• The Summer of 43

  • R.A. Dickey's Knuckleball and the Redemption of America's Game
  • By: Joseph Bottum
  • Narrated by: Brian Troxell
  • Length: 55 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Summer of 43  By  cover art

The Summer of 43

By: Joseph Bottum
Narrated by: Brian Troxell
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $2.99

Buy for $2.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The summer of 2012 has become the Summer of 43 - as in the summer of R. A. Dickey, the 37-year-old knuckleball pitcher who wears Number 43 on the mound for the New York Mets. As his knuckleballs flutter and drop through the strike zone, befuddling batters and producing a 12-1 record by the All Star break, Dickey has become one of the greatest feel-good stories of baseball history: the man who found redemption, after years of adversity, by mastering one of the strangest and most difficult pitches in the game. But it's not just his own redemption that R. A. Dickey has discovered.

After the Days of Steroids - the era when baseball went brazen mad and lost itself in a noonday sin - America's game has needed a new narrative. Baseball has been desperate for a better storyline, a new shaping tale. Baseball has needed, for those who love the game, a way to signal its own redemption and its return to the hearts of baseball fans.

A little faith in God - and thereby, a little faith in himself - coupled with years of work, and R. A. Dickey's surrender to the mysteries of the knuckleball has given the man another chance at the greatness that eluded him early in his career. Given baseball itself another chance, for that matter, and promised us all that second chances really do come around in this life.

In "The Summer of 43", the widely published essayist and poet Joseph Bottum takes up this story with verve and skill. The bestselling author of "The Gospel According to Tim" and "The Christmas Plains", he is, as the essayist Andrew Ferguson has noted "one of America’s most gifted writers, with a perfect ear and a matchless style". And in his account of R. A. Dickey, Bottum uncovers both the tragedy and the comedy of baseball - and the joy of a story like R.A. Dickey's.

©2012 Joseph Bottum (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Summer of 43

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Summer of 43

I'm happy I didn't read the description of this story before listening or I would have totally missed this lovely gem. I always tend to steer away from anything sports related but this was written brilliantly. There storyteller does such a great job you'd swear it was his own... wow. So we'll written and told. I loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Steroids in baseball.....

If you want to read about our men on steroids trying to hit Homer's then enjoy....I like the old players better....they might be hungover......but you can enjoy baseball ⚾️.....it's awesome even listening to it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!