Memories of Summer

by Kahn, Roger

• ISBN13: 9780803278127
• ISBN10: 0803278128
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

Acclaimed baseball writer Roger Kahn gives us a memoir of his Brooklyn childhood, a recollection of a life in journalism, and a record of personal acquaintance with the greatest ballplayers of several eras. His father had a passion for the Dodgers; his mother's passion was for poetry. Somehow, young Roger managed to blend both loves in a career that encompassed writing about sports for theNew York Herald Tribune,Sports Illustrated, theSaturday Evening Post,Esquire, andTime. Kahn recalls the great personalities of a golden era-Leo Durocher, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Red Smith, Dick Young, and many more-and recollects the wittiest lines from forty years in dugouts, press boxes, and newsrooms. Often hilarious, always precise about action on the field and off,Memories of Summeris an enduring classic about how baseball met literature to the benefit of both. Roger Kahn is the author of the classicThe Boys of Summerand is a visiting lecturer on creative writing at the State University of New York at New Paltz. His booksGood Enough to Dream,A Season in the Sun, andThe Era, 19471957: When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the Worldare available in Bison Books editions.

Author Biography

Roger Kahn is the author of the classic The Boys of Summer and is a visiting lecturer on creative writing at the State University of New York at New Paltz. His books Good Enough to Dream, A Season in the Sun, and The Era, 1947–1957: When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the World are available in Bison Books editions.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
CHAPTER ONE Clarence at the Bat	1	(13)
CHAPTER TWO The Plains of Heaven	14	(39)
CHAPTER THREE The Virgin in the Press Box	53	(19)
CHAPTER FOUR Neutral for Brooklyn	72	(29)
CHAPTER FIVE Turning Professional	101	(34)
CHAPTER SIX The Natural or True Tales of The Big Leaguers	135	(11)
CHAPTER SEVEN Two Naturals: Leo and Willie	146	(19)
CHAPTER EIGHT Clap Hands, Here Comes Henry or Present at the Creation	165	(23)
CHAPTER NINE Willie's World Series	188	(11)
CHAPTER TEN The Mick: Hercules or Bacchus?	199	(54)
CHAPTER ELEVEN Say Goodbye to America: Willie's Song	253	(23)
CHAPTER TWELVE Walking at Midnight	276	(4)
AFTER WORDS The Golden Dozen	280	(5)
Index	285