Scan barcode
glenden4411's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. So easy to read with interesting people, and an important period in American history.
hagbard_celine's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful stuff. Justly reknowned. Dispels a lot of the watering down and whitewashing of Jackie Robinson’s life and career (though probably not brutal enough in the telling by half).
jeffmauch's review against another edition
5.0
Easily the best non-fiction sports book I've ever read. Although this was written nearly 50 years ago now, it speaks to a different era in a way few books can pull off years later. This is the baseball of yesteryear, of kids growing up in poverty playing with a stick in the street or rural fields. It's the story of Jackie Robinson, but it's so much more than that. It's really the story of a group of men who grew up in the 30s and 40s wanting nothing more than to play ball and finding themselves on the iconic Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 50s. You may think this would be an uplifting story, but for most its quite sad, yet completely enthralling. The story starts with the author describing his childhood in Brooklyn and how he found a love for the Dodgers and eventually ended up covering them for a paper at a young age. It then covers the years of glory and agony of the late 40s and early 50s for the Dodgers with a lot in depth looks at the players. Jackie Robinson is covered here in a much different way than the mantle we put on him now, but it's only a small part of the story. The second half of the book is the author catching up with a dozen of theses players 10-15 years later after their careers have come to and end and many struggle with the Dodgers years being the best years of their lives. As Ed Linn said, "Sooner or later, society beats down the man of muscle and sweat." This is a moving and captivating look at baseball of another era.
mhuntone's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
castlelass's review against another edition
4.0
Eloquently-written memoir of a time and place, as Roger Kahn takes us through his career in writing in relation to his affection for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the game of baseball. He starts with memories of his childhood, attending baseball games at Ebbets field with his dad, establishing the foundation for his life-long love of the game. He then takes us through his brief but memorable time as a sportswriter for the Brooklyn Dodgers, getting to know the team members personally, and how they and others reacted to the introduction of black players. (Some of this treatment was appalling – I’d like to think we’ve come a long way as a society since those days). Finally, he expands into book-writing, and brings the story full-circle by traveling to visit many of the Dodger players of the early 50’s, and providing a glimpse into their post-baseball lives.
I was impressed with the author’s fluid, poetic style, and his flair for story-telling. I could visualize the places to which he traveled. Although it was not a page-turner for me, I enjoyed it when I picked it up. Contains locker room language and commentary of the time-period (e.g., using the term mongoloid for a person with Downs Syndrome, and showing women in mostly subservient roles). It is filled with episodes of melancholy, tenderness, roughness, and humor. One of my favorite humorous asides was when Kahn describes reading Joyce aloud with his family on Wednesday nights and imagining the reactions of his Dodger buddies. Highly recommended for baseball fans, especially those interested in baseball history or the history of the Dodgers.
Favorite quotes:
“You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat.”
“Losing after great striving is the story of man, who was born to sorrow, whose sweetest songs tell of saddest thought, and who, if he is a hero, does nothing in life as becomingly as leaving it.”
“Choker and hero are two masks for the same plain face.”
“To disregard color, even for an instant, is to step away from the old prejudices, the old hatred. That is not a path on which many double back.”
I was impressed with the author’s fluid, poetic style, and his flair for story-telling. I could visualize the places to which he traveled. Although it was not a page-turner for me, I enjoyed it when I picked it up. Contains locker room language and commentary of the time-period (e.g., using the term mongoloid for a person with Downs Syndrome, and showing women in mostly subservient roles). It is filled with episodes of melancholy, tenderness, roughness, and humor. One of my favorite humorous asides was when Kahn describes reading Joyce aloud with his family on Wednesday nights and imagining the reactions of his Dodger buddies. Highly recommended for baseball fans, especially those interested in baseball history or the history of the Dodgers.
Favorite quotes:
“You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat.”
“Losing after great striving is the story of man, who was born to sorrow, whose sweetest songs tell of saddest thought, and who, if he is a hero, does nothing in life as becomingly as leaving it.”
“Choker and hero are two masks for the same plain face.”
“To disregard color, even for an instant, is to step away from the old prejudices, the old hatred. That is not a path on which many double back.”