| October 1964 |  | Author: David Halberstam
Publisher: Random House Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
Buy New: $16.39
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Avg. Customer Rating:  55 reviews
Sales Rank: 837834
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.3 x 1
ISBN: 0679433384
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357646
UPC: 090129433384
EAN: 9780679433385
ASIN: 0679433384
Publication Date: August 9, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand New 2-Audio Cassettes in Shrink Wrap.
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Amazon.com
Heroes have a habit of growing larger over time, as do the arenas in which they excelled. The 1964 World Series between the Yankees and Cardinals was coated in myth from the get-go. The Yankees represented the establishment: white, powerful, and seemingly invincible. The victorious Cards, on the other hand, were baseball's rebellious future: angry and defiant, black, and challenging. Their seven-game barnburner, played out against a backdrop of an America emerging from the Kennedy assassination, escalating the war in Vietnam, and struggling with civil rights, marked a turning point--neither the nation, nor baseball, would ever be quite so innocent again. Halberstam, one of the great reporters of the '60s, looks back in this marvelous and spirited elegy to the era, the game, and players such as Mantle, Maris, Ford, Gibson, Brock, and Flood with a clear eye in search of the truth that time has blurred into legend. His confident prose, diligent reporting, and deft analysis make it clear how much more interesting--and forceful--the truth can be.
Product Description
In 1989 David Halberstam wrote Summer of '49 which became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. It was a compelling portrait of baseball in an America as yet unchanged by affluence, technology, and social progress.
October 1964 is Halberstam's exciting new audio about baseball -- this time about the last season of the Yankee dynasty. It is both sports and history, and it tells the story of an electrifying baseball championship against the background of profound social change. The Yankees, like most American League teams, reflect the status quo and, in contrast to the National League teams, have been slow to sign the new great black players. Though the Yankees boast such great names as Mantle, Maris, and Ford, it is an aging team. By contrast, the St. Louis Cardinals are a young, tough team on the ascent, featuring talented black players -- Bob Gibson, Curt Flood, Lou Brock, and Bill White -- who are changing the very nature of the game with their unprecedented speed and power.
Halberstam has once again given us a portrait of an exciting season and a great World Series that reflects a changing era, not only in baseball, but in larger society as well. Filled with deep insight and importance, October 1964 is a truly great audio.
The Fifties and The Best and the Brightest, by David Halberstam, are also available from Random House AudioBooks.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 50 more reviews...
 Halberstam's best sports book March 19, 2008
Because it's not all about sports. The baseball is almost incidental other than creating a far more interesting context for the social history and commentary. And that's a good thing because Halberstam pretty much fails in each of his books to really create the "magic" of the sports subjects he chronicles. If I compare Halberstam to another high intellect sports fan of note, George Will, I perceive that Will does a better job of writing in an intellectual and informative manner while also conveying the beauty and passion of sport, maybe because he keeps most of his sports writing to columns. Maybe I just expect too much when I see Halberstam's name as the author of a book, but with all the baseball and other sports books out there, I don't recommend the Halberstam books.
 The End of an Era and the Dawn of a New Age in Baseball January 21, 2008
This is a very solid follow up to David Halberstram's previous baseball history "The Summer of '49." Unlike that bestselling book which reviewed the most exciting of the pennant race between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox during the Forties, "October, 1964" chronicles the changing of the guard. 1964 was the final season of the postwar New York dynasty. As Halberstram indicates, the season was a watershed year for baseball. Old alignments faded away and new constellations began to sparkle and shine.
The corporate Yankees were the winners of a remarkable fifteen American League pennants and and eleven World Series titles between 1947 and 1964. New York teams were largely composed of white ballplayers. New York featured numerous sluggers, such as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Under manager Yogi Berra, who was under fire for most of his first season as the skipper, the Yankees managed to edge the Chicago White Sox by a single game to capture the pennant in 1964. Their World Series opponent was the St. Louis Cardinals.
St. Louis may have been the first fully integrated team in that it featured numerous minority players, including Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, Bill White, Julian Javier and Mike Cuellar, among others. The season for St. Louis shifted dramatically when the team traded for Lou Brock. After being mismanaged and underutilized by the Chicago Cubs, Brock had a breakout second half with the Cardinals. Manager Johnny Keane was rumored to be in jeopardy of dismissal for most of the season (Leo Durocher was supposed to have been his likely successor), but Brock's acquisition spurred a winning streak and the team rallied and took the pennant.
The Cardinals beat the Yankees in seven games and Berra was fired as manager. New York hired Keane as his replacement. The Yankees entered into a prolonged slump as their aging stars retired. The replacements were nowhere near as good as their predecessors. The Cardinals, however, continued to prosper under their new manager, Red Schoendist. St. Louis emphasized speed on the basepaths and power pitching in addition to timely hitting. The Cardinals began adding outstanding Latin American players to their playing roster. In effect, the St. Louis team pointed to the wave of the future in major league baseball.
 An absolute must-read for any baseball person! November 5, 2007
Halberstam brilliantly sets the state for the 1964 World Series. He describes in detail each key players history and how they came to be a part of each team respectively. At the same time, he portrays how attitudes towards race in baseball, and in America in general, were changing and how it was changing the game. Absolutely wonderful.
This Is More Than A Sports Book June 12, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It is said that sports is a microcosm of society and this is much more than a book about baseball. This book focuses on the World Series of that year to symbolize the end of the age of inocence.
The New York Yankees represent "The Establishment" . The St Louis Cardinals were the up and coming team. Representing the new direction that sports and society were about to take.
It reminds me a little of the '69 Super Bowl were Colts and Johnny Unitas represented the conservative NFL, whereas Joe Namath and the New York Jets represented the more rebellous up and coming AFL. Both championships were a clash of cultures.
Halberstam takes an indepth look at players and personel of both the Cardinals and the Yanks.
An Epochal World Series June 1, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
A classic matchup: the establishment Yankees vs the underdog Cardinals, who field a younger, more diverse team. The St Louis team makes the Series by the slimmest of margins after overcoming what most thought to be an insurmountable September lead by the Phillies. Then (this was before the postseason playoffs that started in 1969) they were off to the Series to meet the mighty Yankees. The seven game series that resulted was one for the record books. The Cardinals prevailed, but not without a tremendous challenge from the Yanks. The series could just as easily have gone the other way. Halberstam sets up the season for both teams and then provides a wonderful narrative of this nailbiter Series. His minibiographical sketches of key players personalizes the story.
This is a book that baseball fans will truly enjoy.
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