Wait Till Next Year

A Memoir

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Wait Till Next Yearis the story of a young girl growing up in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s, when owning a single-family home on a tree-lined street meant the realization of dreams, when everyone knew everyone else on the block, and the children gathered in the streets to play from sunup to sundown. The neighborhood was equally divided among Dodger, Giant, and Yankee fans, and the corner stores were the scenes of fierce and affectionate rivalries.

The narrative begins in 1949 at the dawn of a glorious era in baseball, an era that saw one of the three New York teams competing in the World Series every year, and era when the lineups on most teams remained basically intact year after year, allowing fans to extend loyalty and love to their chosen teams, knowing that for the most part, their favorite players would return the following year, exhibiting their familiar strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and habits. Never would there be a better time to be a Brooklyn Dodger fan.

But in 1957 it all came to an abrupt end when the Dodgers (and the Giants) were forcibly uprooted from New York and transplanted to California. Shortly after the Dodgers left, Kearns' mother died, and the family moved from the old neighborhood to an apartment on the other side of town. This move coincided with the move of several other families on the block and with the decline of the corner store as the supermarket began to take over. It was the end of an era and the beginning of another - and for Kearns, the end of childhood.

©1997 Doris Kearns Goodwin (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Ms. Goodwin has... made familiar events seem fresh again, as if they were happening for the first time only a couple of days ago." (Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times)

"Lively, tender, and... hilarious... [Goodwin's] memoir is uplifting evidence that the American dream still exists - not so much in the content of the dream as in the tireless, daunting dreaming." (Jodi Daynard, The Boston Globe)

"A poignant memoir.. .marvelous... Goodwin shifts gracefully between a child's recollection and a adult's overview." (Peter Delacorte, San Francisco Chronicle Book Review)

More than Baseball

I enjoyed the descriptions of growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950’s and the feeling of changes that overcome us involuntarily. Bittersweet, thought-provoking. Were the 1950s really like that? I hope so. The relationships between the young author and her community were heartwarming. The diversity of the surroundings and her growing realizations as times changed, and the wonderful influence of her teachers who helped guide her head and heart toward thinking for herself, were memorable. While she is about a decade older than I, and her locale was on the opposite side of the country where I grew up, I found myself reflecting upon my own childhood in the Pacific Northwest during the years she cites: 1954, 56, 57, 58, etc. She was the age of my teenage baby-sitters, who so impressed me. I wonder, are children of this 3rd decade of this millennium forming memories that will guide them, and that they will remember and write memoirs about in the coming decades? I suppose the answer must be, yes. And I hope to be around long enough to read those memoirs.

Great to learn about DKG

Great to learn about this brilliant historian and authors youth and background. She is a contemporary raised in another part of county but similarities - fasinating - we could have been friends.
LOVED her fallout shelter plan!!!!!

Delightful historical review

Loved the detail of an era gone by. I'm her same age and what a delight to bring back those baseball memories. I was a Dodger fan as well. My respect and appreciation for the author has quadrupled. Her other GREAT books were about others. This was a challenge and she mastered it.

I"ll wear a Brooklyn Madcapoz hat for you...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Loved the stories of her family...the baseball stories reminded me why I fell in love with baseball. The audio made it easier for me to here her the sweet voice of Miss Doris Kearns Goodwin...Catch up now the Legacy, of Wait Til Next Year...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Wait Till Next Year?

I"ll honest their wasn't one memorable moment for me. The only memory of the book is how she over came the passing of so many family members..As she would say: "Hit of the ballpark old little sparky" And thats what she did with the Book...

Which scene was your favorite?

the Ballparks...

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no multiple locations..

Any additional comments?

Its just "LA"

Easy read!

Loved how the author formulated her book around baseball in the 1950's. I particularly enjoyed how personal she got while describing her relationship with her family. I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

A snapshot in time

Another tale from real life, it was good. Would have preferred if DKG had narrated it as it is written in her voice but the narrator didn't bring it across.

Baseball at it's best.

A warm and nostalgic memoir that captures the love of baseball, family, and the end of an era. Doris Kearns Goodwin moves eloquently between her childhood recollections and a historian’s perspective to weave an exceptional read. Take me out to the ballgame!

Great story not just about baseball

One of the best books I have listened to. It combines baseball and growing up in the 50's

Painfully poignant but reaffirming

I was lucky enough to have a similar childhood without the illness of a parent. My neighbor’s mom died of cancer when I was very young and I was not able to fully understand the situation because of my age. I wish I could have been a better friend but I didn’t know how to handle the grief of my friend.

Hometown historian

I grew up in RVC and attended the same schools and church as she did. I am a big fan of this type of memoir, especially the way it was craft and told like an “Irish story teller”. Positive vibes mixed with classic 1950 values and headlines told through the eyes of a young school girl. Real and wholesome.