Why Not Us?: The 86-year Journey of the Boston Red Sox Fans From Unparalleled Suffering to the Promised Land of the 2004 World Series
by Leigh Montville
List Price:
Our Price: $0.01
You Save: $22.94 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Leigh MontvilleEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-01-02
ISBN: 1586483331
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Book Reviews of Why Not Us?: The 86-year Journey of the Boston Red Sox Fans From Unparalleled Suffering to the Promised Land of the 2004 World Series
Book Review: Agony to Disbelief to Relief
Summary: 5 Stars
I have lived in Boston since 1964 and am about the same age as Leigh Montville. Over those years, I've loved his wonderful writing in the Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated and now in his books. I think he's done an important service in writing this book because in future years the unbelievable experience of having been a frustrated Red Sox fan all those years will be lost. Yet that perspective was a dominant one in the area for the 42 years I've been here. In a sense, you cannot understand New Englanders unless you appreciate their long suffering with the Red Sox. It's like the way we put up with the winters . . . assuming that spring will follow. Those who take the easy road just head to Florida. It seemed ironic that the Florida Marlins quickly captured the World Series after being founded while the Red Sox continued to toil below the top.
Anyone who has been a Red Sox fan should read this book. You'll discover dimensions of fan-ship that you never expected.
I also recommend that the book be shared with young fans who don't know anything about the Curse of the Bambino, Buckner's fielding or Pedro's last stint in 2003. If you do share the book with younger people, I suggest you write out or record your own fan experiences during the 86 year drought to help extend the heritage of your loyalty in the face of frustration.
The book describes from a number of perspectives how the Red Sox went from 1918 to 2004 without any World Championships . . . and explores those tantalizing moments when they came close in the last 40 years. Leigh Montville also recounts his own career and connection to the Red Sox . . . and his feelings as a fan. He also tells how the 2004 championship came together. From there, he launches off into a number of other perspectives as fans reflected on what the past had meant. One of the longest sections is of posts to the Sons of Sam Horn website. If you are like me, you'll feel a tear or two start to form as you read some of those posts. Mr. Montville then expands to include some of the most unlikely fans you'll ever meet. Anyone who has ever visited Fenway has probably entered one of the local taverns. Mr. Montville enters the Baseball Tavern on Brookline Avenue to give you the view from behind the counter. In The Victory Story, he picks up threads of important precursors to the victory. Perhaps the most interesting one is of the Epstein family.
To me the most important section was called "The Moral of the Story" where he opined about what our long relationship with the Red Sox says about us.
The book ends on a slightly delirious and funny note as Mr. Montville tells us about his taunting relationship with a Yankee fan . . . and what 2004 was like for him. That section includes his essay for the Globe's special memento edition.
More Why Not Us?: The 86-year Journey of the Boston Red Sox Fans From Unparalleled Suffering to the Promised Land of the 2004 World Series reviews:
1 2
1 2
Entertainment Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Buy me stuff
The Simpsons - Treehouse of HorrorSIMPSONS; Release date: 2003-09-02; DVD
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops:
The O.C.: The Complete Seasons 1-2Release date: 2005-08-23; DVD
Best price: $56.89
Price in other shops:
More Tales from the Red Sox Dugout: Yarns from the Soxby Jim Prime, Bill Nowlin
Sports Publishing LLC; Published: 2002-05-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops:
Emperors and Idiots: The Hundred Year Rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox, From the Very Beginning to the End of the Curseby Mike Vaccaro
Doubleday; Published: 2005-03-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.31
Price in other shops:
101 Reasons to Love the Yankeesby Ron Green, Jr.
Stewart, Tabori and Chang; Published: 2005-03-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Why Not Us?: The 86-year Journey of the Boston Red Sox Fans From Unparalleled Suffering to the Promised Land of the 2004 World Seriesby Leigh Montville
PublicAffairs; Published: 2005-01-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Reversing the Curseby Dan Shaughnessy
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 2005-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.69
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Impossible to Forget: The Story of the '67 Boston Red SoxHART SHARP VIDEO; Release date: 2007-06-12; DVD
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops:
Reversing the Curseby Dan Shaughnessy
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 2005-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.86
Price in other shops:
Red Sox Nation: An Unexpurgated History Of The Red Soxby Peter Golenbock
Triumph Books; Published: 2005-03-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.75
Price in other shops:
2007 World Series Highlights: Colorado Rockies vs. Boston Red SoxUNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION; Release date: 2007-11-27; DVD
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Seasonby Stewart O'Nan, Stephen King
Simon & Schuster Audio; Published: 2004-12-28; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank and the 2004by Bill Simmons
ESPN; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops:
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Heroby Leigh Montville
Broadway; Published: 2005-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Win it for...: What a World Championship Means to Generations of Red Sox Fansby Eric Christensen
Sports Publishing LLC; Published: 2005-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.17
Price in other shops:
Blood Feud: The Red Sox, the Yankees, and the Struggle of Good versus Evilby Bill Nowlin
Rounder Books; Published: 2005-03-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.48
Price in other shops:
A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennantby Tony Massarotti, John Harper
The Lyons Press; Published: 2005-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops: