Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir (Wheeler Large Print Book Series)(Cloth)

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Summary: Is this orginal work?
Review: My first response after reviewing this book was where did I read this before. In the past two years, I have been reluctant to acquire anything written by this author as she has a reputation for rewriting what others have done before. Fear and trepidation consume me that I will be revisitng other authors' work. The amazing thing is that the author is so brazen that she even tries to repesent she is responsible for anything she writes. When I taught I always impressed upon my composition students that they project their own feelings and ideas. I question whether the author has an idea of her own. Rather than refer to her work any longer and use her books as a model, i embarassed she has exploited the works of others. This book may be presented as a rewite of history but I am more afraid that it is a rewrite of other authors' works. This is dishonest and makes me want to return all her books for a refund from her.

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Summary: Best baseball ever
Review: The book "Wait Till Next Year" is a suspense thriller that will leave you hanging until the next chapter. The book just doesn't talk about the way baseball is played it talks about the way the fans listened to the games. It also talks about the way of life for the fans. The author Doris Keans Goodwin made it special by telling her life story and introduced all the people in her life. She also talked about the rivals inside the little suburban area. She discussed how most of the people were Dodger fans in the area and in another area were the Yankee fans. The author also talked about how people conducted themselves when their teams won and lost. She tells you how you never should think of the past but always think of the future. Doris explains what families went through during the era when you didn't have T.V. or you had to go to the beach to swim and other places to have fun. The book really tells you the story from the viewpoint of the little kid growing up in that time period. This book was very good and you should take the opportunity to read the book. JTVK

Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Book
Review: Wait Till Next Year, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, is a stunning autobiography about the connections between her hometown, her school, and her team. The book, based in the 1950's, gives tremendously reliable and accurate information on baseball, predominantly her favorite team the Brooklyn Dodgers. Goodwin's collection of beaten red scorebooks served as a diary of her whole life. At age six Goodwin's father taught her to keep score and "a lasting bond had been forged among my father, baseball, and me" (Wait Till Next Year. Goodwin. 13). Goodwin had a passion for Jackie Robinson's career as the second baseman for the Dodgers and the first black player in the major leagues. Goodwin documents the careers of other favorite Dodger players: Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella (two other black players playing for the Dodgers), Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, and rookie pitcher Clem Labine. The book is about her childhood and her keen interest in the Brooklyn Dodgers, their games, players, and box scores. Growing up in an intimate bedroom community of New York City, all the neighbors were close. Goodwin lived a sheltered, storybook life. At the end of the book, as Goodwin gets older, her perfect unravels. First, her neighborhood disintegrated, neighbors moved to cities all over the country. The Brooklyn Dodgers moved to the West Coast, along with another New York baseball team, the Giants. One baseball team remained in New York, the Yankees. Her best friend Elaine moved to Albany. Goodwin's mother, who had been suffering from a failing heart condition, died leaving her father incredibly distraught. Goodwin's father sold the only home his children had ever known, because it was tainted with memories of his late wife.
I would recommend this book to anyone with a love and a passion for baseball. The thrill of hearing every detail makes the games easily imaginable. For a baseball-lover like me, remembering some of the greatest players in history and reliving some of the most exciting games ever played is a major thriller. Goodwin does an incredible job transcribing these games and players from her red scorebook memories with meticulous detail; one can easily live in every moment. This book reads easily, but slowly. If you love to live in your books, Wait Till Next Year is a good choice for you.
Goodwin writes in very scrupulous detail, thus, the book reads very slowly. Her meticulous dwelling on some subjects can be dull and provide an excuse to skip a page or two. While Wait Till Next Year is an easy read, the multiple pages of detail on each subject make the book a very slow read. It is a long book, and her extensive points slow your speed of reading. Wait Till Next Year is an intriguing story that provides its readers with insight into baseball. The passion that the author shared with her father provides the backdrop for learning about this riveting game, which truly is a Great American Pass-time.