October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978

The Washington Post

October Men is a breezy history, with interludes about Yankee lore and the genesis of free agency, all told by a writer easily mixing allusions to Chaucer, Shakespeare and Stengel. — Sean Callahan

The Los Angeles Times

It's not a nice story but a gripping one. And Kahn tells it with his customary verve. — Anthony Day

Time

Kahn's glittering group portrait paints the Yanks as both goats and heroes, and they are vividly, engagingly, enragingly human in both roles.

The New York Times

Not content merely to rehash the details of Bucky Dent's home run, October Men instead sprawls like a great ballpark conversation, encompassing the big and the small, the old and the new, the sacred and the profane. Kahn asks rhetorically, ''What were these Yankees anyway, a big-league team, a commune, an encounter group, a street gang?'' The answer, of course, is all of the above. — Allen St. John

Publishers Weekly

When it comes to writing about baseball, especially New York City baseball, Kahn is king of the hill. In the tradition of his seminal The Boys of Summer, this work is a spirited portrait of a team whose unbelievable comeback and tumultuous clubhouse exemplified New York City and the whatever-goes decade of the 1970s. Relying on a relationship between the press and the team that will never be seen again, Kahn illuminates the diverse characters who were the 1978 Yankees, and their tenuous and often violent relationships with one another. He unsentimentally yet compassionately presents the team's issues of alcoholism, broken homes, racism and greed as a mirror of American society, using firsthand accounts, historical analysis, social history and personal insight. The portraits of manager Billy Martin, a violent drunk with a great baseball mind, and Reggie Jackson, an eloquent but brash slugger, present a compelling clash of old and new America that defined the country and baseball at the time. When Kahn comes to the game itself, whether describing a player or a game with one of his literary, historical or baseball references, his keen eye and a knack for describing the lyrical action between the white lines demonstrates a love and knowledge that few writers are able to convey. Transcending the mere action of the game while celebrating the joy and power of the sport, this book is a marvelous achievement for a writer who has already achieved so much. Photos not seen by PW. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

This year marks the 25th anniversary of an improbable championship season for the New York Yankees. It was a season featuring remarkable baseball heroics and colorful, often contentious personalities. Kahn has authored a shelf's worth of noted titles-including the classic The Boys of Summer, recently noted by Sports Illustrated as one of the greatest sports books of all time-which makes him the right person to pen this title. While the book looks back at true winners, the theme of loss is also apparent: baseball was very different only a quarter century ago, with a greater closeness among ballplayers, fans, and journalists before big money and big business pulled them further and further apart. Kahn's book is brimming with telling anecdotes; larger-than-life figures, such as slugger Reggie Jackson, pitcher Sparky Lyle, and the Yankees' late, brawling manager Billy Martin are clearly painted, warts and all. Kahn's book will have a wide readership, and most libraries should consider. Even fans who don't like the Yankees (particularly Boston fans, whose team lost to New York in a rare extra-season playoff game) will find something here. Highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/03.]-Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa District Lib., IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The commanding, silver-tongued Kahn (The Head Game, 2000, etc.), baseball chronicler extraordinaire, takes an enjoyably circuitous route to an ultimately dazzling account of the 1978 Yankees. The year was one of outbursts and outrage, when New Yorkers first got a taste of George Steinbrenner's "creative terrorism"; when Billy Martin, a man who never met a drink he didn't like, quit as the season was coming to a wild close; when the team fielded the likes of Reggie Jackson, Thurmon Munson, Bucky Dent, Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter, Goose Gossage, Sparky Lyle, Craig Nettles; and when the New York media went after the team as if the number of rude bites really mattered. The team’s smashing, clashing egos performed their personal passion play for all to see, to be followed by a cordon sanitaire lasting to this day. Never again would we get to hear the vibrant narrative between star player and manager. (Billy Martin: "I ought to kick your fucking ass." Reggie Jackson: "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, old man?") There are almost too many personalities to corral here, too many important references to include, but Kahn gets them all standing in the same place at the same time for a wonderful snapshot: keen-edged profiles of the players, a huge supporting cast of managers and owners, innumerable barroom encounters both amiable and fraught, the longstanding club ownership woes, and a host of wicked digs at fellow sportswriters. Yes, 1978 was a special year for the Yankees, but it’s clear that Kahn could make any year a compelling one with his storytelling acumen, ease and mastery of the material, instinct for the good stuff, and ability to keep it rolling despite all the color commentary.Hits it out of the park.

Washington Post

"Good news for fans of the game, and of words."

Boston Herald

"Kahn has the almost unfair gift of easy, graceful writing combined with an unmatched institutional memory."

Toronto Star

"High, hard and tight."

Hartford Courant

"Kahn supplies a behind-the-scenes look at what made that team tick but not explode."

Dallas Morning News

"History, humor, and drama, but the historical research and psychological analysis give it a place in every baseball fan's collection."

Wall Street Journal

"October Men seems effortlessly written, like all of Mr. Kahn's books. . . . A compelling story."

Chicago Sun-Times

"Insightful and compelling. With crisp, smart writing, he makes the case that the team was a less-than-harmonic convergence."