Customer Reviews

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

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"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.

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.

"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.

Jackie Robinson, Vin Scully, and Sandy Koufax are the Dodgers' Triple Crown.

Jon is at his best when he writes about the best.

"In a world that's all too real, Robinson encompasses everything there is to cheer for. If you're a fan of another team and you hate the Dodgers, unless you have no dignity at all, your hate stops at Robinson's feet. If your love of the Dodgers guides you home, Robinson is your North Star."

"But the best of some is better than the best of others, and even though he can't bring himself to say it, we know into which of these categories, Scully fits. Regardless of how intense or carefree one's love for the game might be, Scully measures up to and redoubles it. The Dodgers play-by-play man is an American Master."

"Whatever ego Koufax does have, its hard to imagine a more selfless and dedicated performer for this team. If God ever put on a Dodger uniform, he wore No. 32 and threw left-handed."

But my favorite chapter remains the tale of a game I was at, September 11th, 1983. Why does that game, out of thousands that have played by the Dodgers, have its own chapter? You'll have to buy the book to find out.

But I will tell you one thing, I bet Joe Torre remembers that game too.

...is purchase this book. A few years ago I happily discovered Jon Weisman's Dodger Thoughts, now part of the LA Times online. What impressed me was not just the deep coverage and information about my favorite team, but how it was delivered consistently by a darned good essayist and supplemented by an amazing lineup of regular contributors. Those same attributes are on display here. Weisman includes everything from the core Dodger canon for newer fans--Rickey, Robinson, Scully, Gibson's homer--to a discussion of Zach Wheat and a guide to the best ways in and out of Beautiful Dodger Stadium. I'm serious, every serious Dodger fan should own a copy.

Avid readers of Dodger Thoughts have long known that Jon Weisman can string together a sentence, a thought, with the best of them. And, as usual, he doesn't let the reader down.

The reviews above have done a great job of mapping some of the highlights.
Some of the real pearls, however, I found in the in the sidebars.

My favorite was the fleshed out story of Hilda Chester, who I'd long known as the cantankerous cowbell clanger of Ebbett's Field. What I did not know was that she got her start with just a ladle and a skillet. Good stuff.

Now, if I could only have thought of a better name for this review...

As a lifelong Dodger fan, this is a great little snapshot into the old time Dodgers. I never really knew much about the Brooklyn teams, or even the details on the early LA Dodgers. What's nice about these 100 little stories is that each story shines the spotlight on the individual player and their story. Now when Vin Scully comes up with one of those obscure nuggets, I can say I remember reading that first in this book!

I love reading Dodger Thoughts every day so I knew I like Jon Weisman's writing style to start with. 100 Things set it to a whole other level though. If you're a Dodger fan this book is required reading.

A great read for just about any baseball fan. There is a lot of information that never passes by the casual baseball fan from being the Brooklyn Robins to becoming the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, real estate deals, etc.

I bought the book as a gift to a friend of mine who came to the hospital the day I had surgery and was there when I woke up. He's a big Dodger fan and I wanted to get him something to say thanks for being there.

When I got the book, I quickly leafed through it and it had a lot of interesting stories and events in it. I'd say it would provide interesting reading and insight to ANY Dodger fan!