Brooklyn Dodgers: The Last Great Pennant Drive, 1957
by John R. Nordell Jr.
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Book Summary Information
Author: John R. Nordell Jr.Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-19
ISBN: 0976507293
Number of pages: 120
Publisher: Tribute Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780976507291
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Brooklyn Dodgers: The Last Great Pennant Drive, 1957
Book Review: Writer recalls Brooklyn Bums' last season & Remembering Brooklyn's beloved 'Bums'
Summary: 5 Stars
Writer recalls Brooklyn Bums' last season
John R. Nordell, Old Forge, relives memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers' final year in "Brooklyn Dodgers: The Last Great Pennant Drive, 1957."
The book chronicles the last season the Dodgers spent in Brooklyn, after team President Walter O'Malley decided to move the franchise to Los Angeles.
Mr. Nordell, in an interview from his home, said he had been thinking about writing the book for a long time. He finally began research in 2005 with the hope of publishing the book in time for the team's 50th anniversary.
"I thought the story needed to be told, and the 50th anniversary was a good occasion," Mr. Nordell said.
Mr. Nordell gives the book a personal touch, using memories and photos from a game he saw personally at Ebbets Field. The narrative style of the book also lends drama and immediacy to the story, according to Mr. Nordell.
Mr. Nordell was able to conduct some of his research locally, using the resources of the Albright Memorial Library and the Osterhout Free Library, Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Nordell began his career as a writer while he was still in school, working for his high school and college newspapers and contributing to his town's paper as a sports correspondent.
"I had always wanted to be published," he said.
His first published book was "The Undetected Enemy: French and American Miscalculations at Dien Bien Phu, 1953." For his next book, he plans to go back to historical writing, discussing diplomatic history during 1953.
Mr. Nordell graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a doctorate in history after earning a master's degree in history from the University of Scranton. He taught history at the Altoona and Worthington Scranton campuses of Penn State before retiring. He now devotes his time to writing.
Scranton Times-Tribune, June 10, 2007, by Cecilia Baress
Remembering Brooklyn's beloved 'Bums'
After first considering the idea of writing a book about his favorite baseball team in 1997, and beginning research in 2005, historian John Nordell's book about the Brooklyn Dodgers' last year in Brooklyn has finally come to life in "Brooklyn Dodgers: The Last Great Pennant Drive, 1957."
Nordell, an Old Forge resident whose primary interest is on military and diplomatic history, had been thinking about writing his book for years and originally wanted to write it in 1997, the 40th anniversary of the last Brooklyn season. He first became interested in baseball back in 1956 while watching a game between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees. He began following Brooklyn in the beginning of the 1957 season.
The center of the story surrounds a game Nordell saw at Ebbets Field on July 18, 1957 between the Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. The game made such great history that, according to Nordell, the Sporting News later referred to the ninth inning as "the most fantastic inning of the season." Although the main highlight of the book is the Dodgers' memorable year, it also discusses the decision makers and factors involved in deciding to move the franchise to Los Angeles at the end of the season.
"It was a truly amazing game, and seeing it was the most exciting thing I have ever experienced." Nordell wrote in an e-mail. "I was determined that I was not going to let the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers' last year in Brooklyn go by without telling this story."
The season also featured some of the all-time best professional baseball players, including Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Carl Furillo, and Roy Campanella.
In order to obtain further information for his writing, Nordell used books already written about the Dodgers and then began looking up primary sources in August 2005. He explored microfilms at the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre and the Albright Memorial Library in Scranton. He also traveled to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and the New York Public Library. There, he found a baseball website called Retro Sheet ([...]). The idea behind the website is to give box scores, narratives, transactions, and other data from as many Major League Baseball games prior to 1984 as possible.
Nordell already had research materials of his own, including books, magazines and personal memories. The writing of the book was completed in spring 2006, but he worked on researching photographs well into the summer and fall. "Photos add greatly to a book and my book on the Dodgers has 37." Nordell said.
He describes the process of writing a book as "tremendously satisfying." In order to put together such a project, he says one should have an eye for detail, an organized filing system, and a love for the project they are working on. Having a word processing system is a big help as well.
For those interested in purchasing a copy, Nordell hopes to take them back to the excitement the Dodgers provided for their fans right up until they left Brooklyn.
"Virtually lost to history was the Dodgers' mid-season surge in the standings during that last year. The memories that I have of Brooklyn's last pennant drive, along with the game that I saw, also gives the book a personal dimension that I think readers will enjoy."
The Weekender, June 20, 2007, by Alison Myers
Summary of Brooklyn Dodgers: The Last Great Pennant Drive, 1957
No baseball summer is as memorable for me as that July when the Dodgers began a winning streak in a suddenly torrid, topsy-turvy National League pennant race. Fifty years after they played their last baseball game, the Brooklyn Dodgers are still remembered by millions of people. From 1947 to 1956, the Dodgers captured six out of ten National League pennants and they defeated the mighty New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series. The year 1957, however, is recalled mainly for the decision by Dodger president Walter O'Malley to move his team to Los Angeles the following year. In Brooklyn Dodgers: The Last Great Pennant Drive, 1957, author John Nordell tells the story of the Dodgers' mid-season surge in the standings during that last year in Brooklyn. Using research from a variety of sources, Nordell recreates the excitement of following the Dodgers and their National League rivals in the daily drama of a five-team pennant race. The author also draws on his own youthful memories of that year and describes the unforgettable thrill of seeing a game at Ebbets Field. The book includes numerous photographs and a concluding chapter that discusses the outcome of the 1957 pennant race, the major factors and personalities involved in the Dodger move west, and the end of an era in baseball.Memoirs Books
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