Reviews

Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding... Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becomin by Sam Anderson

mmamckinney's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

4.0

nicolemhill's review against another edition

I seem to be one of the few Oklahomans not gaga over this. (Though, Sam Anderson is a helluva writer, of course.)

jstumpp's review against another edition

I never knew I was waiting for a book that’s about the 2012-13 OKC Thunder, the Flaming Lips, and urban design all at the same time and in a way that makes sense

llawlor's review against another edition

I just could not finish this book. The history of OKC was interesting but it was just too much of the basketball story to hold my attention.

fionak's review against another edition

5.0

This is narrative non-fiction at its best. Anderson does such a wonderful job of painting the city and its people, and most notably their mentality, that I was completely immersed by the breadth and depth of this neglected city's culture and history. He has managed to make the city feel like a literary character.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher for review.

longhornrach's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

dlsmall's review against another edition

4.0

Remarkable book. It’s literally half a history of the birth of the Thunder, half of the birth, rise, decline, and rise again under MAPS of the Thunder’s home city. Central characters: Durant, Westbrook, and Harden, but also Stanley Draper, Clara Luper, Timothy McVeigh, Ron Norick, Gary England, and (he actually may lead in page count) Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.

Maybe my biggest takeaway...I wish I could talk to my dad about the 1964, 6 month sonic boom experiment, Operation Bongo II. I had never heard about that...amazing, and in retrospect, unbelievable!

rossigencheva's review against another edition

5.0

This was surprisingly a great book! I say that because histories of cities aren't generally the most exciting reading material. On top of that, the author is from New York...so I fully expected him to focus in on the yee-hawing, Bible thumping, oil drilling stereotypes and ignore what really makes OKC special and unique. But Sam Anderson nailed it. It was interesting seeing an outsider's perspective of the city, and I think he did a fantastic job of weaving together OKC's past and present. Our main characters include Wayne Coyne, Clara Luper, Gary England, and of course the Thunder, just to start. I actually learned a lot about OKC that I didn't know before, even though I lived there for 16 years.

I can see this book getting boring if you're not into basketball or if you've never been to Oklahoma...or more specifically if you weren't raised in Oklahoma City. I think it's a very niche book in the sense that I loved it so much because of the nostalgia and slight homesickness I felt while reading it. Obviously "outsiders" won't have this same experience. And if you don't care about the NBA, or very specifically the Thunder, you'll be bored out of your mind about 25% of the time. But I was able to visualize the places he described; I went to the same schools as children of people mentioned; I was at one of the basketball games covered; I remember the May 2013 tornadoes like they happened yesterday. The author didn't just list facts and names, he told the story of the city. I appreciate this book, and I think it deserves five stars.

lastremote's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

mhdtim's review against another edition

adventurous informative lighthearted medium-paced

5.0