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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
It's the perspective, July 4, 2005
David Halberstam's finest gift, among his many as a writer, is his ability to weave a wonderful, colorful, extremely important yet oft-ignored fabric called perspective out of the many-threaded and minute details he uses in his books. (An even better example is the way he swept away history book cliches and "Happy Days" gloss in "The Fifties," but that's another review for another day.)
In "Summer of '49," Halberstam not only gave us an engaging blow-by-blow of one of baseball's best pennant races, as well as some of the key minor players to accompany the all-star cast, he gave us a feel for why baseball was so important to so many people at the time. Even though the book is about two of the last Major League franchises to racially integrate (the Yankees in 1955, the Sox in '59), the crumbling of the color barrier works its way into the story nearly as deeply as the tales of the two teams' immigrants' sons (the DiMaggios, Pesky, Rizzuto). So do baseball's postwar popularity boom, the suburban flight that would soon force franchise shifts and expansion, and the dawn of the television age. The social perspective Halberstam sewed together is just as important, and colorful, as the fine drama that played out on the book's main stage.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
About the times, the people, the baseball, February 17, 2005
This book doesn't just talk about baseball, but explores the psyche of the men who played and formed the game. An incredible history lesson of the times that will give a deeper understanding of just how great and how heartbreaking baseball really is.
Even if you aren't a fan of the Red Sox or Yankees or if 1949 isn't a part of your life, this is something for any student of the game. Of course, baseball is the main theme but it also ties in how much our culture is and was affected by it. And if you just want to learn more about DiMaggio or Williams, Halberstam offers great insight into the legendary players.
Even today, when it isn't the most popular sport in America, baseball still has sociological implications on society. I am definitely getting this for my dad.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
A GREAT read even if you're not a baseball fan!, June 12, 2001
By A Customer
As an American history buff who has long admired the books of David Halberstam ("The Fifties", "The Best and the Brightest"), I would argue that the "Summer of 49" is one of Halberstam's best works to date. I was visiting a friend's house when I noticed a copy of the "Summer of 49" on his bookshelf. My friend, a passionate baseball fan, told me what the book was about. Although I'm not a huge baseball fan (growing up in North Carolina and following the Duke-Carolina rivalry gave me more of an interest in college basketball), I was enough of a fan of Halberstam that I borrowed the book. And, was I pleasantly surprised! Even if you're NOT a big baseball fan you'll still love this book if you're at all interested in American history. Instead of focusing on ERAs, bases stolen, and the other statistics that would appeal only to baseball buffs, Halberstam focuses on the human side of a great sports rivalry - the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox. And in the "Summer of 49" he gives the story of one of that rivalry's greatest moments - the breathtaking, down-to-the-wire showdown between Joe DiMaggio's Yankees and Ted Williams's Red Sox. As always, Halberstam evokes a sense of nostalgia for the past that's almost overwhelming - reading about DiMaggio's health problems, or Williams's running battles with the vicious, always-critical Boston newspapers, or pitcher Ellis Kinder's bitterness at Red Sox manager Joe McCarthy - you get the feeling that you're right there with them. When I finished I felt awed by DiMaggio's quiet pride in winning the American League pennant and World Series after all of his health problems in 1949, and a genuine sadness at the emotional devastation the Red Sox felt after coming so close to winning the pennant two years in a row, only to lose in such cliffhanging, heartbreaking finales. If you enjoy Halberstam's style of writing, and you enjoy reading about a golden age of American sports (even if you're not a baseball fan) then you'll LOVE this book. A great read!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
I have to say this is one of my all-time favorite books!, June 2, 2001
"Take me out to the ballgame..." One might find themselves singing the endearing, catchy tune after reading, Summer of '49 written by Pulitzer-prize winner, David Halberstam. The reader is drawn into the baseball universe in a time when it truly was "America's favorite pastime." The era Halberstam captivates is a time when young children played outside the stadium in hopes to catch a glimpse of their favorite players. It was a time when even Red Sox fans cheered for DiMaggio when he was back in the game after recovering from an injury. The era was surrounded with the glamour of baseball in the purest sense. There was something captivating about being at the game, cheering for the team while eating peanuts and hot dogs. From the New York Yankees greatest player, Joe DiMaggio to Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox and the less famous names in between, Halberstam pulls us into the good times and hardships that came with being on two of the most successful teams of the sport. As readers, we are attracted to everything about this great sport because Halberstam makes us care about the individuals and the teams contributing to its success. The great players portrayed in this book not only shape baseball, but are a major aspect in shaping part of US history in the 20th Century as well. Halberstam brings the players to us and makes us appreciate their hard work and love of the game. This book is about excellence, the joy of being a part of a team. We see the importance of not just being good, but being better. Better than you thought you were or what others think you can do. It is about human nature and the nature of baseball.
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23 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
Factually incorrect and completely unreliable, August 19, 2005
I know Halberstam has a reputation for being a great writer and nothing I say will change it. However, there are two undeniable facts about this book: 1. Halberstam makes many factual errors. 2. He does not understand baseball.
Bill James, who has forgotten more about baseball than Halberstam ever knew, dissects and rips apart Summer of 1949 in his 1991 Baseball Book . There are many errors of fact that could have been avoided with a little research on Halberstam's part. To mention just a few:
1. Mel Parnell was not a rookie in 1948.
2. Gene Bearden did not win the Rookie of the Year award.
3. Jackie Robinson did not steal bases "at will" against Yogi Berra in the 1947 series, in fact, he stole exactly one base.
4. Denny Galehouse was not primarily used in relief in 1948.
5. Joe McCarthy was not "weary of rookies." In fact, very few managers used rookies as often as McCarthy did.
James details other errors in his book, I won't mention them all here. The bottom line is that halberstam is an extremely sloppy author. If he was a college student writing a term paper, he would get an F.
Even apart from his factual errors, Halberstam betrays a lack of understanding of baseball. For example, he states:
Vern Stephens played an adequate shortstop, though in no sense was he one. Pesky (Johnny) was shortstop, but moved to third base because he had quick hands and feet.
Put aside for a moment the fact that Connie Mack said Vern Stephens was the best shortstop in baseball. Mr. Halberstam, baseball managers do not, ever, move players from shortstop because they have quick hands and feet. Players who have great hands and feetare moved to shortstop, which is the most demanding defensive position. Obviously, the reason Joe McCarthy picked Stephens over Pesky as his shortstop is because Stephens was a better shortstop. (His fielding stats were excellent, not that Halberstam would know that, of course)
I just hope Halberstam knows more about the other subjects he writes about, e.g.war and politics, than he does about baseball. Also, he really needs to get a fact checker/ research assistant before he writes any more books.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
"Goddam, But Playing Baseball Is Fun", August 5, 2007
"Old-time baseball players and fans love to denigrate the modern ballplayer. "Baseball today is not what it should be," one old-timer once wrote. "The players do not try to learn all the fine points of the game as in the days of old, but simply try to get by. They content themselves if they get a couple of hits every day or play an errorless game... It's positively a shame, and they are getting big money for it, too."
Bill Joyce, 1916 Ballplayer
'The Golden Age of Baseball' began when players returned from the war until 1958, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants decided to continue their rivalry in California. That time saw many of the most memorable and significant events in the game's history: in 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier; that same year, the second Yankee Dynasty began with its first of ten pennants and eight championships in a twelve-year span; in 1951, Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" to win the pennant for the Giants; in 1954, Willie Mays made his spectacular World Series catch; in 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.
For those of us who are Boston Red Sox or New York Yankee fans, one of the biggest baseball rivalries in history, 'Summer of '49' explains much of the history and romance of these two teams. David Halberstam brings to us the glories, the rivalaries, the drinking, the social and personal stories of the players on both sides. The subject is the pennant race of 1949 between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox which wasn't decided until the last game of the season. Is there really any value to another book telling us what a legend Joe DiMaggio was, or what a great hitter Ted Williams was, or what a great team the Yankees were? Yes,indeedy.1949 was the perfect year, because it marked a turning point in the history of American sport, which is one reason why David Halberstam wrote this book. Baseball was the number one sport, but professional basketball and football were beginning to gain acceptance. Television was just beginning to make its mark. The impact of black ballplayers was only beginning to be felt.
David Halberstam brings us the day to day spotliughts of the Red Sox and Yankees for an entire year, from the end of the 1948 season through 1949. During the summer of '49, the two teams had one of the classic pennant races of all time. The Sox struggled at the beginning, while the Yankees, took a commanding early lead. But Boston chipped away at the lead until the final day of the season, when the two teams met to decide the pennant. Sound familiar? David Halberstam reveals the characters and gives us a glimpse of baseball during The Golden Age. He interviewed almost every living member of those teams and several people on the outside--fans, broadcasters, baseball executives, writers, relatives of players--over a hundred in all. The one interview he couldn't get, was from the most important member of the Yankees: Joe DiMaggio.
Each team was made up of twenty-five men, plus perhaps ten or twelve others who played a little. We are introduced to every one of them, the drinkers, womanizers, country boys, city boys, the marginal players for whom 1949 will be their only season of glory. We feel a part of the team, traveling with them between games. And at the end of the book, he tells us what has become of them.
In the conclusion, David Halberstam tells us how enjoyable it was to write this book, to interview his idols, to do research that many would consider fun. "I was the envy of my male friends who shared my enthusiasm for baseball in those years. Caught up in the more mundane tasks in journalism or Wall Street or the law, they would gladly have traded jobs with me."
"But probably the best reasons for Halberstam to choose 1949 were, first, that it was a terrific, dramatic pennant race between two hated rivals; and, second, perhaps most importantly, as he explains in the author's note, Halberstam was fifteen years old that summer and a devoted Yankee fan. The men he describes in his book were his heroes, and he lived and died with the fortunes of his favorite players." David Martinez
David Halberstam is gone now. However, his writing will live on, and those of us who loved his writing will remember him well.
What Summer of '49 does for me is to renew my love for baseball, and in particular, my love for the Boston Red Sox. Ted Williams, after reluctantly leaving the batting practice cage, once said, "Goddam, but this is fun. I could do this all day--and they pay me for it."
Highly Recommended. prisrob 8-05-07
The Best and the Brightest
Charlie Rose with Jules Witcover, David Halberstam & David Broder; Ann Druyan; Peter Balakian (July 18, 1997)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A Deadly Insult?, December 29, 2001
David Halberstam poses an interesting question in his entertaining book about the 1949 American League pennant race. Did the Red Sox violate the cardinal rule, "Never rile a giant," when they descended on Yankee Stadium for the final 2 games of the season?Birdie Tebbetts, Boston's ever needling catcher, told Phil Rizzuto early in the first game between the contending teams with the pennant on the line that the Red Sox planned on pitching the new college kid they had just called up in the next day's game. Rizzuto went back to the Yankee bench and proceeded to fire up his team. The Yankees believed that the visiting Sox, who came in 1 game up on the Bronx Bombers and needed but a single win to sew up the pennant, were taking them lightly. The Yanks won the first game and the pennant was on the line the following day. Halberstam then fastens on a controversy that will never be resolved, and which remains a sore point to veteran Red Sox fans. Joe McCarthy, the same skipper who guided the Yankees to so many pennants, and the Cubs before that, started Tennessean Ellis Kinder in the final game. Kinder had experienced brilliant success against the Yankees that season. Behind 1-0, McCarthy lifted Kinder for a pinchhitter. The Yankees then went on to a 5-0 lead before the Red Sox staged a ninth inning rally, but fell short 5-3 as the Yanks won the AL pennant and went on to defeat a strong Brooklyn Dodger team in 5 games in the World Series. The Red Sox were so furious with McCarthy, a manager who achieved the highest winning career percentage in baseball history, that an argument erupted on the train ride back to Boston. The players were convinced that, had Kinder not been lifted, the Sox would have found a way to win. They believed they would still have rallied for 3 runs and that Kinder would have whitewashed the home team the rest of the way for a 3-1 victory. McCarthy was eventually dismissed, never to manage again after a brilliant career. Another interesting part of Halberstam's book is the look into the quiet mystery man of baseball, Joe Dimaggio, and his courageous and determined comeback. With the Yankees behind the Red Sox in the standings as Joltin' Joe was sidelined by an injury, he unleashed furious determination to come back with little time to spare. Halberstam describes how he painfully cut his hands after lengthy batting practices following his layoff before the calluses returned. With Dimaggio back in the lineup the Yankees staged a comeback, forcing the final 2 game showdown for the flag in Yankee Stadium. A touching element of Halberstam's book is the focus on how the parents of Joe and Dom Dimaggio, centerfielders on the Yankees and Red Sox respectively, behaved diplomatically. The proud parents from San Francisco saw that love and attention was showered equally on their famous ballplayer sons, and that they showed no favoritism regarding the Yankees and Red Sox.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Good look at bygone game., January 6, 2000
Some baseball seasons are more important than others- the 1941 season saw the twin feats of Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak and Ted Williams .406 batting average, the 1951 season saw the incredible comeback of the New York Giants and Robby Thomson's miracle home run, and the 1964 season saw the final decline and fall of the New York Yankees.The 1949 season is a special one for baseball as well. The New York Yankees, poised to begin their glory years, would square off with a talented Boston Red Sox team and defeat it in dramatic style thanks to the heroics of an injured Joe DiMaggio. Summer of '49 is David Halberstam's story of that astounding season. More than a simple account of the season's wins and losses, Halberstam delves deep into the background of the players and coaches. The picture that comes into focus is a fascinating look at the way baseball was played in the 1940s and 50s, when players (many of whom had grown up on small farms in the Great Depression) fought hard to win and played every day as if it were their last. While not quite as interesting as his "October 1964", Halberstam has nevertheless written a wonderfully exciting account of what baseball was like over a half century ago. This is a book that will make any baseball enthusiast smile.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A Great Sports Narrative, April 23, 2007
On hearing of David Halberstam's death today, my thoughts immediately turned to this great book. I read it 18 years ago, but the story is still fresh in my memory - Ted Williams quizzing Dom DiMaggio on how the opposing pitcher was throwing that day, Joe DiMaggio's idiosyncracies, and the great pennant race of 1949. The summer of 1949 came and went 15 years before I was born, but Halberstam brought it alive for me. I warmly remember discussing it with fellow baseball fans and reading with fascination about the relationships between Joe and Dom DiMaggio and Ted Williams.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A Great Piece of History, January 6, 2006
Halbertam is a great one for capturing incredible detail in bringing the era alive. To read one of his books feels like you are living a road trip with the teams involved for the whole season. Amazing research and written in a style that even those unfamiliar with a lot of the ballplayer names, can still enjoy it.
I especially loved the insights into DiMaggio, Toots Shor and Ted Williams. It is amazing how many innings would pitch in those days, even with injuries, and still pitch effectively.
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This product
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Summer of '49 by David Halberstam (Mass Market Paperback - April 2, 1990)
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