By Doris Kearns Goodwin
This is a memoir of a childhood time during the 1950s in the suburbs of New York City. It was a magical time of neighborhood rivalries when the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees all called New York home.
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| Ebbets Field Postcard (Source: Wikipedia Commons) |
Doris Kearns Goodwin was a very young girl as the 1950s began, and shared a deep love for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team with her father, who taught her early on how to keep score. This was a time before night games began, so daytime baseball games were the norm. Doris would listen to the afternoon Dodgers game on the radio, faithfully filling out the scorecards in the little red score book her father had given her, then describe the narrative of the game to her dad each evening when he returned from work. From this humble beginning came the start of her coming-of-age story related in the memoir “Wait Till Next Year”.
Synopsis of the Memoir
Doris’ stories as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, peopled by Jackie Robinson (her favorite player), Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider and Pee Wee Reese, also included her recollections of her family, neighborhood and childhood friends. She describes what it was like to grow up in Rockville Centre, Long Island in a time when neighbors were extended family; a time defined by post-war suburban growth, early television broadcasts and Cold War anxiety.
A delightful memoir of a girl, an era and a game! A growing-up time which came to a close for Doris with the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn in 1957 (along with the Giants) and the death of her mother.
Author Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin
Goodwin is an American historian, biographer and political commentator who specializes in US presidents. She worked as a fellow under Lyndon B. Johnson, which inspired her writing as a presidential historian. Her Wikipedia story is here.
Summary
.jpg "Ebbets Field Sign - Home of the Brooklyn Dodgers")
I was given this book by a friend who knew what a huge baseball fan I am. The gift came from a recent evening at the Kansas City Royals ballpark where, between innings, we had a discussion about the many baseball-related books we’ve each read.
In addition to enjoying the book from a baseball-fan standpoint, I really enjoyed it from the fact that Doris Kearns Goodwin is just three years younger than I am and her descriptions of her life in the 1950s and the baseball teams and players she talks about were SO familiar to me, growing up in New York State in the 1950s. It was like she was describing MY childhood days!
Wait Till Next Year is very well written, well worth reading by anyone. It will especially appeal to fans of Baseball, and people who were young in the 1950s. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have passed it along to my brother, another huge baseball fan!
*Book review of “Wait Till Next Year” was written by Wednesday Elf
Sounds like wonderful memoir that many baseball fans would enjoy, as well as a thoughtful gift. Truly a golden era in baseball!
ReplyDeleteYes, an era never to be repeated. An unusual time to have three ball teams in one city. Thanks for your visit, Mouse.
DeleteOh, Elf, this will be a must-read for me! I love Doris Kearns Goodwin, and I had no idea that she grew up in Rockville Center, Long Island (as did I, until the age of nine when we moved to Manhattan). Like you, I was a Yankees fan, and like her, when I moved to Massachusetts I became a Red Sox fan (although I admit that my enthusiasm has diminished in recent years). Thanks so much for this wonderful review and recommendation!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are a fan of Doris Kearns Goodwin and enjoyed my review of her memoir. I admit I met her acquaintance for the first time through the memoir and her childhood memories so close to reflecting my own. What a coincidence that you lived in the same area as Doris growing up and that, like her, you went from being a Yankee fan to a Red Sox fan by virtue of moving from New York to Massachusetts. :)
DeleteNow this sounds really interesting. It’s on my to read list. Thanks for the recommendation
ReplyDeleteI know you will enjoy it, Mary Beth, being a baseball fan like me! :) Books that include baseball is some form or another are always a favorite with me. :)
DeleteI love Doris Kearns Goodwin, this is a book I'd enjoy. What a lovely and unique angle to write a Memoir from. Mad respect for this woman, love her lessons on history too.
ReplyDeleteI had not 'met' Goodwin until reading this memoir. Now I have to seek out her other writings, the ones she is famous for.
DeleteSounds like a good read. I especially also like that it is written about the 50's. I'm from Maryland myself, and didn't understand how the Colts could be sold; I thought they were part of Baltimore! I can truly relate to how a home team could be sold.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Cheryl. Having a team leave their home town makes no sense when they have such a long history with a certain city. Look at what is happening to the OAKLAND Athletics baseball team. They were in Oakland (CA) for 57 years and now they are headed to Las Vegas. :( Weird. But, before they were the Oakland A's, they were the Kansas City A's and even earlier they were in Philadelphia. I don't know for sure without looking it up, but I think the only teams who stayed where they started were the Chicago Cubs and The Boston Red Sox. (Actually, I did look it up and their were 8 teams who stayed in the same city. Only the Cubs and the Red Sox have stayed in their original stadiums. LOL.
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