[Book] BUMS : An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
History and baseball go hand-in-hand. In fact, it’s probably possible to tell the story of this great country’s last 100 years through baseball. The Great Depression, segregation, steroids, fashion, internet, … bad hair and moustaches. This is the first in a series of posts that will focus on some great books that you may be interested in reading, or in my case, listening to on an iPod via audible.com.
Author Peter Golenbock did a masterful job capturing first-hand accounts of the short, but rich story of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The 500+ page hardcover was first released in 1984, and the audiobook in 2006. It’s packed full of stories and legends of Ebbitts Field and names like Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Leo “the lip ” Durocher. Golenbock has written dozens of books on the game, and all things New York. His blog contains a snippet of the things you find in this book.
Great book, read a little everytime I fly. Get insight into players and events of a past golden era
It should be required reading in high-school American history. I enjoyed it so much I sent copies to friends and family. So many interesting nuggets in addition to the baseball … Ernest Hemmingway challenging a player to a duel, accounts from Larry King on what it was like to listen to Red Barber, how nasty Leo Durocher was and his treatment of Babe Ruth… too many to list.