I've had this copy of "The Boys of Summer" probably from around the time it came out. One of the great things about books is that they wait for you. I did read this once upon a time. I also have had books on my shelves that I didn't read for the first time until many years later. There are books now that sit unread. Books are patient. "I'm here when you're ready", they seem to say. Well, I was ready to read this one again. When I first picked it up I was like the players in the first half of the book. Now I'm even older than the Dodgers when we meet them in the second half. It's a different experience but I know I enjoyed it the first time and and enjoyed it again. I think Bill Veeck's blurb on the back cover is perfect.
I'm not very organized so it wasn't easy but I did my best to find a card for each of the players Roger Kahn visited in the second half of the book. For those I didn't have or couldn't find (I know I have a 1960 Carl Furillo somewhere) I inserted a photo from Getty Images. Here they are in order they appeared in the book.
I read it for the first time in college. It was weird at the start -- what is this? It took me awhile to sort it out. By the time I was halfway through the second part of the book, I was sobbing.
Probably my all-time favorite book.
ReplyDeleteI read it for the first time in college. It was weird at the start -- what is this? It took me awhile to sort it out. By the time I was halfway through the second part of the book, I was sobbing.