Memories of Summer

Book excerpt: The legendary sportswriter’s memoir of Brooklyn, baseball, and a life in journalism: “Simply put, this is a marvelous book” (Kirkus Reviews). In this book, the bestselling author of The Boys of Summer shares stories of his Depression-era Brooklyn childhood, his career during a golden era of sports, and his personal acquaintances with a wide range of great ballplayers. His father had a passion for the Dodgers; his mother’s passion was for poetry. Young Roger managed to blend both loves in a career that encompassed writing about sports for the New York Herald Tribune, Sports Illustrated, the Saturday Evening Post, Esquire, and Time. Kahn recalls the great personalities—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. “A master at evoking a sense of the past . . . A pleasing potpourri of autobiography, professional memoir, and anecdotal baseball history . . . Of special note to journalism buffs is Kahn’s account of his role in the inception of Sports Illustrated.” —Booklist “As a kid, I loved sports first and writing second, and loved everything Roger Kahn wrote. As an adult, I love writing first and sports second, and love Roger Kahn even more.” —David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author “Roger Kahn is the best baseball writer in the business.” —Stephen Jay Gould, New York Review of Books