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.”
frogcatcher3's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic read. I can't believe I hadn't read this yet.
kaqueershi's review against another edition
4.0
I am angry beyond words that I will never be able to write like this.
nymfan86's review against another edition
4.0
For sheer eloquence, The Boys of Summer, is the best baseball book I've read. The first half of the book focuses on the 1952-53 Brooklyn Dodgers and is among the finest American writing. Kahn evokes the passion and beauty of baseball like no other. His writing puts you right into Ebbets Field. The second half, while still quite good, loses a bit of steam as it focuses on the players in their lives after baseball. For most of the them, the most important aspect of their baseball life was the integration of baseball. It is interesting to hear these men talk about their past lives, but it is the portrayal of those lives in the first half of the book, that make this a baseball classic.
danodog's review against another edition
5.0
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.
tartancrusader's review against another edition
4.0
I only managed to read half of this and was forced to stop. It was too painful to read the accounts of these once-great men, reduced to wrack and ruin by the ravages of time. I'll return to it one day but not yet, not yet.
jbriaz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25