Publication Date: July 11, 2002 | Series: Deep South Books
This tale of youth and the immutable forces of society arrayed against its innocence and optimism has been called the best football novel in years.
I died exactly the way I lived.” So begins the astonishing story of C. P. (Corinthians Phillipians) McKay, a star football player and passionate student who loves poetry. C. P. is a young man who appears to have everything going for him. But his downfall begins when he receives a scholarship to a major university. There, he finds his dream blocked from all directions by a ruthless coach, an unethical university president, and a cynical professor as he attempts to play the game he loves, satisfy his desire for knowledge, and guard his integrity.
Said to rival John Grisham’s A Time to Kill among debut novels, The Forever Season was first published by St. Martin’s Press in 1995. Bookpage proclaimed, “It is so much more than a sports story. . . . As understated and as clearly written as the better work of Erskine Caldwell. And as shocking!” The Chattanooga Free Press described it as “a fast-paced, funny and poignant look at coming of age [with] vivid characters [and] well-drawn witty prose [that] will engage readers who don’t know a clip from a couplet.”
In The Forever Season, Don Keith writes with a concise, hard-edged pen about a subject he knows well—the South, its trailer park culture, and its passion for gridiron glory—while exploring universal themes of fumbling youth and innocence lost.
College football player Corinthians Phillipians McKay, nicknamed C.P., is perfect?so perfect that as a narrator he offers little to kindle the reader's imagination. That's the main problem behind this first novel, which quickly becomes as static as its main character. The reader first meets C.P. as a young boy growing up in a typical fictional Southern household, terrorized by his alcoholic father and his Jesus-crazed maw. C.P.'s football talents take him to Sparta University, a local powerhouse, where he has to deal with a number of problems: his self-serving football coach, who asks him to cripple an opposing player; the university president, who makes some unsavory offers; the unwelcome advances of a gay Pulitzer-winning English professor; and a sleazy figure from his past. The other characters here, including a black teammate, a Native American and C.P.'s love interest, are so stereotypical as to border on the offensive. Keith attempts to script a modern-day morality tale, but even the twist ending can't save his inauspicious debut. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
A football and a set of encyclopedias are significant childhood presents for the protagonist of Alabama radio personality Keith's first novel. C.P. McKay absorbs all the volumes and plays ball with such fervor that he is able to win a full scholarship to Sparta University, whose opponents are big-time sports schools. A scholar/athlete is such an anomaly at Sparta, however, that C.P. encounters problems in every direction: his football coach, literature professor, and even the university president seek to manipulate him for their competing interests. Add an alcoholic father with a gambling problem and a scheming bookie, and the odds are further stacked against our hero. The middle of this tale is captivating, but a slow start and a weak ending will leave readers feeling cheated. Only large popular collections need consider. Will Hepfer, SUNY at Buffalo Libs. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Award-winning and best-selling author Don Keith was born in 1947 and has lived in the South all his life. He attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa where he received his degree in broadcast and film communication with a minor in English and literature. While working as a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting. He was also the first winner of Troy State University's Hector Award for innovation in broadcast journalism. As an on-the-air broadcaster, Don won the Billboard Magazine "Radio Personality of the Year" in two formats, country and contemporary. Keith was a broadcast personality for over twenty years in Birmingham and Nashville, and also owned his own consultancy, co-owned a Mobile, Alabama, radio station (WZEW-FM), and hosted and produced several nationally syndicated radio shows.
His first novel, THE FOREVER SEASON, was published by St. Martin's Press in the fall of 1995 to commercial and critical success. It called heavily on Keith's own athletic and academic experiences. Reviewers praised its unique approach and powerful story. The novel won the Alabama Library Association's "Fiction of the Year" award in 1997, joining works likewise honored from Harper Lee and others, and was re-issued in the fall of 2002 by the University of Alabama Press as part of its prestigious Deep South Books series. His second novel, WIZARD OF THE WIND, was based on Keith's years in broadcasting. As was the first book, the second work was published under the imprint of widely praised New York editor Robert Wyatt as A Wyatt Book for St. Martin's Press. Keith next released a series of young adult/mens' adventure novels co-written with Kent Wright. They are set in stock car racing and titled THE ROLLING THUNDER STOCKCAR RACING SERIES. The works were released in paperback by Tor Books, as audiobooks by Durkin-Hayes Publishing, and in hardback by Econo-Clad Books.
Don's next novel, a thriller co-written with former nuclear submarine commander George Wallace, FINAL BEARING, was released by Forge Books of New York City in April 2003 and quickly became a national bestseller and great reviews. A mass-market paperback edition is also available and a Kindle edition is now available from Amazon.com. A sequel to that novel, which is set for publication as an audio book in November 2011 and in hardback in 2012, has been optioned by a major film studio and a motion picture is in the works.
Keith's first non-fiction work, GALLANT LADY, the true story of a remarkable World War II submarine, the USS Archerfish, was written with the significant help of former Archerfish crewmember Ken Henry. It was published by Forge Books in June 2004. A trade paperback edition was published in 2005 and an audio version was released by Blackstone Audiobooks.
Don's next work of military history, IN THE COURSE OF DUTY, was published by the Caliber imprint of Penguin USA. The book deals with another amazing WWII submarine, the USS Batfish, her heroic efforts in the Pacific and the wonderful story of how she came to rest today high and dry in a former bean field in Muskogee, Oklahoma--the middle of the Dust Bowl and the Cherokee Nation.
In 2006, he published FINAL PATROL, another Caliber/Penguin release, which tells the personal, behind-the-scenes stories of each of the 17 WWII submarines that are open to the public around the country as museum ships. Each of the non-fiction submarine books were offered as featured selections of The Military Book Club.
Also in 2006, Cumberland House Press released Don's unique series of vignettes about legendary college football coach "Bear" Bryant titled THE BEAR: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF COACH PAUL "BEAR" BRYANT.
Don's next work was THE ICE DIARIES, the untold story of America's first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, and her historic Cold War trip to the North Pole in 1958. The book was co-written with Captain William R. Anderson, the skipper of Nautilus on that world-changing, top-secret voyage. The book was submitted for consideration for the Pulitzer Prize.
The next work was another true story of a series of events aboard the World War II submarine USS Billfish. WAR BENEATH THE WAVES reveals the previously untold story of how a young officer took charge of a submarine during a vicious depth-charge attack and, with the help of a couple of chiefs and brave crewmembers, saved the boat. It, too, is pubished by Caliber/Penguin and is also available in an audio-book version.
Don's next non-fiction historical work will be UNDERSEA WARRIOR, the remarkable story of Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton, a young submarine skipper who literally--and almost single-handedly--changed the course of submarine warfare. And he did it in only ten months as the captain of a submarine.
Don also writes under the pseudonym of Jeffery Addison and has published three novellas, co-written with Edie Hand, THE LAST CHRISTMAS RIDE, THE SOLDIER'S RIDE, and THE CHRISTMAS RIDE: MIRACLE OF THE LIGHTS. Each is an inspirational story of life's ride, the rough patches we run into along the way, and how we overcome them with faith, family and friends.
Don lives in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, with his wife, Charlene. He is also an active "ham" radio operator (call sign N4KC), is a member of the Alabama Writers' Forum and actively supports local and statewide literacy efforts. Don's web site is www.donkeith.com.
This is the greatest book ever to be printed. It hit your heart like a sledgehammer and leaves you grabing for air. The detail to everyday life is incredible and the detail to the little things is even better. If you play the game of football you should read this book. The ending will leave you speachles and whating to read Don Keith's next book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I was a 14 year old in 8th grade when I read this compelling book " The Forever Season", by the ever-so-talented Don Keith. To me, Don was a devious spider, weaving his finely spun web (The Forever Season) and I, I was the defensless fly, struggling to get through the cobwebs of suspense and mystery, only to find myself being hooked deeper into the realm of twisted strands leading their way to a shocking and unbeliebable double ending. Once I picked up this book of books, I just could not put it down. It was as if it were glued to my hands. I really related to this book, for Don wrote the majority of it in Southern slang and I'm partly from the South. When Don had put down his pen, what he had in font of him was an elaborate maze. One which you must be prepared for the unexpected to be able to escape its walls of words, and its traps of enigmatic conclusions. I truly recommend this book, for even my words don't do it justice.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: The Forever Season (Deep South Books) (Paperback)
This is a really great book - not just about football. Rather a story of quirky life events and a string of tragedies you will never forget. It's gut wrenching story of pain, but yet a bautiful story none the less. Beautifully written. I can promise you won't forget. I am not a huge football lover (i am a fan just not a maniac) but it's not neccesary to love this book. It's truly a great read that you should MAKE the time to read.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
