Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan [Hardcover]

Scott Simon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2000

From his beloved father who died when Scott was sixteen, to Ralph, his scholarly, affectionate stepfather, Scott Simon lovingly depicts his attraction to and awe of the larger-than-life forces that shaped his world. He writes about sports talk as a means of communication between fathers and sons; about Chicago as a city of fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The same zest for life and disarming wit that have made Simon an award-winning host for National Public Radio serve him well in these recollections of a life intertwined with sports. A native of Chicago who relishes the city's reputation for down-to-earth grittiness, Simon is also a proud iconoclast: "I voted for John Anderson; I thought he would win. I actually liked the New Coke." His talent at telling a good story and his writing skills allow him to roam seamlessly between his own postwar coming of age--including his father's alcoholism, his parents' divorce and his own rise as a journalist--and the sports teams he roots for, most notably Chicago's beloved football and baseball teams, the Bears and the Cubs. Simon has always been immersed in the sports world: as a young boy, he called himself Billy after Billy Pierce, a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. He has also enjoyed remarkable access to sports figures; his father, a comedian, was friends with Chicago baseball announcer Jack Brickhouse. Simon describes his interactions with some of Chicago's sports luminaries, such as Cubs' Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and the Bulls' Michael Jordan, as well as his encounters with world events--he interviewed Fidel Castro and covered the Balkan wars. If some readers wonder why a tender man who values his relationships with his father and stepfather doesn't delve into his present family life, that's only a small missing piece in an eloquent, compassionate book. 6-city author tour. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Simon, the host of National Public Radio!s Weekend Edition, has written a charming reminiscence of a sports addict!s coming of age in Chicago. Simon!s parents divorced when he was a child, and there are some bittersweet pages as Simon recalls his sickly, alcoholic father, an always-struggling standup comedian. It was his father!s passion for baseball that created a true bond between father and son. Simon, ever the sure-eyed reporter, intertwines the personal thread with the broader fabric of Chicago sports and politics during the last half century in an amusing and anecdotal manner. Simon provides brilliant short portraits of such Chicago legends as Jesse Jackson, Mayor Harold Washington, Ernie Banks, Michael Jordan, and others. This enjoyable title bears some resemblance to Doris Kearns Goodwin!s Wait Till Next Year (Touchstone, 1998), though its Midwestern tone"laced with sarcasm and wit"makes it truly unique. Even readers outside the Midwest will enjoy. Recommended for most libraries."Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1St Edition edition (May 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078686415X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786864157
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,631,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i wish i had written this book, April 29, 2000

By 

Gary Delsohn (Corona del Mar CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan (Hardcover)

i grew up in chicago about the same time as the author and fell in love with this book the minute i saw it. he rekindled so many great memories. and i totally understand how people like us measure and remember our lives in games we've seen and athletes we watched. it's a wonderfully written and sweet book. i know i will read it again, something i do rarely

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Starts Superbly, Oozing with Sap by the End, March 6, 2001

By 

Josh S. (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan (Hardcover)

I picked up Home and Away because I like to read books on sports by sophisticated minds. And initially, I wasn't disappointed. Scott Simon delivers a vivid depiction of his childhood and his childhood love for sports, offering touching and revealing personal moments in the process. When he discusses his father and stepfather, we see the fan in a context larger than just the game, which I appreciated and admired.

But after the stepfather's criminal conviction, the narrative transitions into the story of the recent Bulls dynasty. Here is where book's self-indulgent love for Chicago turns to insufferable, sentimental cheese. In addition to slathering extra layers of sentimental goo on the Bulls--more than Simon previously appropriated for either Butkus's or Ditka's Bears--Simon covers ground already covered expertly and thoroughly by David Halberstam in Playing for Keeps. Only unlike Halberstam, Simon all but kisses Michael Jordan's behind, assessing no blame and even offering excuses for the star's occasional bad behavior. To me, the blatant sycophancy (is that a word?) on the part of the author makes me wonder if he willfully compromised his journalistic integrity or if that occurrence was inadvertant. Either way, I was thoroughly disappointed and had to stop reading. As do most Chicagoans, Simon simply got unBearably self-indulgent in his love for his city.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Calling All Chicagoans Abroad!, August 21, 2000

By 

Lisa Lyons "llyons56" (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan (Hardcover)

Having been a fan of Simon's weekly radio program on NPR and finding out we were both Chicagoans born around the same time, I purchased this book for my father and found myself loathe to give it up to him! I am not a true sports fan, merely a starry-eyed optimist who always roots for the underdog (especially now I live in Los Angeles!) so I always held a soft spot in my heart for the Cubbies. But this book is so brimming with love and life for the game, not only of baseball but the grrrrrreat Chicago Bears and the awesome Chicago Bulls, that I wish I could go back and see all the games that Simon so gloriously describes. Except I don't have to, because with his prodigious gifts as a writer, he makes you see it through his eyes, wide with respect and more than a little adoration. I can't recommend this book enough for anyone who ever had a passion for a team, an individual or a city like Chicago. You won't regret taking this journey with Simon and I eagerly await his next trip. By the way, I was lucky enough to make his acquaintance at a book signing recently and found him to be even more delightful in person, truly a "mensch." He deserves all the kudos he's received for his work and many more.