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Kevin Cook
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Electric October: Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame That Lasted Forever Kindle Edition

by Kevin Cook (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 97 ratings
Editors' pick Best History
See all formats and editions

The epic World Series between the Yankees and the Dodgers and the six men whose lives were changed forever

The 1947 World Series was “the most exciting ever” in the words of Joe DiMaggio, with a decade’s worth of drama packed into seven games between the mighty New York Yankees and underdog Brooklyn Dodgers. It was Jackie Robinson’s first Series, a postwar spectacle featuring Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway and President Harry Truman in supporting roles. It was also the first televised World Series – sportswriters called it “Electric October.”

But for all the star power on display, the outcome hinged on role players: Bill Bevens, a journeyman who knocked on the door of pitching immortality; Al Gionfriddo and Cookie Lavagetto, bench players at the center of the Series’ iconic moments; Snuffy Stirnweiss, a wartime batting champion who never got any respect; and managers Bucky Harris and Burt Shotton, each an unlikely choice to run his team. Six men found themselves plucked from obscurity to shine on the sport’s greatest stage. But their fame was fleeting; three would never play another big-league game, and all six would be forgotten.

Kevin Cook brings the ’47 Series back to life, introducing us to men whose past offered no hint they were destined for extraordinary things. For some, the Series was a memory to hold onto. For others, it would haunt them to the end of their days. And for us, Cook offers new insights—some heartbreaking, some uplifting—into what fame and glory truly mean.

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  1. Print length
    292 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Henry Holt and Co.
  5. Publication date
    August 15, 2017
  6. File size
    4910 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Narrator Joe Barrett's voice is perfectly suited to recount the Golden Age of Baseball." ---AudioFile

About the Author

Kevin Cook is the author of the award-winning Tommy's Honor (the basis for the feature film), Titanic Thompson, Kitty Genovese, and The Dad Report: Fathers, Sons, and Baseball Families. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Joe Barrett has been a working stage, screen, and recording booth actor since 1974 and an award-winning and eight-time Audie Award-nominated audiobook narrator since 1999. He also practiced law for five years-but don't hold that against him. Joe is married to actress Andrea Wright, and together they have four children.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01NH9I6XO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (August 15, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 15, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4910 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

About the author

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Kevin Cook

Kevin Cook

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The award-winning author of Tommy's Honor has written ten books including Titanic Thompson, Kitty Genovese, Ten Innings at Wrigley, and The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and NASA's Challenger Disaster.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
97 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

beach
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
Great book about baseball and life .Nice to focus on 6 individuals who have not been written about that much.
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MT57
4.0 out of 5 stars Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Play in the World Series
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
When I reached the age to begin attending school, baseball was far and away the most popular sport in America and New York dominated all media. Once a week after school, the mothers who drove us to school would stop at the nearby public library and we were allowed to check out 5 books. Pretty quickly, I found the section that contained books about baseball and read pretty much every one of them. Every World Series, it seemed, had generated a full-length book by a New York sportswriter. Especially the ones where the Yankees played the Dodgers. So even 50 years ago, I had come to know about Al Gionfriddo, Cookie Lavagetto and Floyd Bevans, whose memorable names (great for mnemonics btw) and unique accomplishments have stuck with me ever since. So when I learned this book was coming out, I was moved by powerful nostalgia to relive my childhood reading.

This was light and pleasant and brisk reading, well suited for the summer that is on the verge of leaving us. There is no sociological pondering or messaging invading the simple narrative. Six relatively minor figures in the history of baseball wound up in the World Series alongside a dozen Hall of Famers like Joe Dimaggio and Jackie Robinson, and three of them - Gionfriddo, Lavagetto and Bevans - contributed the most remarkable individual plays or games, and then pretty much disappeared from the sport. In addition to a chapter on each game in the Series, each one gets a mini-biography, before and after their performance in the Series. There are a lot of memorable scenes in, and quietly powerful or striking facts about, their lives. I zipped through it in a couple of days and enjoyed it quite a bit.
4 people found this helpful
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Patrick J. Hogan
5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing and compelling history.
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
I found Electric October to be a fascinating and compelling book. I am not a fan of either team but enjoy the incredible history and rivalry that the Dodgers and Yankees have, particularly when the Dodgers called Brooklyn home. The behind the scenes information that the author gives is great. I love reading about the actual games but the back story surrounding some of the key participants truly adds a greater level of enjoyment to the story. If you love baseball history then this is one of the better books regarding World Series history involving the Dodgers and Yankees.
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R. Wayne Olmsted
3.0 out of 5 stars Average
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2017
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Just an average book. Nothing special
One person found this helpful
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J. Groen
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book Written About a Great World Series (1947)
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a great book written about one of the greatest World Series (1947) ever played. The author tells the story from the perspective of four players and two managers who weren't great stars of the time. Although Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson are in the story also, the main characters are Cookie Lavagetto, Stuffy Sternweiss, Al DiGionfriddo and a pitcher with the last name of Bevens. These unlikely heroes made a great catch, had a clutch hit, almost had the first World Series no-hit game and led both teams in batting average during the series. The book covers their lives before, during and after the World Series of 1947. The author does a great job of sharing life as a baseball player of the era and you can share their joys and sorrows. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in baseball history.
2 people found this helpful
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Mark Risley
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read-like eating candy
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
For any baseball fan, this is a great read about a wonderful time in baseball history. The author does a great job of painting real portraits of the main characters and gives much color to what baseball was like back then, not just in 1947, but the decades prior. For a baseball fan, it is like eating candy!
3 people found this helpful
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andrew review
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
The story of the 1947world series( considered one of the most exciting in history) told through the prism of the managers and certain lesser known players. Not the most elegantly written book, but an interesting history of a slice baseball in the first half of the twentieth century.
3 people found this helpful
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Perry Ciccotelli
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book was great fun. So many great stories in this book that I had never heard before. If your are a Yankee or Dodger fan with a love for the franchise's history, you will love this book.
One person found this helpful
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