October Men : Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978 [BARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)

~ (Author) "ON THE EARLY EVENING of October 1, 1978, after six months of roistering with an intensity unmatched in the long history of hyperkinetic, high-proof roistering..." (more)
Key Phrases: hard slider, baseball man, fast ball, New York, Red Sox, World Series (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

October Men reads like a night spent in the dugout with a veteran manager during a lopsided game. Roger Kahn sits beside you occasionally narrating the events of each inning as it unfolds while frequently digressing into anecdotes from his lifetime as a baseball writer. The digressions--everything from Yankees's VP Al Rosen's connections to the Las Vegas boxing scene to a brief history of the 1903 New York Highlanders (the "Pleistocene Yankees")--are all interesting, but one frequently loses track of the main reason for being there.

In this case, the main story is the tumultuous 1978 Yankees's season. What makes this particular season an interesting subject for a book is that it is not the story of a group of young heroes who rallied together to make a team that was somehow larger than its parts. Rather, the 1978 Yankees was a team patched together with aging stars (Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage, Catfish Hunter) from other teams, held fast by George Steinbrenner's money, and piloted by the tempestuous Billy Martin. This was a team expected to win a world championship. The story Kahn tries to tell is how this boatload of talent nearly ran aground because of bickering, paranoia, and racism.

Kahn's breadth of knowledge is impressive, and the many insider tales he relates are entertaining; but October Men does not flow effortlessly as a narrative of the 1978 team. If one can excuse the digressions and occasional disjointed transitions, though, there is much pleasure to be had from this prime spectator's seat. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

When it comes to writing about baseball, especially New York City baseball, Kahn is king of the hill. In the tradition of his seminal The Boys of Summer, this work is a spirited portrait of a team whose unbelievable comeback and tumultuous clubhouse exemplified New York City and the whatever-goes decade of the 1970s. Relying on a relationship between the press and the team that will never be seen again, Kahn illuminates the diverse characters who were the 1978 Yankees, and their tenuous and often violent relationships with one another. He unsentimentally yet compassionately presents the team's issues of alcoholism, broken homes, racism and greed as a mirror of American society, using firsthand accounts, historical analysis, social history and personal insight. The portraits of manager Billy Martin, a violent drunk with a great baseball mind, and Reggie Jackson, an eloquent but brash slugger, present a compelling clash of old and new America that defined the country and baseball at the time. When Kahn comes to the game itself, whether describing a player or a game with one of his literary, historical or baseball references, his keen eye and a knack for describing the lyrical action between the white lines demonstrates a love and knowledge that few writers are able to convey. Transcending the mere action of the game while celebrating the joy and power of the sport, this book is a marvelous achievement for a writer who has already achieved so much. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• ISBN-10: 0156029715
• ASIN: B000FUO0FQ
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,331,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Another "Boys Of Summer" But It's Not Trying To Be, May 17, 2003

By	W. C HALL (Newport, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978 (Hardcover)

I imagine it must be both a blessing and a curse to have written the Greatest Baseball Book of All Time. A blessing, from the outer recognition and inner satisfaction such an achievement brings; and a curse, because every time you again put ink to paper, your new child will be measured against your most successful offspring.

I read the review stating that Roger Kahn's "October Men" is in the tradition of "Boys of Summer" and I ask in wonder if that writer read the earlier work. The first third of "Boys" is Kahn's memoir of growing up in Brooklyn as a Dodger fan, then covering the great team of 1952-53; but the heart of the book is his story of revisiting these men in middle age as they cope with life's challenges. Kahn himself said it's not a book about baseball but about "time and what time does to us all." A true classic, and deservedly so.

That being said, the focus of "October Men" is on the wild, raucous Yankees of 1977-78. Although there are notations on what's happened to many of those Yanks in the quarter century that's passed, the spotlight is clearly on those two wild seasons. And that's just fine. It's a great story, and Kahn brings all his observational and descriptive skills to bear in telling it with insight, humor, and narrative power. Anyone who lived through that era should enjoy having it brought back to life so vividly; and for those youngsters who may wonder what all the fuss was about involving George and Billy and Reggie and Thurman and crew, there's no better introduction to their story.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money, August 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978 (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I thought Boys of Summer was one of the greatest baseball books I've ever read, I love the Yankees, and the 1978 Yankee story is a great tale to tell, particularly in the hands of a good storyteller like Kahn. Unfortunately, the formula did not work. What we have here is a mess. Kahn does a terrible job with a great story. The text is peppered with an unnecessarily high proportion of Kahn's pretentious opinions on everything under the sun. I found his knock on David Halbertsam particularly odd, since Kahn seems to be trying to mimic Halberstam's approach to telling the story of the 1964 World Series by focusing primarily on the distict individuals involved rather than trying to tell a chronological history; the only difference is that Halberstam pulled it off while Kahn presents a disjointed series of seemingly unrelated topics. For example, he tries to tell the history of baseball in his prologue, tying that somehow to the 1978 season, but as a reader I was never sure what it all meant. In addition, Kahn focuses on the most idiotic details possible. Do we really have to know that Hoss Radbourne dies of syphilis in 1897 or the name of the girl that Cleon Jones got caught with in a van during spring training? The connection that Kahn draws from the latter incident to the 1978 Yanks is weak at best and is not worthy of coverage at all in comparison to other relevant topics that are infinitely more interesting. Kahn then spends well over half the book "working up" to the 1978 Yankee season, which (by what the cover said) was supposed to be the topic of this book. I normally wouldn't have minded that, because the years leading up to 1978 were also interesting times for Yankee fans. The problem is that Kahn totally blows it here. He does a horrible job of telling the story of how the 1978 team was built and misses several key events and influences. The 1978 team was built painstakingly over a thirteen-year period, beginning with the arrival of Bobby Murcer in 1965 and Thurman Munson in 1969, nurtured by the arrival of Sparky Lyle in 1972 and Graig Nettles in 1973, and supercharged with the arrival of George Steinbrenner and Gabe Paul in 1973. Kahn, for such a self-described insider, misses many influences (some subtle, some not) - the role and influence of Bill Virdon, Bobby Bonds, Elliot Maddox, how the Yankees changed from a medicore club where losing was cheerfully tolerated to the revival of the winningest sports franchise in history, culminating with the conclusion of the 1978 season.

I'm not sure what to make of this book. As a work of history it is useless - much better histories of that era of the Yankees have already been written. As entertainment is is also weak - Sparky Lyle's "Bronx Zoo" was much better in this regard. I was hoping for a engaging read, but instead found myself forcing myself to bull my way through it for fear of wasting my money and in the hope that it would get better. It didn't. Baseball fans - spare yourself the pain and save your money.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What More Can Be Said on Steinbrenner's Yankees, June 14, 2003

By	C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978 (Hardcover)

Forests have been leveled to accommodate the number of books that have been written about the New York Yankees especially during the Steinbrenner years, and you have to wonder what can be said that hasn't been written about numerous times before. However, if I were to have only one book on this subject (I have several) this latest offering by Roger Kahn is the one I would choose. I admit to being partial to Kahn's writing in regard to baseball, but he delves into the personalities of George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, Al Rosen, Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Sparky Lyle, Gabe Paul, Dick Young, Larry MacPhail, and others with anecdotes and humor you probably haven't heard before. This book is littered with stress and alcohol as conflicting personalities clash their way through the 1978 season. Yes, part of the book provides a little history in regard to the Red Sox and Yankees in regard to their previous ownership, but even in this, the author tells these stories with quotes I haven't read in previous books. If you have enjoyed reading other books on this subject, and especially if you enjoy Roger Kahn's writing, this book will not disappoint you.