Castle is the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone has ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas, dazzles Chicago Cubs fans as he hits home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shatters all rookie records.
-
-
IN ORDER TO BE FAIR
- By Roger on 04-13-12
By: John Grisham
-
God, If You're Not up There, I'm F*cked
- Tales of Stand-up, Saturday Night Live, and Other Mind-Altering Mayhem
- By: Darrell Hammond
- Narrated by: Darrell Hammond
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tina Fey’s Bossypants meets David Carr’s The Night of the Gun in Darrell Hammond's groundbreaking memoir, God, If You’re Not up There, I’m F*cked - a raw look inside the troubled life and mind of an American comic genius.
-
-
A "must listen" for Hammond fans
- By K on 08-12-18
By: Darrell Hammond
-
Unscripted
- The Unpredictable Moments That Make Life Extraordinary
- By: Ernie Johnson Jr., John Smoltz
- Narrated by: Ernie Johnson Jr.
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ernie Johnson, Jr., has been in the game a long time. With one of the most recognized voices in sports broadcasting, he is a tireless perfectionist when it comes to preparing and delivering his commentary. Yet he knows that some of sports' greatest triumphs - and life's greatest rewards - come from those unscripted moments you never anticipated.
-
-
Get to knw the man behind the scenes.
- By Paul David Bunyan on 07-12-17
By: Ernie Johnson Jr., and others
What listeners say about Dinner with DiMaggio
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brooke R. Calder
- 02-27-23
Fascinating Read
A thoughtful, detailed and candid book. Great for DiMaggio die hards, the pop culture curious and sports fans alike. Bravo!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ECWalter
- 04-10-21
Very unusual book on DiMaggio in later life.
Dr. Positano became a late life friend of the great DiMag & shares wonderful stories.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- claudia cuellar
- 07-13-17
Great storytelling beautiful narration
Great storytelling beautiful narration Dinner with DiMaggio is a wonderful ode to The Yankee Clipper Thank You Rock Positano and Fred Sanders
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A revealing, interesting biography
The narration is a bit slow and drawn out, but acceptable.
This biography reveals a lot of interesting details and analysis of this private, complicated, honorable man.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Arnaldo Trevilla
- 09-21-18
Loved this book
Dr Positano did an amazing job. If you want to know who DiMaggio was. His history , life , personal . Attitudes and views on everything from food to politics this is your book. Turns out Dr Positano is a Dr at the same hospital where I did my hip surgery couple years ago with Dr Su. So neat that a Dr would be such good friends and write such an amazing book about the Great DiMaggio. Thank you Doc.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Skeptik2
- 05-16-17
The Control Freak and the Sycophant
Would you try another book from the authors and/or Fred Sanders?
No
Would you listen to another book narrated by Fred Sanders?
Yes
What else would you have wanted to know about the authors’s life?
Nothing, thank you
Any additional comments?
Unless you are a baseball fanatic, a devoted Yankee fan, or someone who gushes over wall to wall celeb gossip, this book can be a long read. The principal is shown to be an uncaring tyrant toward the author and people around him. The author is so full of his unexpected role as DiMaggio's Boswell that he let's himself be humiliated time and again with just the slightest resistance. There's plenty of baseball lore, and juicy gossip about Marilyn Monroe, Sinatra, the Kennedys and a raft of politicos. But it gets tiring after a while.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful