I cannot believe this book is out of print. I gave my copy to my brother several years ago, and went looking for a new copy today after the hated New York Yankees swept my beloved Boston Red Sox by scoring a whopping 6 runs in three games.
Why? Because Peter Gent's book - which is a wonderful tale about a father and his son getting to know one another - is also a prequel to the very public and successful career of Derek Jeter. You see, Derek Jeter starred on the Connie Mack team that Gent's son Carter played against for the Michigan state championship, and even back then, he was being viewed as a big-time up-and-coming baseball phenom.
And while some of the scenes between Gent and his son will tear your heart out, Jeter is front-and-center in the best sports scene in the book. That occurs when Mike Wyshowski(sp?), the farm-boy pitcher for Carter's team, whiffs Derek Jeter swinging with runners in scoring position late in the very close Championship Game, thereby sealing the win for the underdogs (and permanently endearing himself to me).
This is a wonderful novel. I read North Dallas Forty when I was just a kid, and thought it was a great, funny book. I thought this book, which I read after I'd gotten old enough to get married and have kids of my own, was much, much better. I'm assuming the fact that it's out of print means it didn't sell well. That's a shame, because it's every bit the story NDF was, and then some.

After Pete had asked a friend & I to join his Bangor team for the Kalamazoo tourney in the summer of 1991, I really got to understand & appreciate the love that he had for Carter & youth sports. His book was truly touching, especially after he asked me to be a small part of one of those summers. I will always cherish the opportunity he gave me, as well as the autographed copy of this book. A must read for all baseball fans & parents.

Although the divorce is pivotal in this story, it is not necessarily the key to the book's essence. Any parent who has reached the point of letting go can relate to the emotions the author so wonderfully describes. If a reader is an avid baseball fan, especially Little League, Pony League, Babe Ruth, etc., the story jumps out at you and transports you to that "magic" only summer youth baseball can take you. As the mother of three children, two who are finished with youth baseball and softball, and one still keeping me in the "magic" at the age of 13, I loved the book. Mr. Gent deals with emotions like unconditional love, fear, apprehension,regret and wins during that Last Magic Summer.

THIS BOOK WAS REALLY GOOD. I READ IT SEVERAL TIMES. I WAS THERE GREETING THE TROOPS. AND IF I DIDNT GREET THEM THIS BOOK MADE IT SEEM LIKE I WAS THERE. THE BOOK CAME TO LIFE. I AM GLAD I GREETED THE TROOPS AND READ THE BOOK. THE BOOK MADE ME THINK OF ALL THE MEMORIES I HAD OF GREETING THE TROOPS. THE BOOK BROUGHT BACK SO MANY MEMORIES.

This book was very poorly written - sounded more like one man's strange imagination. I couldn't even finish it - it was THAT bad.

I forced myself to read this book, & must admit that it is one of the worst I have ever read. The description of the book states that the story is about a woman named Nancy & her family. However, the story is written by her spouse & it is his voice that is used to detail the story, not Nancy's. The story is difficult to read, because it contains awkward sentence & paragraph formation. There are numerous grammatical & (unintentional) spelling errors as well. The author relates a story about a wrong done to him, his wife & family. However, there are many details that do not make sense, because they seem to be injected into the story at the incorrect time or place. Also, many segments go on & on without some logical theme. Overall, the book seemed unorganized, and unedited. I would NOT recommend this book for your personal libraries.

This was a very interesting book...Although it claims to be Fiction, I find a hard time believing that. It reads as though the author went through this personally, which I suspect he has. It was a very entertaining read, but I could have done without all the biblical references...this lost my interest more than once.