Written in a personal, moving, and humorous style, The Last Days of Shea chronicles the New York Mets from October 2006, when the team lost the National League Championship Series, to October 2008, when the team began to dismantle its antiquated, inadequate, and dearly loved Shea Stadium. The book is about following a baseball team with one's heart, mind, and soul. It represents the experience of being in a crowd at a ballpark, following a pennant race, enduring an offseason, experiencing streaks, slumps, triumph and heartbreak. All of this is represented against the imminent destruction of a stadium "that is not likely to be represented as well in the perfect and profitable little park that will replace it."
The Last Days of Shea
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Dana Brand's The Last Days of Shea is a must read for any baseball fan. The 'communal experience' of living and dying with your team is something fans experience everywhere., but there is something unique about Mets fans. The Last Days of Shea chronicles the ending of a ballpark but, even more importantly, it reveals the spirit and resoluteness of Mets fans as they bring their 'ya gotta believe' attitude to their new home." --Ron Darling, author of The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound and SNY Mets broadcaster
The Last Days of Shea is a truly terrific book. Filled with passion and sincerity, it offers a deeper understanding of what it means to be a fan.--Gary Cohen, SNY Mets broadcaster
To me and millions of others, Shea was beautiful. I loved it when it had
blue and orange steel plates on the outside and I loved it at the end. My
memories of the place will last forever. In this wonderful homage, Dana
Brand ties together our experiences of Shea, in a celebration of a place
that, in memory, will always be far more substantial than most historians will care to admit. --Howie Rose, WFAN Mets broadcaster
'When I read Dana Brand's books, I feel as if I'm learning about the heart and soul of the Mets fan. The Last Days of Shea is a great tribute to Shea stadium and to the spirit of the fans who made it such a wonderful place to play baseball.--Jerry Koosman, pitcher, New York Mets, 1968-78
Dana Brand is one of the true Believeniks, and he's earned his Shake Shackburger the hard way: an x-ray of his heart would show a Shea-shaped scar.--Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude
Why care so much about a baseball team? Dana Brand has figured out a way to articulate that pleasurable or frustrating heartache and make it
understandable and even forgivable. If Mets Fan was filled with delights, The Last Days of Shea goes deeper: its real subject is loss and grief, and its prescription the consolations of philosophy. Brand is a first-rate personal essayist, who has chosed baseball as his focus the way Baldwin chose race or Hoagland nature.-- Philip Lopate, author of Waterfront: A Walk Around Manhattan and Writing New York
"Dana Brand is one of the true Believeniks, and he's earned his Shake Shack burger the hard way: an X-ray of his heart would show a Shea-shaped scar."
The Last Days of Shea is a truly terrific book. Filled with passion and sincerity, it offers a deeper understanding of what it means to be a fan.--Gary Cohen, SNY Mets broadcaster
To me and millions of others, Shea was beautiful. I loved it when it had
blue and orange steel plates on the outside and I loved it at the end. My
memories of the place will last forever. In this wonderful homage, Dana
Brand ties together our experiences of Shea, in a celebration of a place
that, in memory, will always be far more substantial than most historians will care to admit. --Howie Rose, WFAN Mets broadcaster
'When I read Dana Brand's books, I feel as if I'm learning about the heart and soul of the Mets fan. The Last Days of Shea is a great tribute to Shea stadium and to the spirit of the fans who made it such a wonderful place to play baseball.--Jerry Koosman, pitcher, New York Mets, 1968-78
Dana Brand is one of the true Believeniks, and he's earned his Shake Shackburger the hard way: an x-ray of his heart would show a Shea-shaped scar.--Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude
Why care so much about a baseball team? Dana Brand has figured out a way to articulate that pleasurable or frustrating heartache and make it
understandable and even forgivable. If Mets Fan was filled with delights, The Last Days of Shea goes deeper: its real subject is loss and grief, and its prescription the consolations of philosophy. Brand is a first-rate personal essayist, who has chosed baseball as his focus the way Baldwin chose race or Hoagland nature.-- Philip Lopate, author of Waterfront: A Walk Around Manhattan and Writing New York
"Dana Brand is one of the true Believeniks, and he's earned his Shake Shack burger the hard way: an X-ray of his heart would show a Shea-shaped scar."
Review
"Dana Brand is one of the true Believeniks, and he's earned his Shake Shack burger the hard way: an X-ray of his heart would show a Shea-shaped scar."
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for any nostalgic Mets super fan or for collections on American icons,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Last Days of Shea: Delight and Despair in the Life of a Mets Fan (Paperback)
Shea Stadium is truly an American icon. "The Last Days of Shea: Delight and Despair in the Life of a Mets Fan" takes a nostalgic look back at the home of the New York Mets for decades. A truly soulful look through the eyes of a Mets fan who remembers the stadium as a child. It tells the story of the stadium, its life, and its eventual deconstruction as the Mets moved to a more modern facility. "The Last Days of Shea" is a must read for any nostalgic Mets super fan or for collections on American icons.
4.0 out of 5 stars
bittersweet baseball book,
This review is from: The Last Days of Shea: Delight and Despair in the Life of a Mets Fan (Paperback)
I received this book as a baseball fan, not as a Mets fan, but I was very touched by it. While the book does chronicle the Mets epic collapses in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, it's really a look back at Brand's life and his trips to the stadium as a child all the way to adulthood with his own daughter and his elderly mother. He revisits some memorable games he attended and some of his favorite players, and how important baseball has been in his life. As Shea nears the end of its life, Brand gets remorseful that somewhere he has spent so much time is about to disappear and how afraid he is to lose the lifetime of memories he created there.With the ups and downs of the Mets fortunes in those two disappointing seasons, Brand illustrates how sports can bring so much joy and pain to a fan, and build a great sense of community with strangers who are rooting for the same laundry you are. Regardless of your favorite team, you'll be able to identify with Brand's memories as a fan and how much going to the ballpark can add to your life. A very personal story from a baseball fan that I highly recommend.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > History > Americas > United States > State & Local
- Books > Sports & Outdoors > Baseball
