The 1968 season- hailed as "The Year of the Pitcher"- culminated in a legendary World Series pitting the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers for what would become known as the last "pure" World Series before divisional playoffs were instituted. Led by ace pitchers Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich- as well as a lineup that included Al Kaline, Jim Northrup, and Willie Horton- Detroit battled back from a 3-1 Series deficit to win their first title since 1945, giving the city a much-needed boost following the previous summer's devastating urban uprising.
"Summer of '68" isn't a book about Detroit; it is bigger than that. But that year, the story of Tigers baseball resonated beyond the city's borders. Wendel ably captures both how, and why, it mattered so much". - The Detroit Free Press, April 15th complete review here!
Read an excerpt from Summer of '68 here.
Read a recent NY Times op-ed by author Tim Wendel about the 1968 season here.
"No book better captures how in 1968 sports changed America—and vice versa. In splendid fashion, Tim Wendel takes us on a rollicking journey through an unparalleled year of tumult, tragedy, and, too, joy. Summer of '68 reads like a novel brimming with surprising action, colorful characters, and fresh insights. I enjoyed every page." Tom Stanton, author of The Final Season and Ty and The Babe
Wendel's seamlessly narrative juggles players' quotes from 1968 and reminiscing in the present time. - The Joy of Sox Wendel is terrific at providing us with a balance of the game itself, the players involved and their ties to the situations surrounding the racial divide, the unpopular war and tumultuous political circumstances. He is able to describe the anger, the fears and the disgust felt by citizens and players alike. Most importantly and thankfully, he is able to meld the social elements with the play on the field. He provides smiles to the readers, by stringing together the historic events on the field that any true baseball fan can admire. As Wendel says, baseball and America changed forever in the summer of 1968. - Redbird Rants
About the Author: Tim Wendell is the author of nine books including High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, Washingtonian, National Geographic Traveler, Huffington Post, The Potomac Review, Gargoyle, GQ and Esquire. Tim teaches fiction and nonfiction writing at Johns Hopkins University, where he received the 2009 Award for Teaching Excellence and the Professional Achievement Award in 2004 and 2010. He is a Walter E. Dakin Fellow and Tennessee Williams Scholar to the Sewanee Writing Conference, and a Pen/?Faulkner visiting writer to the Washington, D.C. Public Schools. He received his master's in writing from Johns Hopkins and a bachelor's degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University. Born in Philadelphia, he was raised in Lockport, N.Y. One of his first jobs was writing music reviews for The Buffalo Courier-Express. Since then he's worked on both coasts and in between, covering everything from the Olympics to politics to the America's Cup. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and their two children. Read our complete April news & events listings here. Book Beat is an independent locally owned bookstore serving the metro Detroit area since 1982. We appreciate your support and comments. Special orders are always welcome! For more information please call 248-968-1190 during store hours Mon.-Fri. 10 AM-8 PM, Sat. 10 AM-7 PM & Sun. 12-5PM. Visit us in person at 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park, MI 48237 or online 24/7 at thebookbeat.com - Thank you for reading! |
Friday, April 20, 2012
This Saturday at Book Beat: Summer of \'68 Author Tim Wendel #michigan #michlit #mwn #booksellers #bookstores
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