Wait Till Next Year : A Memoir (AUDIO CASSETTE)

Rating:
Summary: Great primer on American history and culture for children
Review: My two sons are both under the age of eight and fanatics for baseball. Because Goodwin weaves baseball through her memoir, her wonderful book has served admirably well as an introduction to recent American history (McCarthyism, Communism, the advent of TV, racism, politics), Catholicism, the comfortable rituals and unexpected problems of family life, and baseball lore. Goodwin shifts a bit between presenting events retrospectively (as an adult) and reconstructions of what she remembered as a child, but no matter -- the boys are revitted. Baseball as a dependable continuum for the unfathomable chaos of history, brilliant!

Rating:
Summary: enjoyed the book because I grew up in Rockville Centre
Review: I really enjoyed the book because I could relate to the erathe Doris Kearns grew up in because I went to high school with her and graduated the same year as she did. I knew the same persons mention in here book and could relate with the Brooklyn Dodgers because they were the first team I ever saw in person. I was glad to see someone write about Rockville Centre because I thought it was a great place to growup.

Rating:
Summary: enjoyed the book because I grew up in Rockville Centre
Review: I really enjoyed the book because I could relate to the era the Doris Kearns grew up in because I went to high school with her and graduated the same year as she did. I knew the same persons mention in here book and could relate with the Brooklyn Dodgers because they were the first team I ever saw in person. I was glad to see someone write about Rockville Centre because I thought it was a great place to growup.

Rating:
Summary: A Winner!
Review: Anyone who grew up in the 50's will enjoy this nostalgic memoir, particularly those who call New York "home." Goodwin, a Pulitzer prize-winning author, shares her touching recollections of a childhood in Rockville Centre, a suburb of New York City. She reawakens remembrances of things past, such as: the milkman; the Dugan pastry man; the family-owned soda shop, butcher shop, and drug store; James Dean; transistor radios; the introduction of television, and more. All of this is sewn together by the 1949-56 seasons of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the ardent fans' belief that one day ("Wait till next year!) their beloved team will win the World Series. Even if you are not a baseball fan (and I am not) Goodwin will have you rooting for her team, suffering their losses and sharing her exultation at their wins. This book was so good, it had this slow reader whip through it in record time.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific winter reading for baseball fans!
Review: A very engaging and humourous book with poignant moments. Myfavorite: her meeting Jackie Robinson and his clever autograph to her. This book provides an interesting contrast for today's baseball fan between the teams of the 1950's and the teams of the 80's and 90's. The love of the game continues for fans, but in a different economic atmosphere, team loyalty is more difficult. I have passed this book on to my mother who is also enjoying it immensely, and her having grown up listening to the Yankees of the 1950's on the radio, this book rings more true. One more thing, what I found truly memorable about this book was the author being female and presenting her love of the game and telling how that love was instilled in her by her father. As a woman, I have throughout my life been looked upon as different because I love baseball and can spend hours reading stats and boxscores. It was heartening to read of another woman's love of the game.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific winter reading for baseball fans!
Review: A very engaging and humourous book with poignant moments. My favorite: her meeting Jackie Robinson and his clever autograph to her. This book provides an interesting contrast for today's baseball fan between the teams of the 1950's and the teams of the 80's and 90's. The love of the game continues for fans, but in a different economic atmosphere, team loyalty is more difficult. I have passed this book on to my mother who is also enjoying it immensely, and her having grown up listening to the Yankees of the 1950's on the radio, this book rings more true. One more thing, what I found truly memorable about this book was the author being female and presenting her love of the game and telling how that love was instilled in her by her father. As a woman, I have throughout my life been looked upon as different because I love baseball and can spend hours reading stats and boxscores. It was heartening to read of another woman's love of the game.

Rating:
Summary: A homerun
Review: Don't wait till next year to read this book. As a life-longRed Sox fan I can relate to most of Goodwin's feelings (still waiting for a championship). I've already sold my dad (who hooked me on baseball while I was still in my crib)on the book.

Rating:
Summary: A homerun
Review: Don't wait till next year to read this book. As a life-long Red Sox fan I can relate to most of Goodwin's feelings (still waiting for a championship). I've already sold my dad (who hooked me on baseball while I was still in my crib)on the book.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for all!
Review: Doris Kearns Goodwin is famous for her biographies, especiallythe Pulitzer Prize winning, NO ORDINARY TIME. Her new book, though, is not about someone else's life, it's about her own. "When I was six, my father gave me a bright-red score book that opened my heart to the game of baseball." Goodwin begins to recall the game that was her childhood into this "score book". Although the cover of her memoir, WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, is not bright-red, it serves it's purpose well. Goodwin writes a "play by play" account of her life from the time she first recieved that score book till the end of her childhood at age fifteen. Underlying it all is her passion for baseball and the New York Dodgers and her hope that they will win the World Series. The author attributes her love of narration to baseball. Every day, Goodwin would recount to her father, using the system he taught her, that day's game as he got her ready for bed. As well as a sign of her father's love, this ritual introduced her to the art of storytelling. "It would instill me in an early awareness of the power of the narrative, which would introduce me to a lifetime of storytelling..." This book is filled with poignant stories about the relationships between the author and her family and friends. It also draws on the many experiences of Goodwin's from her first trip to Ebbet's Field, to her hero, Jackie Robinson. There are stories about her religious experiences as a Catholic, her obsession with James Dean and how, at first, television brought her neighborhood together. The significance of the era is portrayed well. For me, this book was particularly interesting because of my own love of baseball. Just reading it made me long for those hot summer days when major league baseball is played. I can also simpathize with Goodwin over how many times her team came close to winning the World Series. As a Cleveland Indian fan, I have been waiting my whole life for the Indians to be crowned champions. They have not one a World Series since my Dad was born, in 1948. This theme of resulted in the title of her book, a popular saying among Dodgers fans,"Wait till next year". Not only did the story amaze me, Goodwin is an extraordinary writer. Her writing clearly and smoothly tells her story. I could almost hear her narrate the book while once in a while two characters would have a conversation. I could visualize it all too. WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR is a passionate, well written, captivating book. A must read for all!

Rating:
Summary: A must read for all!
Review: Doris Kearns Goodwin is famous for her biographies, especially the Pulitzer Prize winning, NO ORDINARY TIME. Her new book, though, is not about someone else's life, it's about her own. "When I was six, my father gave me a bright-red score book that opened my heart to the game of baseball." Goodwin begins to recall the game that was her childhood into this "score book". Although the cover of her memoir, WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, is not bright-red, it serves it's purpose well. Goodwin writes a "play by play" account of her life from the time she first recieved that score book till the end of her childhood at age fifteen. Underlying it all is her passion for baseball and the New York Dodgers and her hope that they will win the World Series. The author attributes her love of narration to baseball. Every day, Goodwin would recount to her father, using the system he taught her, that day's game as he got her ready for bed. As well as a sign of her father's love, this ritual introduced her to the art of storytelling. "It would instill me in an early awareness of the power of the narrative, which would introduce me to a lifetime of storytelling..." This book is filled with poignant stories about the relationships between the author and her family and friends. It also draws on the many experiences of Goodwin's from her first trip to Ebbet's Field, to her hero, Jackie Robinson. There are stories about her religious experiences as a Catholic, her obsession with James Dean and how, at first, television brought her neighborhood together. The significance of the era is portrayed well. For me, this book was particularly interesting because of my own love of baseball. Just reading it made me long for those hot summer days when major league baseball is played. I can also simpathize with Goodwin over how many times her team came close to winning the World Series. As a Cleveland Indian fan, I have been waiting my whole life for the Indians to be crowned champions. They have not one a World Series since my Dad was born, in 1948. This theme of resulted in the title of her book, a popular saying among Dodgers fans,"Wait till next year". Not only did the story amaze me, Goodwin is an extraordinary writer. Her writing clearly and smoothly tells her story. I could almost hear her narrate the book while once in a while two characters would have a conversation. I could visualize it all too. WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR is a passionate, well written, captivating book. A must read for all!