The Yankee/Dodger World Series match ups post World War have gotten much ink, but very little has been spilled on the year 1947 despite the series being a classic. This is likely because you'll see DiMaggio and Phil RIzzuto and young Yogi Berra and then a lineup that only diehard Yankee fans remember. It doesn't look like a dynasty in the making. This was the year the Dodgers gave us Jackie Robinson. Duke Snider was 20 years old/ Pee Wee and the underrated Carl Furillo were regulars.

The story gives us two forgotten managers, Bucky Harris and Burt Shotten. It gives us a 9th inning no hitter duel between minor players Bill Bevens and Cookie Lavagetto. There are a lot of names you might not know, but hopefully the book will give some of these great standing among baseball fans.

I've been hoping to read Kevin Cook's book on Titanic Thompson. Now it's a must..

This is the story of the 1947 World Series. It is the first to be shown on TV and it is also the biggest one for its time being so close to the end of World War II. You also have the New York Yankees with Joe DiMaggio and for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson would be playing in his first World Series. The two mangers for each team were not expected to have even been managing their clubs let alone be in the World Series. You get the story of how for some players they would go on to continue to play after and for some this is their last game. How the players that people didn’t really know came up with either the biggest hit or biggest play. Even the celebrities in the stands would make for a good story by themselves. A good story and one every baseball fan should read.

I enjoyed "Electric October" by Kevin Cook. It was a quick read, and filled me in on a time period in baseball that I don't have memorized. One of the things I really enjoy is getting to know smaller players from another era, and I really loved the focus of "Electric October" on 6 people who are typically overlooked, or might be known for one play/pitch. I felt that the beginning of the book up to the end of 1948 really flew by and was extremely enjoyable. While I did like learning about what happened after the 1947 World Series, it dragged quite a bit more than the first part of the book. It didn't hinder my enjoyment too much, but it was a noticeable difference, likely because of the excitement that surrounded the games as Cook went through them.

From time to time, I would notice anecdotes or other bits of story being repeated, but nothing so egregious that it ruined anything. It just felt like the author had either forgotten that he'd already said it, or was just trying to fill space. Additionally, there were several non-sequiturs throughout the book that made me go "Huh?". Several of the non-sequiturs were enjoyable and I like learning them, but they did interrupt the flow of the story. I feel like they would have worked better as footnotes or something similar.

Overall, a very enjoyable book and one that I will recommend to others!

On the surface, you might not be inclined to read a book about the 1947 World Series, especially if you are not a Yankees or Dodgers fan. Further confounding this desire to stay away from this book is the revelation that the bulk of the narrative focuses on the lives of six men who are not exactly household names. Let me advise you right now, do not give in to these initial inclinations. This is a tremendous book exploring an exhilarating World Series between to major brands in the sport, and serves as the first televised World Series as well. The stories about each man is captivating and the author does an excellent job of capturing the essence and excitement of the entire 1947 World Series.

ELECTRIC OCTOBER by Kevin Cook is not to be missed if you enjoy baseball and history. Cook, an established author and former senior editor at Sports Illustrated, focuses on six lesser known individuals associated with the 1947 World Series. That was the first integrated World Series and the first to be televised (some video footage). Cook describes the early lives of each of these men, events leading to and during the pennant race, plus the series itself between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees and their lives afterwards. It is highly likely that these players - Cookie Lavagetto, Al Gionfriddo, Bill Bevens, and Snuffy Stirnweiss - and the two managers - Burt Shotton and Bucky Harris - are not readily recognizable to you. Yet, Cook points out the memorable plays made (for some in their last major league game) and the impact that the managers especially have had on the game: developing the farm system, instituting a new form of relief pitching and much more. ELECTRIC OCTOBER is a fun read that provides an entertaining chronicle of many, many events in baseball history. For example, some of the profiled athletes played with Ty Cobb or worked with Branch Rickey (who, we learn, set a still-standing record as a back-up catcher in 1907, allowing the most stolen bases ever during a game.). As a rookie, Bucky Harris helped win the 1924 World Series for Washington – much to President Coolidge’s delight (see vintage footage). As I read, I was impressed again and again by the courage, risk-taking and team spirit shown by these boys/men originally from small town America and playing America’s game. ELECTRIC OCTOBER had a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Links to videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j1eOfOW68U
http://www.cnn.com/videos/sports/2014/10/04/new-footage-from-1924-world-series.library-of-congress

A great read on one of baseball's most memorable Series. It was fascinating reading about the participants both before and after the Series,. Seeing their ups and downs showed the human side of these talented individuals. A must read for any baseball fan, especially like me who enjoy the history of the game.

I loved this book. Not only does it tell the dramatic story of the 1947 World Series, it's just really good writing, the kind of great sportswriting that is so rare these days.

Cook tells the story by focusing on six men, not the well-known heroes like DiMaggio or Robinson, but on the managers, two Yankees and two Dodgers. But it isn't only about their performance in the Series - that's about a third of the book. It begins by devoting a chapter each to the early lives of each of the men as well as to their early careers.

For several of the men, the 1947 Series was the defining moment of their career. Bill Bevens was one out away from the first Series no-hitter when he lost it to Cookie Lavaghetto's only hit -- a home run. Al Gionfriddo caught a drive by DiMaggio that prevented a home run.

The real soul of the book is what came after the Series. What were the later careers of these men. Did they stay in baseball? Were they happy? Did they build good lives for themselves? Are any of them in the Hall of Fame?

I loved they way each man was portrayed with care and respect. I loved that Cook's treatment of them put each man into context.

It's a wonderful book about life and not just about baseball.

I received a free Kindle copy of Electric October by Kevin Cook courtesy of Net Galley and Henry Holt & Company, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my history book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I am an avid New York Yankees fan and I have read numerous books about them. It is the first book by Kevin Cook that I have read.

This is a very engaging book that addresses the roles that six individuals played in the 1947 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn  Dodgers. They were players Bill Bevens, Al Gionfriddo, Cookie Lavagetto, Snuffy Stirnweiss, and managers Bucky Harris and Burt Shotton. Cook follows their careers, some of which were long term in baseball and some that were not. Bevens, Gionfriddo and Lavagetto were remembered for a single play that followed them the rest of their lives. This is one of the best baseball books that I have read in that the focus was not on the stars, but on those who had a brief moment in the sun.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of baseball and the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1947 was a very memorable year in baseball as not only did Jackie Robinson become the first African-American player, but the New York Yankees and Robinson’s team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, played a very exciting seven game World Series in which the Yankees prevailed. With those two teams, one expects the stars to play big roles. That wasn’t the case in the 1947 World Series, and this excellent book by Kevin Cook sheds light on some of these forgotten players and also the two managers.

Both managers, Burt Shotten of the Dodgers and Bucky Harris of the Yankees, were unlikely choices to lead these teams. Shotten was considered a temporary manager for the Dodgers until Leo Durocher completed serving his one year suspension. Harris, who had been considered the “boy wonder” when he managed the Washington Senators to the World Series championship in 1924 and nearly repeated the feat in 1925, had little success since then and had been bouncing from team to team. The stories for each man on how he led his team to the World Series made for excellent reading.

However, the best stories are for the four players who were not stars, but played important roles in the Series. There is Bill Bevins, a journeyman pitcher who came within one out of pitching the first no-hitter in World Series history in game four. The Dodger who broke up that no-hitter, Cookie Lavagetto, not only hit a double with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but drove in two runs as two baserunners who previously both walked scored on the first Brooklyn hit of the game. Then there is Snuffy Stirnweiss, a solid player who won the American League batting title in 1944 but received little respect for the feat since the game was depleted of its stars who were serving in World War II. Finally, there is Al Gionfriddo, whose catch of a Joe DiMaggio fly ball is well known from the famous reaction by the Yankee Clipper when he kicked dirt after rounding first, realizing the ball was caught.

These six men has their lives changed by these moments that would bring them temporary fame that was soon forgotten. What they went through before, during and after that World Series is captured in great story writing by Cook. He not only tells of the men’s careers and life after baseball, but he tells the readers little known details about each player that will make a reader pay a little more attention each time.

Here is an example of these little-known tidbits. Bucky Harris’s marriage was not holding up to his baseball life very well, and Ty Cobb offered to take the Harris children out to dinner so that Bucky and his wife Betty could get a break and have a night alone. While it never happened, the offer made a big impression on Harris that he never forgot.

One last area the book covers that I found interesting is when Cook writes about the place in history that both managers are and where Bill James, the father of advanced statistics, believe they should be. James feels that both Harris and Shotten are not given their proper credit for the managing jobs they did in 1947 and his reasoning is simple yet not well known.

“Electric October” gets its title from what the World Series was called by television executives that year as it was the first one that was shown nationwide on that medium. The title could very well be used to describe the connection of these six men in that one glorious seven game series as well. An outstanding collection of stories about men, about life and about one glorious World Series, it is one that all baseball readers should add to their libraries.

I wish to thank Henry Holt and Company for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.