Monday, May 23, 2011

Way To Go, Ohio

Summer Of Shadows: A Murder, a Pennant Race, and the Twilight Of the Best Location in the NationSummer Of Shadows: A Murder, a Pennant Race, and the Twilight Of the Best Location in the Nation by Jonathan Knight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Summer of 1954......three stories



:The Cleveland Indians battled their arch-rivals...The New York Yankees...for the Pennant....only to lose the World Series to....The New York Giants



:Marilyn Sheppard was found, brutally murdered, in the home she shared with her husband...the charismatic "Dr Sam'...the prime suspect....His subsequent trial thrilled the nation



:The seeds of economic failure were being sown....thereby turning THE BEST LOCATION IN THE NATION into THE MISTAKE BY THE LAKE





I have to admit the the Baseball "play by play" lingo left me cold...i am not, and have never been, a Sports Fan.....but, the manner in which these Ball Games were presented....was enjoyable.....even to a curmudgeon like me...and made this book an enjoyable read..



Sam Sheppard's second trial....in 1966, i do remember (i was born in 1951...the events of 1954, i don't recall first hand).....it was big news in Akron, Ohio (my home town)...and still resonated, albeit a bit weakly, in 1969, when I left home for college...but my Dad did send me the newspaper clippings...when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in June '69....sowing those Seeds of Failure, i mentioned before..



I recommend this book to Sports Fans (who will understand the lingo)...Ohio History buffs....and any one who enjoys a good story, well told.....Mr Knight is the best Historian, in that respect....



4 stars



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