100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (100 Things...Fans Should Know) [Paperback]

Jon Weisman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2009 | Series: 100 Things...Fans Should Know

Dodgers fans have experienced many good times, including multiple postseason appearances and six championships. But being a Dodgers fan is about more than following a winning team. 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die will help fans of the Dodgers get the most out of being a fan. It takes 125 years of Dodgers history from both Brooklyn and Los Angeles and distills it to the absolute best and most compelling, identifying in an informative, lively, and illuminating way the personalities, events, and facts every Dodgers fan should know without hesitation.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Knowledge and memory are an important part of being a fan, but so are experiences. 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die also includes things Dodgers fans should actually see and do before they join Don Drysdale, Jackie Robinson, and others at the pearly gates. From learning the words to Danny Kaye's "D-O-D-G-E-R-Song" to discovering the secrets of Dodgers Stadium to enjoying a Dodger Dog, this book contains numerous tips and suggestions for being a Dodgers fan on a different, more involved level.

About the Author

Jon Weisman is the founder and writer of dodger thoughts, the leading independent website providing commentary on the Los Angeles Dodgers. For more than 20 years, he has written for the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, SportsIllustrated.com, the Hardball Times, and other publications about. He has also written live-action and animation scripts for television and is currently Associate Editor, Features for Variety. Weisman lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (April 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600781667
• ISBN-13: 978-1600781667
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dodger Poetry in our midst, April 20, 2009

By 

Phil Gurnee (Woodland Hills, ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (100 Things...Fans Should Know) (Paperback)

"She is crashing down from the sky; mass times acceleration, a shooting star at mission completion. She is in our heads, she is in our astonishment, she is in our incredulous joy, she has broken into our ever-loving, un appeasable souls, and exploded.

She is ...

Gone!!!"

In Chapter Two Jon writes about Vin Scully and how he's a artist with the ability to paint a game. Instead of me trying to dully describe what Jon says about Vinny how about I give you his own words.

"...his voice is a cozy quilt on a cold morning, a cool breeze on a blistering day; that he's more then someone you listen to, that he's someone you feel."

It was chapter five that sealed the deal for me. The quote at the top of the page is just a part of of several paragraphs that left me mesmerized as Jon describes Gibby's home run in a whole new way. When I finished that chapter before I put the book down to be completed on another day. I wanted to savor his words, so I read chapter five aloud to my wife, and while doing so could feel my voice breaking with the emotion of the beauty of his description of what is arguably the greatest Dodger moment in our memories.

I've finished the book but chapter five alone is worth the book. The title suggests a fluff book but it is anything but a fluff book. In someone else's hands this book might have been much less then what it is. In Jon's capable hands he will enlighten and entertain you about the team you love. Anybody who calls themselves a Dodger fan should be ordering this book not only for themselves but for any and all of their Dodger friends and family. The paperback is the perfect companion to read between innings while watching the game on TV or even at the ballpark.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Dodgers book in recent memory, April 3, 2009

By 

Eric Enders (El Paso, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (100 Things...Fans Should Know) (Paperback)

Outside of perhaps Jim Murray, there has never been anyone who thought about the Dodgers more perceptively or wrote about them more gracefully than Jon Weisman. The cult following from his Dodger Thoughts blog will certainly be drawn to this book, but so will more casual Dodger fans and even non-Dodger fans who just enjoy reading well-written baseball history.

Newer fans will find a treasure trove of fantastic essays in here, each of them carefully crafted, and even those (like me) who fancy themselves Dodger experts will find out things they never knew. The dominance of Eric Gagne, the coolness of Russell Martin, the heartbreak of Pete Reiser, the joy of Fernando Valenzuela -- they're all here, and so are the more obscure stories. You even get tips on what to buy at the Dodger Stadium concession stand and which restaurants to eat at after the game. This is good stuff, and not to be missed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "100 Things" A Must Read For All Dodger Fans, April 25, 2009

By 

Eric Stephen (Inland Empire, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (100 Things...Fans Should Know) (Paperback)

"100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die", written by Jon Weisman, is a wonderful book that no Dodger fan should be without. Not only is the book chock full of facts, anecdotes, tidbits, and trivia about Dodger history -- both Brooklyn and Los Angeles -- but the wonderful writing of Weisman gives this book a broad appeal, to hardcore and casual fans alike.

Weisman has written about the Dodgers for almost seven years on Dodger Thoughts, and has set a high standard of writing his readers -- myself included -- come to expect. This book did not disappoint. His writing is clever, witty, humorous, and is written in such a comfortable, conversational tone that the reader feels invited, if not compelled, to read further.

Phil Gurnee called Weisman a poet, and at times he was. While Phil was moved by the chapter on Kirk Gibson's homer, and rightfully so, here are a few of my favorite parts of the book:

* Dodger history is so full of moments, narrowing them down to only 100 seems near impossible. Weisman worked around this with the occasional sidebar, including a very informative one analyzing Tommy Lasorda's decision to pitch to Jack Clark in Game 6 of the 1985 NLCS
* About the Mike Piazza trade in 1998, Weisman eloquently wrote: "It wasn't that the Dodgers were robbed of talent. Sheffield was a tremendous hitter. It was that the Dodgers were robbed of half of a great novel. They got the War without the Peace."
* I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Don Newcombe, Peter O'Malley, and the now outdated Wes Parker Cycle
* I laughed out loud when, writing about Dodger Dogs, Weisman noted, "Dodger Dogs are controversial, and not for Upton Sinclair The Jungle reasons."

I really can't say enough about this book. I have a pretty good grasp of Dodger history, but this book not only taught me new things but also expanded upon subjects I thought I knew all about. Even though I have read the book once, the 100 chapters make this a perfect reference book to refer to and reread over and over again.

Weisman mentioned that there isn't a definitive book about Don Newcome, and that if he didn't write it someone should. Well, if Weisman can write a book about Newcombe half as good as "100 Things," I'll be the first in line to buy it.

I would like to add a 101st item for Dodger fans to do before they die: buy this book.