True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told by the Men Who Lived It

Delsohn traces the storied Dodgers, arguably the greatest franchise in National League history, from the time they left Brooklyn in 1957 to the present. He includes highlights, like Sandy Koufax's victory over the Yankees in the '63 World Series and Kirk Gibson's dramatic home run that turned the '88 Series, and low points ranging from the infamous Roseboro/Marichal brawl to the public feud between Mike Piazza and the Dodger ownership in 1998. Most of the book is devoted to quotations from Dodgers and their associates--from Duke Snider to Bob Costas and Fred Claire. The author comments briefly on, for instance, Darryl Strawberry's switch from the Mets to the Dodgers, then lets the people who experienced it personally do the talking. Offering pieces of his interviews to the reader exactly as he heard them, Delsohn's presence at times is hardly felt. Though the presentation of firsthand accounts precludes any kind of coherent narrative, this structure affords the reader a sense of immediacy and intimacy with colorful personalities like Mike Marshall and Tommy Lasorda. Moreover, Delsohn's style allows him to maintain a natural impartiality: in all cases where disagreements persist, he quotes men on each side of the issue, leaving the reader free to form an opinion. 16 b&w photos not seen by PW. (Apr.) Forecast: This is an obvious sale to baseball fans in L.A. and, peripherally, to admirers of the late Brooklyn Dodgers, but Delsohn hasn't exactly picked the team of today--or of tomorrow--to profile. Expect modest sales.