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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
I don't know what to rate this book. I found myself engaged to this story, even though I've never before had an interest in baseball until I started reading this (which is funny because I started reading this on account of a song I couldn't get out of my head). I deeply enjoyed many parts of this book, I didn't expect it to talk about racial issues because I had no idea who Jackie Robinson was. And that drives me to the focal point of why I cannot tell if I liked this book or not: despite denouncing racism, the white people in this that "had no trouble with people of color" used racial slurs or said racist stuff many MANY times and it made me incredibly uncomfortable and angry. I know times were a little different than now and The Boys of Summer were a great team despite everything but it wasn't even that long ago and the moral double-sidedness is a fact I can't overlook.
If you search online for the best books about sports this will appear on lots of lists. First published in 1972 it must have been innovative and of great interest to most readers who remembered professional baseball in the early 1950s. I was born at the tail end of the baby boom generation and the book struck me mostly as a time capsule of the attitudes and writing style of the early 1970s. See highlights. (Two notes about the kindle version: it's riddled with typos and errors and it lacks the photo inserts from the hardcopy edition.)
The book falls into three main categories of roughly equal length: the author's upbringing in Brooklyn (think Woody Allen movies depicting the Brooklyn (and it's characters) of the 1930s); the author's time as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat writer for the NY Herald Tribune; the period from 1968 to 1971 when the author visited Clem Labine, Carl Erskine, Carl Furillo, Joe Black, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Billy Cox and others.
My interest in the subject matter increased as the book progressed. There were some very good moments throughout but I just wasn't very interested in the author's upbringing. The final sections about the retired players felt about right. They played in an era long before the lucrative contracts of the past few decades so it was interesting to learn how they got by after their baseball careers ended. Other than Jackie Robinson most lived in very modest circumstances and needed regular jobs to supplement their incomes. They didn't blow their earnings because they never really earned that much. Too many died young.
The middle section, about the author's two years covering the Dodgers, needed more. The author provided sufficient detail about his career at the Herald Tribune but I wish he had written more about the players and the games. It all seemed to boil down too quickly the pennant and the World Series. It was okay but failed to truly bring the reader into a season with the team. For a book about sports that's a glaring weakness.
The book falls into three main categories of roughly equal length: the author's upbringing in Brooklyn (think Woody Allen movies depicting the Brooklyn (and it's characters) of the 1930s); the author's time as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat writer for the NY Herald Tribune; the period from 1968 to 1971 when the author visited Clem Labine, Carl Erskine, Carl Furillo, Joe Black, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Billy Cox and others.
My interest in the subject matter increased as the book progressed. There were some very good moments throughout but I just wasn't very interested in the author's upbringing. The final sections about the retired players felt about right. They played in an era long before the lucrative contracts of the past few decades so it was interesting to learn how they got by after their baseball careers ended. Other than Jackie Robinson most lived in very modest circumstances and needed regular jobs to supplement their incomes. They didn't blow their earnings because they never really earned that much. Too many died young.
The middle section, about the author's two years covering the Dodgers, needed more. The author provided sufficient detail about his career at the Herald Tribune but I wish he had written more about the players and the games. It all seemed to boil down too quickly the pennant and the World Series. It was okay but failed to truly bring the reader into a season with the team. For a book about sports that's a glaring weakness.
You don't need to be a baseball fan to enjoy this. Basically broken up into 2 main sections, the first deals with the author's life growing up in Brooklyn, getting into journalism, and covering the Dodgers in 1952 and 53. The second section takes place in the late '60s, when the author visits some of those Dodgers to see what they have done since retirement (remember, back then ballplayers weren't nearly as well paid as today's, and all had to find work - bartending, farming, etc.) A lot of joys and tragedies, which were deeply felt by this reader.
This is not only a great baseball book, it is a book of stories about very human men. The first part is autobiographical telling the story of the author’s relationship with his father through the love of baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The second part is about the players on that team during their historic hiring of Jackie Robinson And their winning of the World Series. I recommend this book for anyone interested in baseball, that era or the newspaper business.
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Fantastic...if you like baseball lore, history of our racial barriers, and Brooklyn (Dodgers), you'll love it. Made me want to see Ken Burns documentary on Jackie Robinson just to see more.
I was told that this was required reading of any "real" Dodger fan. I expected a baseball book, but instead learned about a group of men who happened to play baseball together. As someone who was born mere days before Jackie Robinson died and raised in the city of his childhood he has always been a larger than life figure. Even in this book, his presence seems to preempt the other legends.
The best sports books I've ever read. I love hockey more than baseball but this book which focuses on the one of the best baseball teams that never one the world series is wonderful. It harkens back to a time in the 40's and 50's where men lived by virtues and values that had been shaped by their life experiences. This was the first team to field a black player, Jackie Robinson, as well as field more blacks than whites several years later. The interviews with the players during and years afterwards is heart warming in it's simplicity. Yes I shed a few tears reading this it is that powerful. Anyone who loves baseball should read this book, it's unforgettable.
Too much of its time. Also I’m just not that interested in Kahn’s personal story, I want to know about the Dodgers!
A great summer read. It does starts off a bit slow: Kahn describing his early life in baseball journalism, his relatively uneventful childhood, a couple good dugout/bus stories with the team; it gets interesting when he starts distinguishing the different players and their personalities off the field, and he does a great job in framing the trips to the Jim Crow South and the relentless insults thrown at Jackie Robinson. But the book really takes off about halfway through, when the Dodgers team of the late-forties, early-fifties has long since passed, and Kahn goes on a spiritual quest to reunite what he calls the greatest team ever to play ball. He goes to the corners of the country to see what everyone is up to; to hear these guys talk about the love of their life, baseball, years back really puts a new meaning to the good ol' days. Through the game these guys had a brotherhood, they crossed social barriers together with Robinson, and played hundreds of games at a time with each other. Kahn serves as a pen, using the team as his muse, and successfully captures the team of the past.