Short, nostalgic look at the best age of baseball

Although too short (it left me wanting to read much more), The Teammates proved to be an absultely enjoyable book. Centered around the friendship between for members of the 1940s Red Sox (Dom Dimaggio, Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, and Booby Doerr) as it takes them from their minor league days to Ted's passing, this was an absolute delight.

At 220+ pages, this was written very well, showing a clear love of the game and the era that produced major leaguers with loyalty to their team, town, and each other. It was filled with examples of the men's backgrounds, their ballplaying days and good and bad times off the field. The book itself centers around the long drive down the East Coast for two of the players and a friend to Florida, where Ted is close to the end.

Baseball has an ability at times to rear up and remind us how much of a pleasure it is to be aorund a game that is wholesomely American, and the joy of our youth. David Halberstam's book also does that much better then many other baseball writers I have read, and for that I give this a rare 5 stars.

A Must for Red Sox Fans

David Halberstam is recognized as a brilliant author, although what I've found especially impressive is his versatility. He has written some excellent non-baseball books (i.e. "The Fifties), but for this reader, Halberstam is at his best writing about the Great American Pastime. And his latest is very good.

"The Teammates" centers around the unlikely and very close friendship between Ted Williams, Dominic Dimaggio, Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr, four Boston Red Sox legends from the World War II era. Williams, of course, was the true giant among them, although the other three were vitally important to the impressive run the Sox had just before and after the war.

Halberstam conducted numerous interviews with Dimaggio, Doerr and Pesky, as well as legendary Boston sportswriter Dick Flavin, about Williams and the influence the Splendid Splinter had on their lives. The result is a book-long flashback which segues in and out of snatches of conversation Flavin, Dimaggio and Pesky had during a 1000-mile drive to visit Williams when it was clear the legend was nearing death.

This is not a lengthy book at all, nor did it need to be. And Halberstam, while making reference to the circus-like atmosphere surrounding Williams' death and the behavior of his clearly dysfunctional children, did the classy thing by not dwelling on it and besmirching the Williams legend further. It is made clear that Williams wasn't the easiest individual in the world to get along with--he was an absolute perfectionist, and things were done his way or not at all. He was also very opinionated, which Halberstam explains himself while recounting a fishing trip he took with Williams in the late 1980's.

Red Sox fans will adore this book, especially older devotees. It's strongly recommended for them, and recommended as well for all baseball fans. And it goes without saying that if you enjoyed Halberstam's previous baseball books, you'll like this one.

A WORTHWHILE READ

Now this is more like a book should be coming from Mr. Halberstram (let's give him a deserved break for his many terrific works & simply say he was out to lunch when putting together "Defining A Nation"). Teammates is a wonderful, touching story the subject of which, although simple & true, is a bit tricky to write about when trying to do so for the masses. Few writers could pull it all together so effectively as Mr. Halberstram does. A short read but a more than worthy read.