words, "a prick" before and after it happened. Stump and Cobb go see a show at a Reno resort hotel featuring Keely Smith and Louis Prima, whose act Cobb rudely interrupts. A cigarette girl, Ramona, becomes interested in Stump, but when Cobb barges into the hotel room, he's in a jealous rage. He knocks Stump out cold and takes Ramona to another room, where he physically abuses her. When Stump wakes up just in time to see Ramona running out of Cobb's room, angrily mocking him as "Georgia trash", he finally makes his decision to write the true story of Cobb. Mindful of Cobb's temper and his editorial approval, Stump continues writing Cobb's preferred version, My Life in Baseball, the one Cobb expects, while secretly handwriting notes for his real book on hotel stationary, napkins, and other pieces of paper. His real book is meant to be an sensational, merciless account which will reveal the real Cobb, warts and all. Stump plans to complete Cobb's version while the old man is still alive, guaranteeing his payment for the project, letting Cobb die happy, then issue the hard-hitting followup after Cobb is gone. Meanwhile, Cobb and Stump's time in Reno is cut short after Cobb, spotting Ramona and Cobb's ex-housekeeper Willie laughing together at the craps table, flies into a shooting rampage in the casino. Cobb and Stump travel together cross-country by automobile, with Cobb dictating his story to Stump during the day, while Stump continues secretly writing his real book at night. Cobb begins to regard Stump as a friend of sorts; it is clear his conduct has driven away virtually all his legitimate friends and family. Finally, both men arrive at the Baseball Hall of Fame's induction weekend in Cooperstown, New York, where many star players from Cobb's era are in attendance, including Rogers Hornsby and Mickey Cochrane. Cobb is haunted by images from his violent past as he views film footage of his career. That night, despite the players' tribute to Cobb's career, many of those same men refuse to allow him to enter the hotel after-party, having finally been fed up with his bad behavior. From there, Cobb and Stump drive south to Cobb's native Georgia, where his estranged daughter continues to live. She refuses to see him. Stump, despite having spent months with Cobb witnessing his behavior and absorbing considerable abuse, finds himself torn between releasing