The Era 1947-1957 - by Roger Kahn (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Celebrated sports writer Roger Kahn casts his gaze on the golden age of baseball, an unforgettable time when the game thrived as America's unrivaled national sport. The Era begins in 1947 with Jackie Robinson changing major league baseball forever by taking the field for the Dodgers. Dazzling, momentous events characterize the decade that followed-Robinson's amazing accomplishments; the explosion on the national scene of such soon-to-be legends as Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Bobby Thomson, Duke Snider, and Yogi Berra; Casey Stengel's crafty managing; the emergence of televised games; and the stunning success of the Yankees as they play in nine out of eleven World Series. The Era concludes with the relocation of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, a move that shook the sport to its very roots.

Review Quotes

"The Era, 1947--1957: When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the World by Roger Kahn, the celebrated author of The Boys of Summer returns to New York City's golden age of baseball for a nostalgic look. . . . at a time when the Yankees were wining virtually every American League pennant and invariably faced one of their inner-city rivals in the World Series."--Sacramento Bee

"[Kahn] engagingly captures the flavor of the times by bringing to the fore the defining traits and relationships that added human dimension to the sport."--Library Journal

"Kahn is the best baseball writer in the business."--The New York Review of Books

"Kahn knows where the bodies are buried and allows his audience a joyous read as he digs them up."--Publishers Weekly

"Kahn weaves such personal information into his rich descriptions of thrilling regular-season, playoff and World Series games. And in doing so he endows the players, managers and owners with more dynamic dimensions than any baseball writer of his generation. The men in The Era are ballplayers, not deities; and it takes the unerring strength of a straight shooter like Kahn to remind nostalgic baseball fans of that simple fact."--Chicago Tribune

"An agreeably digressive and anecdotal trip, with a perceptive guide, down a remarkable span in baseball's memory lane. . . . With an elegant authority that--without false sentiment or excessive nostalgia--[Kahn] puts certain elements of the diamond game's good old days in clear and compelling perspective."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Roger Kahn (1927-2020) has written many baseball books, including the classic The Boys of Summer. His Good Enough to Dream, A Season in the Sun, and Memories of Summer are available in Bison Books editions.