I am very happy to announce that my new book, The Last Days of Shea: Delight and Despair in the Life of a Mets Fan has been officially released. It is in stock and can be purchased right now at Amazon (for $11.53) and Barnes and Noble and it will be at all other online sources and in bookstores in the next few days.
If you visit my website (clink on the link above), you can learn about the book, read samples, and see enthusiastic blurbs from Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Howie Rose, Jerry Koosman, Jonathan Lethem, and Phillip Lopate . I know that right now the Mets are pretty roughed up, but my book may bring you back in contact with the eternal Mets, the bizarre baseball franchise that continues to receive the passionate loyalty of millions. I hope the book also brings you back to the sounds, sights, and cramped seats of Shea, a place that we will always miss and mourn, however much we enjoy the better food, legroom, and architecture of the new place.
If you want to hear me read or be interviewed, please keep an eye on my Bulletin Board. Please also keep your ears open for the upcoming official announcement of a conference I will chair in April 2012, along with Professor Richard Puerzer and under the auspices of the Hofstra Cultural Center, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the New York Mets.
I also look forward to meeting many of you at the Gary, Keith, and Ron Main Event on October 3, sponsored by the announcers’ charitable foundation “Pitch In for a Good Cause,” run by Lynn Cohen. This end-of-the-year bash (which includes a trip to the warning track) promises to be the best and biggest gathering of the truest Mets diehards ever. If you still care deeply about the Mets, you owe it to yourself to be there.
If you’d like to contact me for any reason (to do an interview, get a signed and inscribed book for somebody, just say hi, etc.) please feel free to e-mail me at danaabrand@cs.com.
Thank you and, in spite of everything, Let’s Go Mets,
Dana
Congrats! Can’t wait to read it. Thank you, it will be one of the few bright spots in this long, dismal season.
Congratulations Dana ! I pre- ordered some time ago. I will be receiving a diet cook book along with “Last Days of Shea”. If only I was looking forward to the recipes as much as I anticipiate devouring your book! I wish i was going to GKR day,but I’ll settle for closing the inaugaral season the following day.
P.S. It’s a Girl ! Alannah Elizabeth 07/08/09
P.P.S I loved the Humid Night piece and your give and take with Saltzy on BBF.
Congrats, Chris! And thanks, MetsMom and Chris. For those of you who don’t know, Chris is referring to baseball-fever.com, definitely the best forum on the web for discussing the advantages and disadvantages of Citi Field and all other stadiums as well.
There was a link for this site at The Bitter Bill, which is in the blog section of the NY Daily News.
Good stuff, I just got done reading the front page of your blog and enjoyed it immensely. Although I’m a huge fan I just went to my first home game in 23 years on Sunday, had a great time, lost my voice, and witnessed history when Francouer hit into that triple play. My section wasn’t as asthetically pleasing as the one you described in your 8-17-09 game but a couple of NY City kids and myself made some noise to the chagrin of some more conservative fans seated behind us. What a game that was. A fan the next day told me about an Odd Couple episode where Felix and Oscar were at Shea and the Mets won a game on a triple play. Obviously that’s the end I would have liked to see but will never forget that one.
The Last Days of Shea will soon be in my book collection.
Thanks, Mookster! That scene where the Mets win a game on a triple play is in the original Odd Couple movie starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Yes, Bill Price gave me a heads up about the kind words on his Daily News blog. I’m very grateful. I depend on word of mouth, since I don’t have an advertising budget.
OMG, Dana!
Got the book today and LOVE it! I got halfway through and can’t wait to finish it tonight!
It speaks from the heart , and captures the emotions and frustrations of all die hard fans!
Thank you so much for your kind words… The feeling is mutual. ( but you already knew that)
Lynn Cohen
Thank you, Lynn. And thank you for your own very significant contributions to the narrative.
Hey Dana. I just sent a copy of your new book to my son, a huge Mets fan, who’s studying at the U. of Maryland. After several years of season tickets at Shea, following the team to Philly, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and points further west, he’s had a great chance to see some great baseball, living the ups and downs of the team for over a decade. The book is terrific — of course I HAD to read it before I mailed it off — and I wish you the best of luck with it. Great perspectives and observations, and I agree fully with you about the lack of an “intimacy” factor at Citi. I’m hoping our criticism of it will soften as the team puts up some successful seasons in the years to come. Best regards, Nel Yomtov
Thank you, Nel! Yes, I hope we are listened to. I hope that the Mets will stop telling reporters that everybody loves the intimacy of Citi Field without making any real effort to find out what “everybody” actually thinks!