Celebrating The 2004 Red Sox - New Books On The Shelf

joyofsox

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2014 marks the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Red Sox and there will be at least three books published this year celebrating that amazing team and unbelievable season. (Disclosure: I co-wrote one of them.)
 
 
Idiots Revisited: Catching Up With the Red Sox Who Won the 2004 World Series (Tilbury House Publishers (April 1, 2014))
By Ian Browne
Foreword by David Ortiz

 
 
Don't Let Us Win Tonight: An Oral History of the 2004 Boston Red Sox's Impossible Playoff Run (Triumph Books (Available Now))
By Allan Wood and Bill Nowlin
Foreword by Kevin Millar

 
 
Miracle at Fenway: The Inside Story of the Boston Red Sox 2004 Championship Season (St. Martin's Press (July 15, 2014))
By Saul Wisnia 
Foreword by Dave Roberts 
[No art yet]
 
 
For Don't Let Us Win Tonight, Bill and I conducted about 50 interviews, talking to almost all of the 26 guys on the postseason rosters, as well as coaches, trainers (and Dr. Morgan), and front office personnel. The book covers only the three weeks of the postseason.
 
Ian also talked to some players for his book, but fewer than we did, I believe. I have not seen his book yet.
 
All I know about Saul's book is that it's an oral history of the entire season - and relies on interviews with both players and fans. His publication date was pushed back to July.
 
 

joyofsox

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I posted an excerpt from DLUWT here.
 
 
Also, here's is a fourth book about 2004:
 
Amazing Tales from the 2004 Boston Red Sox Dugout: The Greatest Stories from a Championship Season
By Jim Prime
Sports Publishing (April 1, 2014)
 

 
 
 
 

joyofsox

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BoSoxLady

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Buffalo Head said:
I would definitely recommend Ian Browne's book, because Ian is an awesome dude and he was on the beat in 2004.
Ian told us some of the highlights in the book and it sounds great.

FYI....there's no mention of "The Curse" so don't be afraid.
 

TheoShmeo

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I'm three quarters the way through Don't Let us Win Tonight.
 
I like the format and the many player quotes.  And I like that it takes the reader game by game, with a good amount of detail.
 
Given that I'm not inclined to go back and look at the footnotes, I don't like wondering constantly if a particular quote was obtained at the time or more recently.
 
I have learned a bunch of things that I did not know until now...which is kind of unusual with the 2004 run given my general obsession with it and the amount of books, articles and DVDs I have consumed since that time.  Many of those stories or anecdotes are rather interesting (such as Derek Lowe debunking the notion that being tired is an advantage for a sinker baller).
 
All in all, I'm very glad that I bought the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to go down memory lane again and learn some new things along the way.
 
Also: I get that it's unlikely that this will be done given the unhappy ending, but I think a book on 2003 would be fascinating.  That was a likable, interesting team, and though Grady committed an unforgivable blunder, that Yankees series was epic, as was the As series before it.  Just a thought.
 

hoothehoo

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TheoShmeo said:
I'm three quarters the way through Don't Let us Win Tonight.
 
I like the format and the many player quotes.  And I like that it takes the reader game by game, with a good amount of detail.
 
Given that I'm not inclined to go back and look at the footnotes, I don't like wondering constantly if a particular quote was obtained at the time or more recently.
 
I have learned a bunch of things that I did not know until now...which is kind of unusual with the 2004 run given my general obsession with it and the amount of books, articles and DVDs I have consumed since that time.  Many of those stories or anecdotes are rather interesting (such as Derek Lowe debunking the notion that being tired is an advantage for a sinker baller).
 
All in all, I'm very glad that I bought the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to go down memory lane again and learn some new things along the way.
 
Also: I get that it's unlikely that this will be done given the unhappy ending, but I think a book on 2003 would be fascinating.  That was a likable, interesting team, and though Grady committed an unforgivable blunder, that Yankees series was epic, as was the As series before it.  Just a thought.
 
 
I'm pretty sure I've read a book on the 2003 sox.  It was a small, black paperback. By . ..  Bob something?  I picked it up at that little book store that was in Kenmore Square. I'll see if I can dig it out. 
 
 
Edit. Checked on Amazon. This was it  http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Derailed-Bob-Halloran/dp/1589822595
 

trekfan55

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joyofsox said:
This is what I was just told:
"Yes, the book is available in all digital formats. I'll have IPG's Amazon rep see why it hasn't appeared on the Kindle list. It's available on B&N Nook and other digital formats such as Kobo."
 
EDIT: FWIW, Triumph's site has epub and mobi versions listed: 
http://www.triumphbooks.com/don-t-let-us-win-tonight-products-9781600789137.php
Just saw it available for Kindle. And Amazon just gave me a credit as part of a lawsuit settlement, something to do with overpricking books I think.
 

joyofsox

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The Globe reviews "Don't Let Us Win Tonight":
 
“Don’t Let Us Win Tonight” by Allan Wood and Bill Nowlin is a modern-day, single-team cousin to the classic 1966 omnibus work “The Glory of Their Times,” the key literary effort of the first half of baseball’s history. ... [T]he first important book to document [the 2004 Red Sox's] achievement, efficacy, and, really, folklore.
 
 
 
 

Spacemans Bong

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I'll second TheoShmeo on wanting to read a 2003 book. That team was really, really exciting to watch. They had two things handy for a nail-biting season - a crappy bullpen and a historically great offense that never felt out of a game. They played possibly the best LDS series ever vs. the A's, and really should have knocked off the Yankees. On both teams it felt more like the end game of the 99-02 battles, with Pedro in his prime, Roger, no A-Rod, Nomar in his last year of positive contribution, etc.
 

joyofsox

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twibnotes said:
Look fwd to reading this. Watching Bill Nowlin (you?) on Mad Dog's new show now (dvr'd). Great interview
 
No, I'm Allan. Sadly, I don't get the channel (plus I was at work), so I'm glad to hear it went well. 
 
(If anyone is going to the BoSox Club luncheon on Tuesday, we'll both be there.)
 
***
 
I loved the 2003 team as well, though it seemed like too many of the come-from-behind wins were in large part a matter of overcoming Gump's idiocy in the early and middle innings. 
 
Wasn't Rob Bradford's "Chasing Steinbrenner" about the 2003 season? Though I guess that focused on the Sox and Jays more than the Yankees?
 

hoothehoo

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Spacemans Bong said:
I'll second TheoShmeo on wanting to read a 2003 book. That team was really, really exciting to watch. They had two things handy for a nail-biting season - a crappy bullpen and a historically great offense that never felt out of a game. They played possibly the best LDS series ever vs. the A's, and really should have knocked off the Yankees. On both teams it felt more like the end game of the 99-02 battles, with Pedro in his prime, Roger, no A-Rod, Nomar in his last year of positive contribution, etc.
 
 
The only one I know of is this one -
 
http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Derailed-Bob-Halloran/dp/1589822595
 
 
I edited my post earlier in the thread to add it. 
 

Hendu for Kutch

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SoxLegacy

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I am about half way through Wisnia's Miracle at Fenway and it's a very enjoyable read. A lot of quotes/anecdotes from Wakefield, Millar, Foulke, Burks, and Roberts. The background on Burks and how the Sox brought Ellis back for the 2004 season was enlightening. Wisnia does a good job at covering the roles of Lucchino and Steinberg in their efforts to revitalize Fenway. I am looking forward to finishing it--I am up to the start of the 2004 season, and we know how that all turned out! :D
 

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SoxLegacy said:
I am about half way through Wisnia's Miracle at Fenway and it's a very enjoyable read. A lot of quotes/anecdotes from Wakefield, Millar, Foulke, Burks, and Roberts. The background on Burks and how the Sox brought Ellis back for the 2004 season was enlightening. Wisnia does a good job at covering the roles of Lucchino and Steinberg in their efforts to revitalize Fenway. I am looking forward to finishing it--I am up to the start of the 2004 season, and we know how that all turned out! :D
 
I just finished it. That book strikes me as the worst of the three books recently published on the 2004 season. It says:
  • Fans were watching the game on NBC (not Fox) as Dave Roberts prepared to steal the base in the ALCS,
  • Heathcliff Slocumb was traded to Seattle for "a pair of promising minor leaguers--a lefty pitcher (!) and switch hitting catcher...",
  • Curt Schilling signed onto this website using the screen name "Curt38" after he agreed to the trade from Arizona and signed a contract extension,
  • Anaheim's "formidable closer" in 2004 was K-Rod (not Troy Percival), and
  • "Frank Sinatra was keeping quiet" after ALCS Game 7. (Liza's version of NYNY was usually played after NY losses in The Toilet, but they played Sinatra's when the Red Sox won.)