The Era, 1947-1957

When the Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Giants Ruled the World

By: Roger Kahn

Narrated by: Allan Robertson

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 - Robinson's amazing accomplishments; the explosion on the national scene of such soon-to-be legends as Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Bobby Thomson, Duke Snider, and Yogi Berra; Casey Stengel's crafty managing; the emergence of televised games; and the stunning success of the Yankees as they play in nine out of eleven World Series. The Era concludes with the relocation of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, a move that shook the sport to its very roots.

©1993 Roger Kahn (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Wonderful and Delightful for baseball lovers

Kahn is a masterful author of baseball and social history. A stickler for accuracy. Got to love him. Only negative is if you are a student of baseball and have listened to endless game sportscasts and documentaries then you will be regularly gouged with the more than a dozen of name mispronunciations by the reader Mr Robertson. I’m always amazed at how these truly gifted readers do not seek a baseball historian to offer the proper pronunciations of Branca, Gionfriddo, Reiser, Amoros, Podres, Sisler and quite a few more. Really a distraction for me although his overall performance was quite entertaining.

A LOT OF BASEBALL HISTORY

I'm originally from Cincinnati and have been and always will be a "REDS" fan and rooter but this book was a great read of the history of the Dodgers and Giants and if you are a fan of either of these teams, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

A Magnificent read

You want to learn about the era from 47-57 in MLB this book is it!!! The years New York City and its 3 teams ruled the baseball world.

Colossally Bad Pronunciation

Five stars for content because Roger Kahn's prose is superb and his knowledge of the subject matter was truly impressive and extraordinary. But how could the producer(s) hire a narrator who doesn't know how to pronounce Joe DiMaggio's surname? Really? "Di Madge eo" If you had to hear it once or twice...even a half dozen times you'd let it go. But the guy mispronounces DiMaggio's name at least a hundred times. Was anyone in charge? And "Dick SIZE ler" and Johnny "PAD res? Clem LaBEAN?" I could go on because he mangles dozens of players' names. I'd bet folding money the narrator has never seen a ballgame in his life...or even read a sports page. His gaffs undermine this marvelous book. They grate on the ear. Roger Kahn, who died in February of 2020, has to be spinning - forgive the cliche. My god! Allan Robertson's mispronunciation of one of the book's principle characters is absolutely painful because you assume someone just didn't give a damn. Their lack of care and respect succeeded in spoiling a classic work. Whoever produced this owes listeners an apology and should take a mulligan with another narrator...like anybody off the street. It's inexcusable. Makes you wonder how many people signed off on this. I am mystified!

Highly recommend.

I highly recommend this book. New York is the premier baseball city in America, even before the Era (1947-57). But this 11 year period is off the charts. The characters are Damon Runyon-seque. McPhail, O’Malley, Stengel, Doroucher. My only criticism is that the writer is obsessed with politics and weaves it in at every opportunity. His politics are very left. Think - The Nation. Tough to take someone seriously who bad mouths President & General Eisenhower. Very unbalanced.