The Boys of Summer - (Harperperennial Modern Classics) by Roger Kahn (Paperback)

About the Book

Kahn recreates the magic of Dodger baseball as played in Ebbets Field during the brief dream when Brooklyn was the center of the universe. Along the way, he masterfully interweaves the story of his own youth, from early fandom to young reporterhood, traveling with and writing about his childhood idols.

Book Synopsis

"A moving elegy . . . [to] the best team the majors ever saw . . . the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s." -- New York Times

The classic narrative of growing up within shouting distance of Ebbets Field, covering the Jackie Robinson Dodgers, and what's happened to everybody since.

This is a book about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a book by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for The Herald Tribune. This is a book about what happened to Jackie, Carl Erskine, Pee Wee Reese, and the others when their glory days were behind them. In short, it is a book about America, about fathers and sons, prejudice and courage, triumph and disaster, and told with warmth, humor, wit, candor, and love.

From the Back Cover

This is a book about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a book by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is a book about what happened to Jackie, Carl Erskine, Pee Wee Reese, and the others when their glory days were behind them. In short, it is a book about America, about fathers and sons, prejudice and courage, triumph and disaster, and told with warmth, humor, wit, candor, and love.

Review Quotes

"A work of high purpose and poetic accomplishment. The finest American book on sports." -- James Michener

"A moving elegy . . . [to] the best team the majors ever saw . . . the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s." -- New York Times