Whispers of the Gods: Tales from Baseball's Golden Age, Told by the Men Who Played It
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- Create Date：2022-04-10 06:19:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Peter Golenbock
- ISBN：1538154870
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Summary
In Whispers of the Gods， bestselling author Peter Golenbock brings to life baseball greats from the 1940s， 1950s， and 1960s through timeless stories told straight from the players themselves。 Like the enduring classic The Glory of Their Times， this book features the reminiscences of baseball legends， pulled from hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the author。 Roy Campanella talks about life in the Negro Leagues before coming up to the Brooklyn Dodgers。 Ted Williams recounts why he believes Shoeless Joe Jackson belongs in the Hall of Fame。 Tom Sturdivant provides vivid memories of Casey Stengel， Mickey Mantle， and other Yankee icons。 Other voices include Phil Rizzuto， Jim Bouton， Monte Irvin， Stan Musial， Ron Santo， Rex Barney， Ellis Clary， Roger Maris， Ed Froelich， Marty Marion， Jim Brosnan， Gene Conley， and Kirby Higbe。 The players interviewed were All-Stars， Hall of Famers， and heroes to many， and their impact on the national pastime is still seen to this day。 Baseball history comes alive through the stories shared in Whispers of the Gods， offering a fascinating account of the golden age of baseball。
Reviews
Allen Adams
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Few American athletic endeavors are as aware of their own history as baseball。 No professional sport is as devoted to the past as baseball， a pastime that spans a century-and-a-half at this point; this is a game that draws direct connections between the players of today and the stars of yesteryear。Of course， this means that there is a wealth of writing about the game past。 Biographies and memoirs， books laden with legends and statistics。 As a lover of the game， I dig them all， but I’ve always ha Few American athletic endeavors are as aware of their own history as baseball。 No professional sport is as devoted to the past as baseball， a pastime that spans a century-and-a-half at this point; this is a game that draws direct connections between the players of today and the stars of yesteryear。Of course， this means that there is a wealth of writing about the game past。 Biographies and memoirs， books laden with legends and statistics。 As a lover of the game， I dig them all， but I’ve always had a particular affinity for oral histories， the books where the players of bygone times offer up the stories from their mind’s eye。 Memories of how the game once was from the men who once played it。Peter Golenbock’s new book “Whispers of the Gods: Tales from Baseball’s Golden Age， Told by the Men Who Played It” compiles a wide assortment of these memories as dictated by the men who were there。 Players remembering their time on the field during the tumultuous and triumphant stretch from the 1940s to the ‘60s – acknowledged by many to be the titular Golden Age of the sport。All told， there are 16 men whose stories grace these pages， ranging from iconic all-time greats to the men who simply played the game。 Each of them had their own stories to share; this book compiles those tales， culled from hundreds of hours of interviews that took place over the course of decades。 Some of these stories are celebratory， others are sad， but all of them are evocative of the very particular time and place that was midcentury baseball。The biggest names here are ones that will be familiar to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the game。 We get to hear from Ted Williams， talking about his experiences in his own words。 We spend some time with Stan Musial。 Hall of Famers like Ron Santo and Phil Rizzuto get their say as well。We also hear from some players who were prominent in their day， but who perhaps aren’t as widely remembered in the present。 Guys like Gene Conley and Marty Marion get to tell their stories。 And that’s not even mentioning the players whose names will almost certainly ring unfamiliar to all but the most devoted student of baseball history – Tom Sturdivant and Rex Barney and Ed Froelich。 The list goes on。Oh， and it is definitely worth noting that “Whispers of the Gods” is bookended by Jim Bouton， the man whose revolutionary book “Ball Four” pulled back the curtain and gave people a look at what big-league life was really like。Perhaps the most striking aspects of the book are when Golenbock speaks to players who dealt with the early years of integration。 Roy Campanella makes an appearance， as does Monte Irvin – both great players who earned their place in Cooperstown’s hallowed halls。 However， it is when the white players active during that time offer up their memories that things get a bit hazy。 One gets an almost revisionist sense from some of them， a feeling that they are perhaps underplaying the realities of the fracture of the color line and their own reactions to it。I’m not going to delve too deeply into the stories that are ultimately shared here – you’ll have to buy the book for that – but it’s worth noting that to a man， all of these players carry deep-seated and powerful memories about their time in the big leagues， however long or successful that time might have been。Oral histories like “Whispers of the Gods” are engaging reads for those of us who seek to connect our fandom of the now with the deeds of the past。 Baseball history is a long and tangled thread – sometimes frayed， sometimes knotted， but never broken。 One can draw a line from the earliest days of professional baseball to today – something that can be said about relatively few institutions。As things stand right now， baseball is in flux。 The current circumstances surrounding the game leave many of us yearning for a return to the simplicity of the past （though it is worth noting that many of the sport’s current wounds are self-inflicted by those who would run the show）。 And while the game was far from perfect back then， marred by bigotry and other tribulations， it was still a time when legends took the field。The men who share their stories here were far from perfect。 They were flawed people whose choices and ideas don’t always reflect well with the benefit of hindsight。 And yet， their tales fascinate， taking the reader back to a time when the game， for all its institutional issues， was at the very center of American culture。Yes， the title of the book is “Whispers of the Gods，” but these men were men。 Nothing more。 And yet， when they took to the field with their cannon arms and mighty swings， they did， in their own way， approach a kind of divinity。 。。。more
Mike
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Golenbock calls this book a sequel to Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times， which is widely considered （along with Jim Bouton's Ball Four） to be the best baseball book ever written。 Golenbock strikes the right tone in his interviews， and the stories shared are magnificent。 He's one of the baseball writers of this， or any， era。 Particular standouts in this collection are Stan Musial， Roy Campanella， Ted Williams， and Jim Bouton， but the whole book is engrossing and wonderful。 Golenbock calls this book a sequel to Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times， which is widely considered （along with Jim Bouton's Ball Four） to be the best baseball book ever written。 Golenbock strikes the right tone in his interviews， and the stories shared are magnificent。 He's one of the baseball writers of this， or any， era。 Particular standouts in this collection are Stan Musial， Roy Campanella， Ted Williams， and Jim Bouton， but the whole book is engrossing and wonderful。 。。。more
Cheryle
，
I read this book for a challenge in the year long program in my library。 These stories are told by the men who lived them either through prerecorded interviews or new material。In Whispers of the Gods， bestselling author Peter Golenbock brings to life baseball greats from the 1940s， 1950s， and 1960s through timeless stories told straight from the players themselves。 Like the enduring classic The Glory of Their Times， this book features the reminiscences of baseball legends， pulled from hundreds o I read this book for a challenge in the year long program in my library。 These stories are told by the men who lived them either through prerecorded interviews or new material。In Whispers of the Gods， bestselling author Peter Golenbock brings to life baseball greats from the 1940s， 1950s， and 1960s through timeless stories told straight from the players themselves。 Like the enduring classic The Glory of Their Times， this book features the reminiscences of baseball legends， pulled from hundreds of hours of taped interviews with the author。 Roy Campanella talks about life in the Negro Leagues before coming up to the Brooklyn Dodgers。 Ted Williams recounts why he believes Shoeless Joe Jackson belongs in the Hall of Fame。 Tom Sturdivant provides vivid memories of Casey Stengel， Mickey Mantle， and other Yankee icons。 Other voices include Phil Rizzuto， Jim Bouton， Monte Irvin， Stan Musial， Ron Santo， Rex Barney， Ellis Clary， Roger Maris， Ed Froelich， Marty Marion， Jim Brosnan， Gene Conley， and Kirby Higbe。 The players interviewed were All-Stars， Hall of Famers， and heroes to many， and their impact on the national pastime is still seen to this day。 Baseball history comes alive through the stories shared in Whispers of the Gods， offering a fascinating account of the golden age of baseball。 。。。more
Thomas Kelley
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This is the type of read that reminds me of sitting on the porch with you grandpa drinking lemonade or sitting at the bar drinking a beer and listening to him and his and friends tell stories。 This of course is about baseball players and some that would be the considered the greats in baseball。 The author who is definitely no stranger to writing baseball books writes about 16 different ball players with each chapter starting with a short Bio of the player and then it rolls into the stories that This is the type of read that reminds me of sitting on the porch with you grandpa drinking lemonade or sitting at the bar drinking a beer and listening to him and his and friends tell stories。 This of course is about baseball players and some that would be the considered the greats in baseball。 The author who is definitely no stranger to writing baseball books writes about 16 different ball players with each chapter starting with a short Bio of the player and then it rolls into the stories that player has to tell in his own words about his playing days， his teammates， managers and important dates in their playing careers。 The only exception is the chapter of Ed Froelich who was a trainer in baseball and hockey for a while who has a story to tell about Babe Ruth。 These players covered times form the 30's up into the 70's。 Did you besides Michael Jordan there have been thirteen other players who have played professional baseball and played in the NBA ？ Two stories that stood out was one when Casey Stengel was told that he was to short to play baseball that he should go shine shoes because he would never be a big league player and other was about a player who showed up to a try out wearing jeans， a T-shirt and no shoes and this player went on to the hall of fame and no I am not talking about Shoeless Joe Jackson。 Some of the players covered are Jim Bouton， Phil Rizzuto， Stan Musial and Ted Williams。 This is a quick read about baseball history。 Give it a read。 。。。more
Jake
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Ballplayers telling their stories， in their own words。 An oral history， if you will。
Christopher Owens
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Subtitle: Tales From Baseball’s Golden Age， Told by the Men Who Played ItI’ve read a handful of author Golenbock’s other books about baseball and enjoyed them。 Whispers of the Gods is a bit different， as Golenbock steps aside for the most part。 In it， the author lets baseball legends such as Stan Musial， Roy Campanella， Roger Maris， and Monte Irvin tell their stories in their own words。Over the course of many years， Golenbock built a collection of audio recordings of the interviews he conducted Subtitle: Tales From Baseball’s Golden Age， Told by the Men Who Played ItI’ve read a handful of author Golenbock’s other books about baseball and enjoyed them。 Whispers of the Gods is a bit different， as Golenbock steps aside for the most part。 In it， the author lets baseball legends such as Stan Musial， Roy Campanella， Roger Maris， and Monte Irvin tell their stories in their own words。Over the course of many years， Golenbock built a collection of audio recordings of the interviews he conducted with hundreds of baseball players for his many books。 Whispers of the Gods consists of 17 excerpts from those interviews， accompanied by brief introductions by Golenbock himself。 It is modeled after Lawrence Ritter’s The Glory of Their Times， which features interviews with baseball stars from the early 20th century。 Although I didn’t become a baseball fan until the 1970s， I enjoy reading baseball stories from all eras and enjoyed reading this book quite a bit。I gave Whispers of the Gods five stars on Goodreads。 The only bad thing I have to say about it is on the short side and left me hungry for more。 If Golenbock ever writes a similar book about the stars of the 60s， 70s， and 80s I’ll be right there for it。 。。。more
Chris
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