-
Big Hair and Plastic Grass
- A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s
- Narrated by: Dan Epstein
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $20.89
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Wax Pack
- On the Open Road in Search of Baseball's Afterlife
- By: Brad Balukjian
- Narrated by: Brad Balukjian
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is there life after baseball? Starting from this simple question, The Wax Pack ends up with something much bigger and unexpected - a meditation on the loss of innocence and the gift of impermanence, for both Brad Balukjian and the former ballplayers he tracked down. To get a truly random sample of players, Balukjian followed this wildly absurd but fun-as-hell premise: he took a single pack of baseball cards from 1986 (the first year he collected cards), opened it, chewed the nearly 30-year-old gum inside, gagged, and then embarked on a quest to find all the players in the pack.
-
-
Clever idea, lackluster results
- By Keith on 06-19-20
By: Brad Balukjian
-
The Bronx Zoo
- The Astonishing Inside Story of the 1978 World Champion New York Yankees
- By: Sparky Lyle, Peter Golenbock
- Narrated by: Sparky Lyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This best-selling, highly-acclaimed account is a hilarious but scathing baseball tell-all. After being voted the 1977 American League Cy Young Award winner, Sparky Lyle was rewarded for his efforts by being benched. The Yankees, a leader of free agency, signed Goose Gossage as their closer. Things only went downhill from there and the 1978 season turned out to be one of controversy, firings, fights, and acrimony. In short, it was a zoo.
-
-
This Should Be Your Next Listen
- By Steven on 03-03-17
By: Sparky Lyle, and others
-
Seasons in Hell
- With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and "The Worst Baseball Team in History"-The 1973-1975 Texas Rangers
- By: Mike Shropshire
- Narrated by: Peter Powlus
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Offering wonderful perspectives on dozens of unique (and likely never-to-be-seen-again) baseball personalities, Seasons in Hell recounts some of the most extreme characters ever to play the game and brings to life the no-holds-barred culture of major league baseball in the mid-'70s.
-
-
If you followed MLB in the 70's or 80's !!!!
- By Eric on 03-09-16
By: Mike Shropshire
-
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic
- Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's
- By: Jason Turbow
- Narrated by: Jason Turbow
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Oakland A's of the early 1970s were the most transformative team in baseball history. Never before had an entire organization so collectively traumatized baseball's establishment with its outlandish behavior and business decisions - or with its indisputable winning record: five straight division titles and three straight championships. The high drama that played out on the field was exceeded only by the drama in the clubhouse and front office.
-
-
Great insight, funny story on the A's!
- By Jay T on 08-05-21
By: Jason Turbow
-
Cardboard Gods
- An All-American Tale Told through Baseball Cards
- By: Josh Wilker
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cardboard Gods is the memoir of Josh Wilker, a brilliant writer who has marked the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. It also captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game. Along the way, as we get to know Josh, his family, and his friends, we also get Josh’s classic observations about the central artifacts from his life - the baseball cards themselves.
-
-
Relatable, funny, and inspiring.
- By Scott J. Krason on 10-27-20
By: Josh Wilker
-
Casey Stengel
- Baseball's Greatest Character
- By: Marty Appel
- Narrated by: Marty Appel
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There was nobody like Casey before him and no one like him since. For more than 50 years, Casey Stengel lived baseball, first as a player (he was the only person in history to play for all the New York teams - the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, and Mets) and then as a manager (for the Yankees and Mets, among others). He made his biggest mark on the game revolutionizing the role of manager while winning an astounding 10 pennants and seven World Series championships (including five straight!) with the Yankees.
-
-
Casey Stegal
- By 8541 USMC on 04-20-17
By: Marty Appel
-
The Wax Pack
- On the Open Road in Search of Baseball's Afterlife
- By: Brad Balukjian
- Narrated by: Brad Balukjian
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is there life after baseball? Starting from this simple question, The Wax Pack ends up with something much bigger and unexpected - a meditation on the loss of innocence and the gift of impermanence, for both Brad Balukjian and the former ballplayers he tracked down. To get a truly random sample of players, Balukjian followed this wildly absurd but fun-as-hell premise: he took a single pack of baseball cards from 1986 (the first year he collected cards), opened it, chewed the nearly 30-year-old gum inside, gagged, and then embarked on a quest to find all the players in the pack.
-
-
Clever idea, lackluster results
- By Keith on 06-19-20
By: Brad Balukjian
-
The Bronx Zoo
- The Astonishing Inside Story of the 1978 World Champion New York Yankees
- By: Sparky Lyle, Peter Golenbock
- Narrated by: Sparky Lyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This best-selling, highly-acclaimed account is a hilarious but scathing baseball tell-all. After being voted the 1977 American League Cy Young Award winner, Sparky Lyle was rewarded for his efforts by being benched. The Yankees, a leader of free agency, signed Goose Gossage as their closer. Things only went downhill from there and the 1978 season turned out to be one of controversy, firings, fights, and acrimony. In short, it was a zoo.
-
-
This Should Be Your Next Listen
- By Steven on 03-03-17
By: Sparky Lyle, and others
-
Seasons in Hell
- With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog and "The Worst Baseball Team in History"-The 1973-1975 Texas Rangers
- By: Mike Shropshire
- Narrated by: Peter Powlus
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Offering wonderful perspectives on dozens of unique (and likely never-to-be-seen-again) baseball personalities, Seasons in Hell recounts some of the most extreme characters ever to play the game and brings to life the no-holds-barred culture of major league baseball in the mid-'70s.
-
-
If you followed MLB in the 70's or 80's !!!!
- By Eric on 03-09-16
By: Mike Shropshire
-
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic
- Reggie, Rollie, Catfish, and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's
- By: Jason Turbow
- Narrated by: Jason Turbow
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Oakland A's of the early 1970s were the most transformative team in baseball history. Never before had an entire organization so collectively traumatized baseball's establishment with its outlandish behavior and business decisions - or with its indisputable winning record: five straight division titles and three straight championships. The high drama that played out on the field was exceeded only by the drama in the clubhouse and front office.
-
-
Great insight, funny story on the A's!
- By Jay T on 08-05-21
By: Jason Turbow
-
Cardboard Gods
- An All-American Tale Told through Baseball Cards
- By: Josh Wilker
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cardboard Gods is the memoir of Josh Wilker, a brilliant writer who has marked the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. It also captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game. Along the way, as we get to know Josh, his family, and his friends, we also get Josh’s classic observations about the central artifacts from his life - the baseball cards themselves.
-
-
Relatable, funny, and inspiring.
- By Scott J. Krason on 10-27-20
By: Josh Wilker
-
Casey Stengel
- Baseball's Greatest Character
- By: Marty Appel
- Narrated by: Marty Appel
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There was nobody like Casey before him and no one like him since. For more than 50 years, Casey Stengel lived baseball, first as a player (he was the only person in history to play for all the New York teams - the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, and Mets) and then as a manager (for the Yankees and Mets, among others). He made his biggest mark on the game revolutionizing the role of manager while winning an astounding 10 pennants and seven World Series championships (including five straight!) with the Yankees.
-
-
Casey Stegal
- By 8541 USMC on 04-20-17
By: Marty Appel
-
Ty Cobb
- A Terrible Beauty
- By: Charles Leerhsen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don't tell half of Cobb's tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: "Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam," one columnist wrote.
-
-
Two Cobb Books, One Review of a Maligned Legacy
- By Jonathan Love on 05-17-16
By: Charles Leerhsen
-
Ready Player One
- By: Ernest Cline
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, Ready Player One is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
-
-
Thanks, But No Thanks
- By Joshua Simpson on 01-27-19
By: Ernest Cline
-
Shogun
- The Epic Novel of Japan: The Asian Saga, Book 1
- By: James Clavell
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 53 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A bold English adventurer; an invincible Japanese warlord; a beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love - all brought together in an extraordinary saga of a time and a place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust, and the struggle for power.
-
-
amazingly well done!
- By Ruby Dickson on 04-24-15
By: James Clavell
-
The Beginning After the End: Publisher's Pack
- By: TurtleMe
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I never believed in the whole “light at the end of the tunnel” folly where people, after having a near-death experience, would startle awake in a cold sweat exclaiming, “I saw the light!” But there I was, in this so-called “tunnel” facing a glaring light, when the last thing I remembered was sleeping in my room - the royal bed-chamber, as others called it. Had I died? If so, how? King Grey once benefited from unrivaled strength, wealth, and prestige in a world governed by martial ability but now finds himself reborn in a society dominated by magic.
-
-
Why it this so highly rated?
- By Lauren on 04-24-20
By: TurtleMe
-
HALO: The Fall of Reach
- HALO, Book 1
- By: Eric Nylund
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 26th century. Humanity has expanded beyond Earth’s system to hundreds of planets that colonists now call home. But the United Earth Government and the United Nations Space Command is struggling to control this vast empire. After exhausting all strategies to keep seething colonial insurrections from exploding into a full-blown interplanetary civil war, the UNSC has one last hope.
-
-
Narrator Never Played Halo
- By Jonathan McGraw on 06-20-19
By: Eric Nylund
-
Armada
- A Novel
- By: Ernest Cline
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He's daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedom - if he can make it that long without getting suspended again. Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer.
-
-
Don’t let the other reviews comparing Armada to RP1 deter you from downloading this audiobook.
- By Bud on 06-21-19
By: Ernest Cline
-
The Soul of Baseball
- A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: David Sadzin
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Soul of Baseball is as much the story of Buck O'Neil as it is the story of baseball. Driven by a relentless optimism and his two great passions - for America's pastime and for jazz, America's music - O'Neil played solely for love. In an era when greedy, steroid-enhanced athletes have come to characterize professional ball, Posnanski offers a salve for the damaged spirit: the uplifting life lessons of a truly extraordinary man who never missed an opportunity to enjoy and love life.
-
-
Buck O’Neil fan!!
- By scott on 04-24-20
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Mint Condition
- How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession
- By: Dave Jamieson
- Narrated by: Kevin Young
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When award-winning journalist Dave Jamieson's parents sold his childhood home a few years ago, he rediscovered a prized boyhood possession: his baseball card collection. Now was the time to cash in on the investments of his youth. But all the card shops had closed, and cards were selling for next to nothing online. What had happened?
-
-
Great Book
- By Peter Lutz on 07-17-16
By: Dave Jamieson
-
Illidan: World of Warcraft
- A Novel
- By: William King
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Illidan Stormrage is one of the most powerful beings ever to walk the lands of Azeroth. He is also one of the least understood. Behind his legend, beneath his enigmatic mission, lies a brilliant mind whose machinations are comprehended by few - and trusted by even fewer. Illidan's righteous reign of justice and vengeance has begun.
-
-
Good lore and unaccounted events explained
- By Federico on 04-13-16
By: William King
-
Console Wars
- Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation
- By: Blake J. Harris
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.
-
-
My Childhood: Explained
- By Shane Snyder on 07-22-14
By: Blake J. Harris
-
The Era, 1947-1957
- When the Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Giants Ruled the World
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated sports writer Roger Kahn casts his gaze on the golden age of baseball, an unforgettable time when the game thrived as America's unrivaled national sport. The Era begins in 1947, with Jackie Robinson changing major league baseball forever by taking the field for the Dodgers. Dazzling, momentous events characterize the decade that followed....
-
-
Highly recommend.
- By Robert Dana on 05-15-21
By: Roger Kahn
-
Three Ring Circus
- Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
-
-
Ok I've finished it and have more thoughts
- By Bobby S on 09-24-20
By: Jeff Pearlman
Publisher's Summary
The Bronx Is Burning meets Chuck Klosterman in this wild pop-culture history of baseball's most colorful and controversial decade.
The Major Leagues witnessed more dramatic stories and changes in the 70s than in any other era. The American popular culture and counterculture collided head-on with the national pastime, rocking the once-conservative sport to its very foundations. Outspoken players embraced free agency, openly advocated drug use, and even swapped wives. Controversial owners such as Charlie Finley, Bill Veeck, and Ted Turner introduced Astroturf, prime-time World Series, garish polyester uniforms, and outlandish promotions such as Disco Demolition Night. Hank Aaron and Lou Brock set new heights in power and speed, Reggie Jackson and Carlton Fisk emerged as October heroes, and All-Star characters like Mark "The Bird" Fidrych became pop icons.
For the millions of fans who grew up during this time, and especially those who cared just as much about Oscar Gamble's afro as they did about his average, Big Hair and Plastic Grass serves up a delicious trip down memory lane.
What listeners say about Big Hair and Plastic Grass
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andy
- 02-25-21
Excellent but biased
I could have done without the liberal bias of the author seeping in every now and then. Otherwise it is a great “read”.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Clint
- 12-15-20
To much liberal politics
Author has a nostalgia for the Carter administration. Need I say more? Definitely a liberal tilt to this book.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hebern
- 07-12-19
It was ok. Could have been more.
In the mid 70's I was a kid obsessed with baseball and Pete Rose. This book brought back a lot of good memories. There is a lot of stuff about Rose and the Reds here since they were one of the big stories of the 70s. It detailed a lot of World Series games I can remember watching on tv with my dad when he was alive which was nice. If you were a fan of one of the dominant teams of the decade, then there is a lot for you here. It also had some 70s baseball trivia that was pretty cool. Especially the story about a kid working in the A’s clubhouse who looked so much like Hank Aaron that the As players called him Hammer, Aaron’s nickname. The kid later became a rapper and used the nickname as part of his stage name— MC Hammer. I wish the book had gone into more of such stories. The stories we very good. The behind the scenes stuff. Overall, it was a stat driven summary of the decade in baseball. I know baseball is a sport of stats, but for an audiobook it's hard to deal with a lot of numbers. It kept my interest, but it seemed like it could have been much better. The author read it. He shouldn’t have. A pro could have made it a better audio experience.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patrick M. Monaghan
- 12-30-21
Interesting Topic Marred By Politics
There are interesting stories at times, but this is marred by both the acutal author's narration style and the use of politics throughout. Seems better to be a swinger than a Republican.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tom Rerko
- 09-04-21
Ok story but very anti capitalism
Decent, not great story. Author's dislike of anything concerning capitalism or any redeeming qualities of ownership, absent Bill Veeck, is embedded strongly in the story. Fair book but glad I listened as part of membership and didn't waste a credit on ir.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Arthur Spence
- 01-16-21
Great
Outstanding book about baseball in a wilder time...now I’m just typing to meet the minimum word requirement for a review
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 01-18-22
A dry look at a colorful era.
A dry look at a colorful era.
Epstein's 2009 "Big Hair and Plastic Grass" had so much potential for an in depth look at one of the weirder decades in modern America and by extension, American baseball. Anybody who has ever looked at a baseball card from the 1970s knew that something was "off" about that decade. From the garish uniforms to the more garish facial hair, the 70s were a supremely weird decade for the National Pastime.
Epstein's book *almost* gets there in its year-by-year history of the decade but ultimately misses the mark as the book feels like a series of disconnected anecdotes weighted down by row upon row of stats. While there is some discussion of changes in uniform styles and grooming standards, mostly what we get is just a lot of game recaps.
The year-by-year approach hampers Epstein's effort as it forces him to recap each season instead of a more thematic format. The thematic format still bleeds through as we hear stories about the same wacky promotions and garish uniforms in several different places. Epstein also spends WAY too much page space to the Reggie Jackson and his travels throughout the decade (and the Yankees in particular). This is obviously a product of author bias, but the constant "...when we last left Reggie" became distracting.
Overall, the 1970s were weird and wild enough and there are enough wacky stories and characters that it was hard to make this a *bad* book. It's not bad by any means, but it could have been so much better.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 12-08-21
Epstein hits a home run!
The author sets the book up chronologically and takes you through baseball in the 1970’s. Stories, stats, and happenings in society are told in such a way that will take you back to the 70’s in each chapter. Could have done without the liberal political rant near the end, but would definitely would recommend this book.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jay Quintana
- 04-27-22
Reeling in the Years
Fun book, easy listen. I'm 55, so this brought back a lot of memories. Since it won't do that for younger people, I'm not sure how much they will enjoy this. For me, though I didn't really learn anything new, it was a nice trip back to the past. This is a cultural history, not an analytical one, so it covers the people who played the game a lot more than it does the changes they made to it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark / John
- 04-15-22
Great look back
This was a terrific listen. Thank you Dan for bringing me back to my youth with your insights, little unknown facts, and laugh out loud moments.