Summer of '49 - Hardcover

Halberstam, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 068806678X ISBN 13: 9780688066789

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1989

Synopsis

Chronicles the 1949 pennant race between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, profiling the players, owners, and fans as baseball was poised on the brink of major changes

About this title

Review:

With the airwaves saturated with so much sporting choice, it's hard to imagine how, not that long ago, baseball so completely dominated the landscape and captured imaginations. Given the 1949 season that veteran journalist David Halberstam meticulously recreates, maybe it's not so hard after all. It was a season of great public and personal drama for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, with the conflict finally resolving itself in a Yankee pennant following a head-to-head showdown on the final day of the season. Each team was led by a star of the highest magnitude: Joe DiMaggio spurred the Yankees despite missing half the season with a foot injury; Ted Williams virtually carried the Sox on his back, missing an unprecedented third Triple Crown by mere decimal points on his batting average. Halberstam focuses much of his narrative on the trials of these two individual sporting giants, adding fine supporting performances by Yogi Berra, Ellis Kinder, Dom DiMaggio, even restaurateur Toots Shoor. Both on and off the field, Halberstam beautifully captures the ethos of a more innocent game that no longer exists, played by heroes far more driven by their pride than by their salaries.

About the Author:

David Halberstam was one of America's most distinguished journalists and historians. He covered the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement and reported for the New York Times on the war in Vietnam. The author of fifteen bestsellers, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his Vietnam reporting. He was killed in a car accident on April 23, 2007, while on his way to an interview for what was to be his next book.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 068806678X
• ISBN 13: 9780688066789
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304