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A review by rossigencheva
Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis by Sam Anderson
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.
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.