Rating: 
Summary: It had potential.
Review: This book is good when the author sticks to the Yankees and his characters. Kahn comes off throughout as a petty, bitter, insecure man who has to constantly put himself in the story.
Then there are bizarre and gratuitous cheapshots directed at other writers (his competitors),Kenneth Starr (whatever he had to do with the 78 Yanks), and others. In my opinion, the good parts of this book were somewhat tainted by the unnecessary cheapshots thatdidn't have anything to do with the storylines. It would have been a much better book if he took the high road and stuck to baseball and kept his personal vendettas against the Starr's and Schapp's (and others) out of the book. There is also a bit of revisionist history- he clearly has an agenda.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, but not really about the '78 season.
Review: This book was excellent, although I do agree with some other reviewers that the mistake on the jewish holiday is unexceptable. But being that Reggie Jackson and Bucky Dent were childhood heros it was exciting to read. His chapter on the playoff game with the red sox is reason enough to buy the book. The many different takes of the players and managers from both teams added so much. Of course as a Yankee fan you don't really learn anything new about the late 70's yankees. All the stories and anecdotes I have read or seen on T.V. 100's of times. The subtitle is a little misleading however. The book is not really about the '78 yankees. It is really about the 76-78 Yankees. Kahn goes into great detail about the 77 world series, he really does not go into much detail about the 78 series. His description of Reggie 3 Homer game is outstanding. It will give a Reggie fan goosebumps.
THE MAJOR COMPLAINT I HAD WAS THE COVERAGE OF MUNSON'S DEATH. HE DOES NOT GET INTO THE PLANE CRASH UNTIL PAGE 357, OUT OF 363, AND HE ONLY SPENDS ABOUT 3 LINES TALKING ABOUT IT. A YANKEE FAN FROM THE LATE 70S WILL BE BOTHERED BY THIS. MUNSON WAS SUCH A HERO TO US WORKING CLASS FOLKS.
But saying all that,the book is worth it for a Yankee or baseball fan.
Rating:
Summary: Tale of a legendary Yankee season...
Review: This book, by the noted baseball author Roger Kahn, tells the legendary story of the 1978 New York Yankees. Once you read this book and learn of the many distractions and personality conflicts that besieged the team, you will be in awe that this Yankee team managed to come from behind and will the World Series. This is truly an enjoyable book, and a fast read. A must-have for a Yankees fan, all baseball fanatics will find this a worhty addition to their library.
Rating:
Summary: Tale of a legendary Yankee season...
Review: This book, by the noted baseball author Roger Kahn, tells the legendary story of the 1978 New York Yankees. Once you read this book and learn of the many distractions and personality conflicts that besieged the team, you will be in awe that this Yankee team managed to come from behind and will the World Series. This is truly an enjoyable book, and a fast read. A must-have for a Yankees fan, all baseball fanatics will find this a worhty addition to their library.
Rating: 
Summary: October Men-A Book for all seaqsons
Review: This is a terrific book that I could not put down. I was so surprise by it's contents. Most sports books about a certain event, there is the obligatory "Background chapter" where a brief history is given and then a great deal of detail about the event. Not so here. Mr. Kahn first presents a detailed history of the Yankees, a history involving money, sports and racism. In learning about the early Yankees and their special relationship with and the Red Sox, Mr. Kahn presents lot more pieces to the Babe Ruth Acquisition than I had known. It was fascinating to read about the previous owners, their relationships with their Managers and General Managers. There are reminders of the days before free agency, when the owners virtually owned the players. But more than just one pennant race, one great season, this is story about people. It is story about the self-destructing Billy Martin, the Powerful George Steinbrenner...it's a story about Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Al Rosen and so many others. Its about how a baseball team is run and it is also a story about the reporters who covered them. If you like baseball, if you like the Yankees this behind the scenes look at a century, a decade and especially a year is compelling. Just remember: The 1978 World series is the conclusion of a great tale, the book is about so muc more than one year.
Rating:
Summary: Average (so disappointing)
Review: When the focus is on baseball and not religion, ethnicity, the author himself, and/or other politically correct issues - this book is at best average. Considering the title - you might expect a detailed look at the 78 season. It's not. So be prepared to be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy addition to the Kahn canon!
Review: While not the walk-off home run that "Summer of 49" was, this delightful volume paints a vivid picture of the tempest that WAS the 1977-1978 Yankees.
Reading it during this year's World Series was just about a perfect reading experience.
Kahn is widely recognized as one of our greatest baseball writers, and this is simply raising his batting average.
Reggie, Steinbrenner and especially Billy Martin spring to life, in a manner just different enough than what you expect, where even baseball diehards will find troves of new info and/or fresh perspective.
It's a quick read...dozens of pages fly by before you notice... but Kahn's style warrants a little slower pace. He's good. And funny. I found myself laughing out loud more than once.
When was the last time you laughed out loud at a BOOK?
A worthy addition to any fan's library. Heck, I'd like to check out the rest of the Kahn baseball canon!
Rating: 
Summary: Was this book on a word count???
Review: You have to wonder when the biography says that Roger Kahn is "widely acclaimed as the greatest baseball writer of his generation." Not in my opinion. This was suppose to be a book on the 1978 Yankees. Kahn rambles on about everything that he feels is important and doesn't even start to talk about the 1978 Yankees until chapter 4. Name dropping of famous people he knows and criticizing Dick Schaap when the man is now dead seems almost comical. Kahn seems to think that he needs to let people know how smart he is and fills this book with worthless information that he feels important. There is nothing in this book worth reading that has not already been covered already by other authors and players in past novels. At least those were entertaining, this is just 350 pages of Kahn being an arrogant and pompous [individual]. The sad part is he does not even update the reader on what the players are doing today. This is what the "widely acclaimed greatest baseball writer of his generation" can produce? Do not waste your money on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Roger Kahn tries to explain the New York Yankees of 1978
Review: Your ability to enjoy "October Men," Roger Kahn's look at the miraculous finish of the New York Yankees in 1978, will be dependent mainly on how much you enjoy digressions (and parenthetical comments). Those who expect a chronological look at what happened during the 1978 season will not really find it until chapter nine, because the first half of this book is devoted to setting the stage for what happened that year. Kahn is inspired to touch upon a wide range of topics to bring us to the pivotal moment in the history of the universe when Buck Dent hit a baseball into the netting atop the Green Monster in Fenway Park. Where was I at that moment? Driving down Coors Road on my way to a late afternoon class at the University of New Mexico, screaming "Bucky! Bucky! Bucky!" while pounding on the dashboard (but I, too, digress). Once I finished this book I went back and reconsidered its structure. Kahn's prologue sets up the idea that the Yankee championship teams of 1977 and 1978 were the greatest number of clashing egos on a single ball club in baseball history, and sets up Bobby Thomson's famous 1951 homerun that gave the New York Giants the pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers as the moment and season against which the 1978 season would be judged. Kahn actually has a thesis for this book, which is that: "Remarkably and uniquely, 1978 comes down to us as the year in which Yankee news management failed completely, and a very rugged Yankee baseball team did not" (17). Keep that in mind and you will understand why he talks as much about Al Rosen as he does Ron Guidry. The first eight chapters of "October Men" sets the stage for the season, with the first chapter specifically focusing on what was happening the day of the playoff game before the first pitch. The second chapter talks about the "New York Red Sox" to show how the sale of Babe Ruth and other deals created a link between the Yankees and Boston in not only the 1920s but throughout the rest of the century. Kahn then devotes chapters to "Steinbrenner Unbound," Catfish Hunter and free agency, Billy Martin as "The Dark Prince," Reggie Jackson, and the Yankee team that won the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Reggie hitting three home runs on three swings against three different pitchers in the final game at Yankee Stadium. The rest of the book is devoted to the 1978 season, beginning with the bickering in spring training. This part is also divided in half, first building to the firing of Billy Martin, and then detailing how the Yankees came from ten-and-a-half games behind the Red Sox (on July 25 when Bob Lemon took over as manager) to force a playoff and make Bucky Dent's middle name a curse word throughout New England. However, throughout the book Kahn writes about a lot of other topics, such as female reporters in the lockeroom, Jimmy Carter's decision not to authorize the construction of American neutron bombs, and having to memorize the Latin phrase "Alea iacta est" ("the die is cast") when he was a schoolboy. I am not sure if Kahn is correct in his assessment that by rising above their turmoil the 1978 Yankees became an inspiration for the country, but he certainly chronicles that turmoil. Ultimately Kahn talks much more about what happened off the playing field, where alcoholism, broken homes, and racism all came into play. Repeatedly he tries to explain the enigma that was Billy Martin, and in comparison turns Al Rosen into something of a baseball saint Throughout the book there are lots of interesting baseball stories (e.g., Joe DiMaggio's thoughts on Jackie Robinson, Joe Gordon decking a fan for anti-Semetic remarks) and a fair share of insights into the game (e.g., if you take into account all the times they swing and miss or hit a foul ball, a great hitter actually succeeds less than 10% of the time). I enjoyed "October Men" because I do not mind being all over the place to tell a story (I have a weakness for parenthetical commentary myself), but I understand Kahn's writing style will drive some to distraction. The chief attraction here will be for Yankee fans who, inspired by Aaron "bleeping" Boone's series clinching homerun last Fall, will want to take a walk down this particular memory lane.
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