 "A Poignant Story of Baseball & Life" | 2009-10-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3FHSO1SKHU378 |
Roger Kahn's magnificent portrayal of how the glory and anguish of a very talented, yet flawed baseball team---the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early '50s---became an aging group of men who experienced an inordinate amount of personal travail; and in the process, the reader is made acutely aware of how fleeting fame can be, and above all else, how transitory one's athletic prowess can be. Indeed, we all grow older, but in some cases, the aging process can bring about much pain over the course of just a few years; especially when contrasted to the seemingly endless years of youth and vitality, while playing ball for one of baseball's most storied franchises.
Kahn's compelling look at this wonderful group of ballplayers, whose lives after their playing days ended became something less than a fairy tale for most; in fact, it was filled with an inordinate amount of pain & anguish; almost a metaphor for their seemingly endless degree of post-season futility at the hands of the mighty New York Yankees; it wasn't until 1955, when Dem Bums finally broke that curse, although some of the star players from just a few years earlier had already faded off into the sunset.
Although few teams in baseball history advanced to post season play with such regularity as the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s; yet the results were often a harsh reminder of the frailties of human athletic endeavors. The Dodgers seemed to epitomize the frustration of never seeming to be quite as good as many of their fans hoped they would.
In the final analysis, the harsh realities of retirement brought even a higher degree of personal frustration; even tragedy. Somehow, we are left to appreciate the Boys of Summer for what they represented to America in the 1950s---a uniquely superior group of athletes who always seemed to have the cards stacked against them, even in their post-baseball endeavors.
Kahn's work is timeless; his words are poignant. Whether you're a fan of the game or not, this is a remarkable piece of writing; a true classic, to be appreciated for generations to come.
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| "One of My All-time Favorite Books" | 2009-07-07 |
| - Reviewed By sharkman-6 |
| I never saw a game at Ebbets, and have only known them as the Los Angeles Dodgers, but I feel like I'm traveling with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952 while reading this book. It's a classic, and a must-read for anyone interested in Brooklyn, the Dodgers, or baseball generally. I can't put it down. |
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| "Memories of Mid Century Urban Baseball" | 2009-01-31 |
| - Reviewed By User: AY7YN8E6NFY94 |
Another baseball classic written by a middle aged reporter about the life and times spent when he was young and there were Dodgers in Brooklyn.
"Dem Bums" resided in mid century Flatbush where the resident fans always cried "wait until next year!" and Roger Kahn provides 442 pages of sheer baseball delight.
Kahn's prose gives a sense of community and family in New York's most populated borough. You can sense that in visioning a walk on a mid summer's night in Brooklyn, in which you can follow the evening's game on residents radios on your stroll to wherever.
Kahn relates the many varied personalities that formed this eclectic group. The frustrations of winning pennants but losing World Series'. The madness of losing a pennant on the last day of the season. And the ultimate embarrassment of losing to them "Gints" in the so called "Miracle on Coogan's Bluff".
All told, an exciting story lived out in real time in Brooklyn in mid century urban America. Oh those memories! Kahn tells the good and the bad. The triumphs and the heartaches. The book gives a true reflection of baseball emulating the ups and downs of life.
In the end, Mr. Kahn follows up on the post baseball careers of these fine men. Some are bitter and others are reflective and grateful. This is a classic book telling a story which all baseball fans would appreciate.
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| "Hall of Fame Book " | 2008-12-01 |
| - Reviewed By olingeropc |
The genius of Roger Kahn's THE BOYS OF SUMMER is that it ultimately isn't about baseball. It is about the character of a group of men who magically matched the character of a place. The greatness of these Dodgers, the greatness of Brooklin was their perseverance in the face of defeat. And that, according to Kahn, is what makes them enduringly great.
A must read. Deserves its reputation as a classic. |
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| "The Great American Game" | 2008-10-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1FP4OYQQOOHE3 |
Baseball is integrated into the national consciousness unlike any sport. Football may be our most popular sport now, but baseball is intrinsically linked to our past and our future. The Boys of Summer is a semi-biographical tale of Mr. Kahn as a young reporter embedded with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950's. Written in a whimsical style befitting America's Past Time, Kahn weaves a complex tale of Jackie Robinson's Dodgers, experiencing everything from blind racism in the South, racial tension among players, the broken hearts after Bobby Thompson's "Shot Heard Round The World", elation of winning the pennant, and the heartbreaking losses to the hated cross-town rivals, the Yankees. It is a well-crafted glimpse into baseball history. It humanizes baseball legends such as Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, and Robinson himself as they lived their lives both during and after baseball.
The strength of this novel is Kahn's uncanny ability to strip away the legend, showing the humanizing flaws of the players, while maintaining their place as some of the most colorful and historically significant players in baseball history. The writing style has clear journalistic influences, it flows well, doesn't bog you down with needless metaphors, and delivers the facts quickly. Another unique aspect of this novel is how strongly Kahn's love of the game shows through. You make an emotional connection with these players in much the same way he himself developed that connection. Though he was reporter, his love of the Dodgers was always foremost in his mind.
If you are a baseball fan this book must be on your list of must-reads. Though we live decades after these famous Brooklyn Dodgers, we mustn't forget the tremendous feats these players achieved (particularly Robinson), and their incredible contributions to baseball history. One of the best baseball books ever written, and a must read for any fan. |
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| "We are all "Boys of Summer"." | 2008-06-13 |
| - Reviewed By mtaustine |
How often do you read a book that you don't want to end? "The Boys of Summer" is one of them.
How often do you read a book at exactly the right time in your life, at a time when you are the most in tune with what the book is really about? For me, "The Boys of Summer" and I have met at just the right time.
It's not like I've been unaware of this book. Being a baseball fan, it's presence is just about as constant as it could ever be. As a lifelong New York Yankees fan, "The Boys of Summer" has always been "that old book about the Brooklyn Dodgers, who the heck cares?" Well, score that a two base error.
Waking up to the realities and disappointments of middle age is not all that much fun, nor is it frequently reckoned on it's own terms with necessary insight. It's usually a lot easier to go to sleep, get up, go to work, and watch those ballgames nearly every day. Now that's something to hold onto. The daily cacophony of two children is a great distraction, particularly if one is happy to be distracted.
But what of the inevitable changes wrought by the inexorable march of time? How long should one dwell on realizing that not only are you as old as the ballplayers you watch on TV, but that it was twenty-five years since you realized it? When in the world did our favorite players become coaches and hall of fame candidates, to be seen only at old timers days? Am I an old timer now? What...???
"The Boys of Summer" does us a great and timely favor. It's a powerful reminder. It's a gentle and insistent reflection of ourselves and what our lives have done to us, and where we find ourselves now. What have we lost along the way? What have we gained?
The game of baseball has long endured. It is both unchanging and ever changing. It can be a great distraction. Author Roger Kahn shows how it can teach as well.
Baseball is youth. Enthusiastic, ebullient, exciting, entrancing. Baseball will always retain it's youth. as that is it's nature. But not us. Youth passes and passes away, as it must. Life goes on. We must make do, and my oh my, isn't that a bit sad?
I wasn't around for the Golden Age of Baseball, the 1950's in New York with the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants fighting for supremacy in New York, although the team from the Bronx seemed to mostly come out on top. "The Boys of Summer" is wonderfully evocative of that era, and I really appreciate the human dimension that Kahn so ably weaves into the book. The old ballplayers really come alive in full color, and of course black and white. Who cares about the Brooklyn Dodgers? Well, bless my soul, now I do!
I look forward to when my two young children are old enough to watch baseball with me. I miss talking baseball with my now dead father.
Holy cow.
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