The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn is a 1972 Harper & Row stated First Edition hardcover about the Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, and the players and people  surrounding one of baseball's defining eras.

Kahn combines baseball history with personal memory, following the Brooklyn Dodgers and figures including Jackie Robinson while looking back at growing up within shouting distance of Ebbets Field and later covering the team as a sportswriter. This 442 page hardcover includes black and white photographic sections showing players, family photographs, and other images tied to the narrative.

Details

• Item: hardcover baseball book
• Title: The Boys of Summer
• Author: Roger Kahn
• Publisher: Harper & Row, Publishers
• Publication Year: 1972
• Edition and Printing: Stated First Edition. First printing is not confirmed because the required printing line on the final page is not shown in the photographs.
• Format and Binding: hardcover with beige cloth boards, contrasting lower cloth band, and silver decoration
• Dust Jacket: present, illustrated Ebbets Field dust jacket
• Pages: 442 pages
• Genre: baseball history, sports nonfiction, memoir
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0-06-012239-0
• Dimensions: approximately 9 x 6 x 1 1/4 inches

Condition Grade: Very Good

Positives

• Graded Very Good: The hardcover is sound and attractive with light signs of previous ownership and use.
• The 442 pages are firmly held, crisp, clean, and easy to read. The photographed pages show strong dark printing and clear black and white photographic plates.
• The original dust jacket remains with the book and retains its Ebbets Field artwork and strong blue and red lettering.
• The beige and gray cloth binding remains attractive. The front board carries the silver Roger Kahn script design used as part of the binding decoration.

Issues / Wear

• The dust jacket shows light edge wear, small corner wear, surface rubbing, and age toning, with the most visible wear along the upper edges and corners.
• A previous owner wrote a "From the Library of" notation on the blue front endpaper. This is an ownership inscription and is not an author autograph.
• Scattered light spotting and small stains are visible along portions of the page edges and on a few interior areas. Pam noted only very occasional spots while paging through the book.

Collector's Notes

Harper & Row published this book in 1972, and the narrative centers on the Brooklyn Dodgers and the world surrounding Ebbets Field. It gives the baseball reader history through people and memory rather than statistics alone.

The book includes black and white photographic sections alongside Kahn's 442 page narrative. Those images make it especially appealing to readers interested in Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn baseball, and midcentury major league history.

This copy retains its illustrated dust jacket and carries a previous owner's handwritten library notation. Those surviving details give it the character of a book that spent years on a baseball reader's shelf.

The copyright page clearly states First Edition. For a Brooklyn Dodgers reader, this is a substantial hardcover copy with plenty of baseball history left to read.

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Disclaimer
All items are vintage and may show signs of age, wear, or use consistent with their history. Photos show the exact condition of each piece, please review them carefully, as they are part of the description.

Care and Handling:
Handle with clean, dry hands. Store upright, out of direct sunlight, at about 68°F and 40 to 50% relative humidity. Avoid damp areas and extreme temperature swings.

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