The Progress of the Seasons, George V. Higgins
The Progress of the Seasons, George V. Higgins
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
Club: $8.47

The Progress of the Seasons
Forty Years of Baseball in Our Town

Author: George V. Higgins

Narrator: Ian Esmo

Unabridged: 7 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/01/2007


Synopsis

Beginning in 1946, a then eight-year-old George Higgins, accompanied by father and grandfather, began taking the long train ride out to Fenway Park to find some truth in immortals like Doerr, DiMaggio, York, and Williams, and later, Yastremski, Marty Barrett, and many more. This is a book about baseball and about the Boston Red Sox; but that is only part of the story. Beyond the games, the book turns on thoughts about family and continuity and, of course, the progress of the seasons. There’s a magical moment when Higgins calls on his own mythic Emily to check the all-time lineup with his deceased forebears. By then, you’ve come to know what the author’s values have in common with those in Our Town, and why certain professional athletes achieve immortality and others don’t. The Progress of the Seasons confirms what admirers of the author’s sparkling accurate prose already know: Higgins is to writing what Ted Williams was to baseball, an all-star.

About George V. Higgins

George V. Higgins (1939–1999) was a lawyer, journalist, teacher, and the author of twenty-nine books, most notably The Friends of Eddie Coyle.

About Ian Esmo

Ian Esmo is an audiobook narrator who specializes in athlete and sports biographies.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim on September 20, 2022

Ah, the joys and pains of loving a particular sports team, especially one fated to an inordinate amount of title-seeking failure (as I have experiences as a deep-garnet follower of all things Gamecock, especially on the gridiron). Herein we have the excellent writer Higgins explaining his love for t......more

Goodreads review by Philip on March 13, 2017

Higgins turns away from gritty crime novels to reflect on his childhood, his family, particularly his father and his father's father, and their difficult relationship with the Boston Red Sox. Higgins makes it clear that his fandom is a thing inherited from his father and grandfather much in the same......more

Goodreads review by Alex on March 10, 2020

The romance between Americans and baseball is captured beautifully by Higgins. I found myself relating to the connections that I made with my own father and grandfather through baseball and the once tragic fandom of Red Sox nation. I consider the closing chapter of this book to be one of my favorite......more

Goodreads review by Mike on August 24, 2014

(The summary of this book on Goodreads is screwed up!) I found this gem, long out of print, tucked in the baseball shelf of a used book store in Northampton. It's a brilliantly observed and lyric memoir, meandering between fields of green and the real world the way all good baseball books should. Hi......more

Goodreads review by This is V! on April 19, 2020

The goodreads description of this book it’s completely wrong ... that’s messed up......more


Quotes

“Blending intimate personal memories with public events over a long time span is a tricky affair. Higgins carries it off with nary an error.” New York Times

“A warm, sentimental journey…Higgins’ writing is as crisp as a well-pitched game under the shadows of Fenway’s Green Monster left-field wall.” People

“At once refreshingly traditional yet innovative, Higgins is a writer of Balzacian appetite, trying to lift the lid off the human comedy, using Bostonas his fulcrum.” GQ

“In this affecting memoir, with prose as sharp as a live-drive single, Higgins shows how his love of baseball is matched only by his love of his father and grandfather, men who introduced him to the game forty year earlier. Ian Esmo reads with care, maintaining a steady pace.” AudioFile