Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets [Hardcover]

Greg W. Prince (Author), Gary Cohen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

The New York Mets fan is an Amazin’ creature whose species finds its voice at last in Greg Prince’s Faith and Fear In Flushing, the definitive account of what it means to root for and live through the machinations of an endlessly fascinating if often frustrating baseball team.

Prince, coauthor of the highly regarded blog of the same name, examines how the life of the franchise mirrors the life of its fans, particularly his own. Unabashedly and unapologetically, Prince stands up for all Mets fans and, by proxy, sports fans everywhere in exploring how we root, why we take it so seriously, and what it all means.

What was it like to enter a baseball world about to be ruled by the Mets in 1969? To understand intrinsically that You Gotta Believe? To overcome the trade of an idol and the dissolution of a roster? To hope hard for a comeback and then receive it in thrilling fashion in 1986? To experience the constant ups and downs the Mets would dispense for the next two decades? To put ups with the Yankees right next door? To make the psychic journey from Shea Stadium to Citi Field? To sort the myths from the realities? Greg Prince, as he has done for thousands of loyal Faith and Fear in Flushing readers daily since 2005, puts it all in perspective as only he can.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“If you love a Mets fan, like a Mets fan or just know a Mets fan, buy them this book. They will cherish it.” (Baseball Digest ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Greg W. Prince is the co-author (along with Jason Fry) of the popular Mets blog Faith and Fear in Flushing and a professional writer, editor, and communications consultant whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Online Edition and on SportsNet New York and mlb.com. Faith and Fear in Flushing is his first book. He lives in Baldwin, New York, with his wife, Stephanie, their two cats, and enough Mets gear and memorabilia to furnish Citi Field.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602396817
• ISBN-13: 978-1602396814
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faith and Fear in Flushing: Baseball's Answer to Fever Pitch, March 16, 2009

By 

Sharon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets (Hardcover)

Greg Prince's Faith and Fear in Flushing: an intense personal history of the New York Mets is a must-read for any Mets fan you may know. Not unlike Nick Hornby's book Fever Pitch, Prince writes passionately about his unabashed love of his favorite sports team in a way that is remarkable yet relatable. Mets fans will live and die with Prince's descriptions of pivotal games in Mets history. But just as Hornby created worldwide awareness of Arsenal (his favorite football/soccer team), Prince's love of the Mets is infectious - anyone who has ever shouted, "Go Team!" at any point in his or her life will appreciate just how Prince lives and dies with the Mets' fortunes.

Faith and Fear in Flushing also features as an afterword an entertaining conversation between the author and Mets announcer Gary Cohen.

As an added bonus, Faith and Fear in Flushing features several photographs that were taken by David G. Whitham. Whitham's own passion for the Mets and for Shea Stadium are evident in the gorgeous images within the book and on its back cover.

If you are a Mets fan, buy this book. If you know a Mets fan, buy this book. And if you have ever given your heart over to a hobby with passion and dedication, buy this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faith and Fear=Fabulous, March 17, 2009

By 

B. Federovitch "Avengers/Emergency fan" (Hamilton NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets (Hardcover)

Years ago, Joel Oppenheimer penned a personal diary on a Mets season gone awry entitled ''The Wrong Season.'' It was a mini-classic interweaving humorous anecdotes with the exasperation of rooting for an endearing near-miss baseball club (the 1972 Mets). Greg Prince has taken Oppenheimer's season and gone one better in this tour de force on Met fandom, examining 40 years of mostly exasperation in Flushing, not through the eyes of the team, players, the media or owners ... but through that of a diehard fan.
What won't you find in this non-objective easy-to-read, always-fun rant? Too many stats. This isn't for the SABRmetricians or one looking to put the Mets' 1986 championship run or 2007 collapse in a historical context. Instead we are treated to the parent who admonishes Prince for staying up late to watch the famous Ball on the Wall Game in 1973, the phone call from a buddy announcing that he is leaving Met fandom in 1977 ... and taking two pals with him, the joys and tortures of 1985 culminated in the beating up of a Whitey Herzong likeness.
In short, Prince has not only kept Oppenheimer's flame alive, but given every Mets fan a welcome addition to their library.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is *THE* book for every Mets fan!, March 21, 2009

By 

G. L. Munn (Chesapeake, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets (Hardcover)

I have been laughing and crying at Greg Prince's on line musings for several years now. He must be channeling my blue-and-orange-dyed soul. Greg puts into words what real Mets fans feel down deep in their bones; even if they have never put these thoughts and emotions into actual words, they will be reading them on the pages of FAFIF. This wonderful collection of essays is an autobiographical study of a fan's love affair with a baseball team that can be a sometimes teasing, sometimes tantalizing, and ofttimes downright cruel and nasty mistress. No matter what the outcome, you are left aching for more. Can you relate to the term Mets-oholic. If you can relate my words, BUY THIS BOOK. If you have bookmarked every NYC newspapers' website Mets team page on your internet browser, BUY THIS BOOK. If you would be at least a decade younger if time stood still for every moment you were watching, listening to, or reading about the NY Mets, BUY THIS BOOK. If you secretly flip the bird at every rube you see wearing a Crankees ball cap, BUY THIS BOOK. If you are studying Ericksonian stages of psychological development and want to see their parallel in a fan's relationship with a sports team, BUY THIS BOOK. Heck, if you are doing an anthropological study of idol worship, BUY THIS BOOK!