On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron blasted his 715th home run, a shot to left center field at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium that catapulted him past Babe Ruth on the career homer list and immortalized his place in baseball history. As Major League Baseball celebrates the 25th anniversary of Aaron's accomplishment during the 1999 season, it is time to rediscover Hank Aaron. Not just Aaron the home run hitter, but Aaron the man.

In Home Run: My Life in Pictures, Aaron takes us around the full circuit of his life, from his early days in the Negro Leagues through his Major League career in Milwaukee and Atlanta. Aaron never hit 50 home runs in any one season, he never had the one bright flash. Instead, Aaron's story is one of day-to-day, year-after-year heroism; a slow, hot burn punctuated by the regular explosion of bat hitting ball. By unwavering readiness and a persistence born of dedication and personal fire, Hank Aaron triumphed. "His career was no sprint," says actor and friend Denzel Washington in Home Run. "It was a marathon."

Hank Aaron will be forever famous for his 755 home runs. One could also point out his records for RBI (2,297) or total bases (6,856). Or that he integrated the Southern Atlantic League, or that when he retired, he was the last major leaguer to have played in the Negro Leagues. But maybe the best way to think about Hank Aaron is not as a star or celebrity but, simply and ever the same, his own person, and thus a role model for all of us.

More than 70 other friends, teammates, opponents and admirers contribute their appreciations of Hank Aaron in this volume. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar calls him "a man with no airs and without pretensions." George Will writes, he was "an understated ballplayer." Willie Stargell notices how "Hank looked asleep at the plate and then suddenly struck like a cobra."

"You would need to hit 35 homers a year for 20 years and you still wouldn't reach Aaron's total," says Reggie Jackson. No wonder that at a postseason award ceremony, Mark McGwire said, upon being introduced by Aaron, "Can I get his autograph?"

In a personal essay written with Dick Schaap, Aaron re-examines his life, his struggles to maintain the consistency and commitment, the faith and skill, that have made him a hero of uncommon meaning. A retrospective look at Aaron by legendary sportswriter Jerome Holtzman fleshes in this vision of an athlete who, like Jackie Robinson before him, proved that character and talent speak louder than the opinions of others. The foreword is by Ted Williams, baseball's last .400 hitter, who now presides over The Hitter's Museum in Florida. An afterword by Lonnie Wheeler, who assisted Hank Aaron in the writing of The New York Times bestseller I Had a Hammer, assesses Aaron's place in baseball and social history. Finally, a log of each of Hank Aaron's 755 home runs, with all the details, is included.

More than 300 photographs illustrate this beautiful book, drawn from collections across the United States, including Hank Aaron's personal archive. This trove of images is more than just a chronicle of Aaron's life; it is a vision of the game and the nation through six decades. While Aaron's power and importance on the field brought him in contact with the greatest players of his day, the monumental, often painful, process of shattering Babe Ruth's career home run record made him a controversial figure on the America scene. The images in Home Run document a time of change and turmoil in American sports and American culture, and bring us to a future of reconciliation and hope.

Nearly 25 years after his career ended, Aaron still works with the Atlanta Braves and, more important, with disadvantaged young people through his Chasing the Dream Foundation. The man who was never intimidated continues to stand in at the plate, now for his favorite causes. Former President Jimmy Carter gives the highest praise with the simplest words -- "I am proud to call him my friend."

A unique blend of photography, essay and appreciation, Home Run is an evocative review of a life rich in integrity and achievement, both on and off the field.

Dick Schaap has written for more years than Hank Aaron has played. He is an award-winning author and hosts ESPN's weekly show, The Sports Reporters. He lives in New York City.

Jerome Holtzman, known as "The Dean" of America's baseball writers and a national columnist for the Chicago Tribune, is the author of many books, including The Commissioners.

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Also by Ted Williams:

• Teddy Ballgame: My Life in Pictures