The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant

By: Douglass Wallop

Narrated by: Steve Hendrickson

Decades before Field of Dreams there was The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, the classic baseball fable that became the hit movie and musical Damn Yankees. Now a new generation is ready to discover this delightful book, restored to its original title.

Baseball lovers everywhere can identify with Joe Boyd, a die-hard Washington Senators fan who puts his soul in hock to help them wrest the pennant away from the hated, all-conquering Yankees. Transformed by the sulfurous Mr. Applegate's satanic magic into 22-year-old phenom Joe Hardy, he leads the hapless Senators in a torrid late-season pursuit of the men in pinstripes. Joe has until September 21 before the deal becomes final - and eternal. With the luscious temptress Lola to distract him, he'll have a hell of a time wriggling out of the bargain.

©1954 Douglass Wallop (P)2017 Audio Visceral Productions

Read old books

There is a way that old books stand on their own- the way they are written, the words that are used, the tone of the tome. If it has been a while since you have read something that is more than 20 years old - I recommend this one, especially if you are not a fan of the Yankees.

Interesting but No Real Substance

I guess it's not really a book about baseball, like, say, The Natural by Bernard Malamud, so if you don't compare it to a baseball book it's an interesting story. Interesting, but it doesn't linger. I just finished it a couple of hours ago and I'm already having a hard time remembering much of it. I'm not familiar with Damn Yankees, but I found myself wondering how this book could become a musical.

Superb narration

The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant is a fun audiobook. It was the basis of the musical Damn Yankees. I saw the money the first time as a young child. I found a copy of the book The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant when I was an adult. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the musical. Recently I found the audiobook version on Audible narrated by Steve Hendrickson. The narration is superb. Hendrickson captures that most difficult of accents, Baltimore, extremely well. The production values are excellent. The story is enjoyable, especially if you are not a Yankees fan. It may not have won any of the big book prizes but it won my heart.

Great.

Loved everything about it. Good story well told. I highly recommend it too baseball fans and adventure story readers.