David Halberstam

by RosevilleRedbird on Apr 23, 2007 11:53 PM EDT Comment 5 comments

Today writer/journalist David Halberstam was killed in an auto accident in Northern California. I first heard of, and read, Halberstam while studying history in college. It was after I graduated, and wanted to re-connect with history (I work in the public relations field, completely unrelated to US History, my college major)and started reading this amazing book about America in the 1950's called "The Fifties". I completely enjoyed this book, and his engaging style of writing.

After looking at his bibliography, I found "October 1964", a wonderful book about my favorite team vs. the evil empire. A wonderful book; Halberstam really brought the series alive, with insight on the players and how the game was played. He wrote "The Teammates", a great book about Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, and the Boston Red Sox, but mostly a gentle exploration of an amazing friendship among 4 friends.

We lost a wonderful writer, someone who cared about this country, and loved the best game of them all, baseball.

This is a poor tribute to a man who made both U.S. history and baseball a little easier to appreciate.

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October 1964

is one of the best baseball books; hell...sports books, ever written. R.I.P. Mr. Halberstam.

by cardsrul on Apr 24, 2007 12:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This is sad news

It'll be that much harder to read The Coldest Winter.

A great loss.

by liam on Apr 24, 2007 12:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

R.I.P. Mr. Halberstam

I just started up on October 64 earlier in the day.

Cheers

by Alxfritz on Apr 24, 2007 7:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A Great Loss

I've read several of Halberstam's books, and he will truly be missed. His work was always insightful, beautifully constructed, and powerful. He wrote some of the most wonderful American themed literature of our time.

If you've never read his work before, take this opportunity to do so.

Acquire Rocco Baldelli!

by the red baron on Apr 24, 2007 7:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with a commenter

who posted under today's main entry: Halberstam was a great reporter but not so much a great writer.

I also read October 1964, and The Teammates, and I found his chapters chockful of information and anecdote, but rarely rising from dry recounting toward a more compellingly told story.

I imagine for some it's more difficult to breathe life into a 40-year-old story of a baseball season than, say, to write some crackling work of fiction, but it's been done.

I found distracting his insertion of what had to be fictional conversation, either based on others' later recollections or else wholly constructed to emphasize some point. "My ass!" howled Mick, as Richardson shrieked "You've got to think of the team, and everyone else who's busting their hump every day!"

All sports books do that to an extent, but, when paired with Halberstam's otherwise dry narrative, I found it particularly ill-fitting.

Just my two cents.

by salvomania on Apr 24, 2007 11:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs