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October 1964 cover art

October 1964

Written by: David Halberstam
Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
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Publisher's Summary

The New York Times best-seller.

David Halberstam, an avid sports writer with an investigative reporter’s tenacity, superbly details the end of the 15-year reign of the New York Yankees in October 1964. That October found the Yankees going head-to-head with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series pennant.

Expertly weaving the narrative threads of both teams’ seasons, Halberstam brings the major personalities on the field - from switch-hitter Mickey Mantle to pitcher Bob Gibson - to life. Using the teams’ subcultures, Halberstam also analyzes the cultural shifts of the '60s. The result is a unique blend of sports writing and cultural history as engrossing as it is insightful.

"Compelling.... 1964 is a chronicle of the end of a great dynasty and of a game, like the country, on the cusp of enormous change." (Newsweek)

"Wonderful.... Memorable.... Halberstam describes the final game of the 1964 series accurately and so dramatically, I almost thought I had forgotten the ending." (The Washington Post Book World)

©1994 The Amateurs Limited (P)2018 Random House Audio

What the critics say

"October 1964 should be a hit with old-time baseball fans, who'll relish the opportunity to relive that year's to-die-for World Series, when the dynastic but aging New York Yankees squared off against the upstart St. Louis Cardinals. It should be a hit with younger students of the game, who'll eat up the vivid portrayals of legends like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris of the Yankees and Bob Gibson and Lou Brock of the Cardinals. Most of all, however, David Halberstam's new book should be a hit with anyone interested in understanding the important interplay between sports and society." (The Boston Globe)

"Halberstam's latest gives us the feeling of actually being there - in another time, in the locker rooms and in the minds of baseball legends. His time and effort researching the book result in a fluency with his topic and a fluidity of writing that make the reading almost effortless.... Absorbing." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"Superb reporting.... Incisive analysis.... You know from the start that Halberstam is going to focus on a large human canvas.... One of the many joys of this book is the humanity with which Halberstam explores the characters as well as the talents of the players, coaches and managers. These are not demigods of summer but flawed, believable human beings who on occasion can rise to peaks of heroism." (Chicago Sun-Times)

What listeners say about October 1964

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Good Story, Wish there were More

I loved this book, and the audible version is good. The performer does a good job dramatizing the story, overall an enjoyable experience.

Pronunciation on a bunch of the names was a little weird (Gene Mauch was not Gene Mouk), is my only sticking point.

Wish more of Mr. Halberstam's stories were audible books.

The story is an excellent commentary about baseball at the time, in terms of race relations, but also a commentary on America at the time as well. This is when baseball started realizing the value of Television to its model. The characterization of many of the players is very interesting, and ends up being a "the New" versus "the Establishment" story where the Cardinals were the "New" whereas the Yankees were very much the "Establishment".

Understanding the background that went on in terms the baseball establishment was very entertaining.

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