Another Book Review
Posted by: Bradley McDonald
What better "summer" reading than The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn? I just finished this book and it's an enjoyable read for any baseball fan. I'd give it a 6.7 on a scale of 10 (I grew up a librarian's son, so I'm kinda stingy).
Kahn recounts his days of growing up in Brooklyn with a father who loved baseball and passes the love on to his son. The book does a great job of showing how a sport can build a special bond between father and son.
But while the stories of Kahn's youth are touching and often-times humorous, the most interesting part of the book comes when the author describes his days as a young reporter for the New York Herald Tribune. He lands a dream job covering the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 50's, when the team had Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, and Roy Campanella.
He paints a vivid picture of the players of that era and allows the reader to see them as he got to see them every day - as real humans. The Dodgers were on the forefront of racial integration when Jackie Robinson became the first black major league player, and Kahn writes a good deal about the hardships Robinson had to endure. It's amazing what Robinson had to go through and, as Kahn explains in the book, a lesser man probably couldn't have done it.
The book ends with the author visiting the players long after their baseball careers are over with. It's weird to read about them out of the game as they try to find their way in the "real world." Age has forced most of them into a mundane existence as they are forced to take jobs as businessmen, laborers, and even bartending. Tragedy has also stricken many of their lives.
After I had finished the book, I read that Kahn had gotten the title of his book from a Dylan Thomas poem. The whole line reads, "I see the boys of summer in their ruin." Kahn saw the players in the glory days, but he also saw some of them in "ruin" after their playing days were over.
What better "summer" reading than The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn? I just finished this book and it's an enjoyable read for any baseball fan. I'd give it a 6.7 on a scale of 10 (I grew up a librarian's son, so I'm kinda stingy).
Kahn recounts his days of growing up in Brooklyn with a father who loved baseball and passes the love on to his son. The book does a great job of showing how a sport can build a special bond between father and son.
But while the stories of Kahn's youth are touching and often-times humorous, the most interesting part of the book comes when the author describes his days as a young reporter for the New York Herald Tribune. He lands a dream job covering the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 50's, when the team had Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, and Roy Campanella.
He paints a vivid picture of the players of that era and allows the reader to see them as he got to see them every day - as real humans. The Dodgers were on the forefront of racial integration when Jackie Robinson became the first black major league player, and Kahn writes a good deal about the hardships Robinson had to endure. It's amazing what Robinson had to go through and, as Kahn explains in the book, a lesser man probably couldn't have done it.
The book ends with the author visiting the players long after their baseball careers are over with. It's weird to read about them out of the game as they try to find their way in the "real world." Age has forced most of them into a mundane existence as they are forced to take jobs as businessmen, laborers, and even bartending. Tragedy has also stricken many of their lives.
After I had finished the book, I read that Kahn had gotten the title of his book from a Dylan Thomas poem. The whole line reads, "I see the boys of summer in their ruin." Kahn saw the players in the glory days, but he also saw some of them in "ruin" after their playing days were over.
Well..... looks like the Yankees / Red Sox drama has come back to life... my beloved Red Sox are now 1/2 game behind... :( And so it begins... again! I love baseball!
Posted by
Michelle |
Tue Jul 19, 08:48:00 AM 2005
This reminds me of the poem by A. E. Housman, "To An Athlete Dying Young" - you can find it here: http://www.bartleby.com/103/32.html
Housman asks if it is better for someone to die in his glory or outlive his fame and become a nobody...interesting question.
Posted by
shirleymc |
Tue Jul 19, 10:13:00 AM 2005