Era CL

THE ERA is Roger Kahn's anecdotal, witty and exceptionally readable retelling of the eleven baseball seasons between 1947 and 1957 (also known as "The Glory Days") when baseball was preeminently the National Pastime, and New York City was the capital of the baseball universe. Kahn, an ultimate baseball insider, covered all three New York area ballclubs for various publications during The Era, and knew most of the participants personally. In THE ERA he avoids the deification of ballplayers that was so common in the contemporary press, bringing these men into realistic focus. By so doing, he reduces some giants to the stature of ordinary men and creates giants out of pygmies. Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers has said that, "baseball is a reflection of society," and never was this more true than during The Era, when baseball became the cutting edge of an increasingly powerful trend toward liberalism (the signing of Jackie Robinson), a battleground of the conservative ethos (the suspension of Leo Durocher), and a stage play wherein a small army of more talented and less talented heroes, scoundrels, clowns, jerks and geniuses helped create the national mood against a backdrop of increasing prosperity, Cold War paranoia, and tectonic sociological change. Although THE ERA is ostensibly about the rivalry between the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants, and the New York Yankees, it is really about so much more. It is about the "good old days" when things perhaps were not so good as we recall and far newer than we remember. THE ERA is a time-travel visit to the world of the Eisenhower Baby, the first world many of us remember. So return with Roger Kahn to those thrilling days of yesteryear, the Spoiled Bratdom of America.

My husband is an "old" Brooklyn Dodger fan who loves everything Roger Kahn writes, so I thought this was the perfect Christmas gift...until he opened it and told me he had already read it!!! I was disappointed until he told me he had read it a couple of years ago and would read it again because he enjoyed it so much the first time. Christmas saved.

Roger Kahn has written numerous books (according to his most recent offering "Beyond the Boys of Summer" he has written nineteen). Seemingly all of them have been praised and this one is no exception. Being a huge baseball (in particular the Yankees) fan and student of the game's history, this book is fantastic. Kahn brilliantly weaves his personal history in with the year-by-year accounts of baseball in New York. In the book, he claims The Era of 1947-1957 is the greatest in baseball history. While that can be debated, there is no denying that his expansive knowledge of this time greatly aids the book. The antics of Leo Durocher and Casey Stengel are featured prominently, as is the struggle of Jackie Robinson to gain acceptance among his peers and fans. The paperback features a brief four-page afterword discussing what has happened in baseball since the book's release in 1993. Overall, a great read and highly recommended.

"The Era" is a must read for anyone who loves baseball and great writing. But there is no secret to why baseball's greatest era is told so well in this book. The formula is simple. Take a gaggle of the greatest players, dump them into the world's greatest city and let them play America's greatest game and you've got a story. The tricky part it telling that story. Luckily, baseball's greatest writer lived during "The Era," and has a personal handle on all its intricacies and tales. Roger Kahn's stories of our baseball heroes make me wish I lived during the times when New York had three superb teams. The Yankees, Giants and Dodgers have never been descirbed more precisely, vividly or enjoyably than they are in "The Era." Kahn's ability to tell stories of baseball men away from the diamond is derived from his close relationships with them. He was friends with Pee Wee Reese. He knows Enos Slaughter. He dined with Leo Durocher. The great part about this book is that Kahn's lucid descriptions make you feel like you know them all too. If you are a baseball fan you will love "The Era." And if you appreciate great writing you will love Kahn even more. Start the 2005 baseball season the right way-- read "The Era."

Roger Kahn has once again pulled a fresh reading of what could've been a nostalgic mess from a less skilled writer's pen. "The Era 1947-1957: When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the World" is able to tread that fine line between admiration and hagliography, and presents us with an engaging history of the decade during which New York's baseball teams (yes, Brooklyn is technically part of New York City) dominated first place in their leagues. Many of the anecdotes tread familiar paths, but it's worth hearing them again in Kahn's distinct voice. There are some funny, some grim stories that are not so well known. Unlike most baseball books, this one doesn't bog the reader down with buckets of stats which are usually included so that the author can impress you. Kahn is on a different level. Keep this book alongside your copy of "Boys of Summer" for a complete view of New York's baseball dominance during this era.