The Last Innocents Audiobook By Michael Leahy cover art

The Last Innocents

The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of titles.
Yours as long as you’re a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for $8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Last Innocents

By: Michael Leahy
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.64

Buy for $24.64

Legendary Dodgers Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Wes Parker, Jeff Torborg, Dick Tracewski, and Tommy Davis encapsulated 1960s America: white and black, Jewish and Christian, wealthy and working class, pro-Vietnam and anti-war, golden boy and seasoned veteran. The Last Innocents is a thoughtful, technicolor portrait of these seven players - friends, mentors, confidants, rivals, and allies - and their storied team that offers an intriguing look at a sport and a nation in transition.

Michael Leahy places these men's lives within the political and social maelstrom that was the era when the conformity of the 1950s gave way to demands for equality and rights. Increasingly frustrated over a lack of real bargaining power and an oppressive management who meddled in their personal affairs, the players shared an uneasy relationship with the team's front office. This contention mirrored the discord and uncertainty generated by myriad changes rocking the nation: the civil rights movement, political assassinations, and growing hostility to the escalation of the Vietnam War.

©2016 Michael Leahy (P)2017 Tantor Baseball & Softball United States Sports Americas

Critic reviews

"[A] gripping narrative...By using their personal experiences to tell the story of an oft-recounted era of American history, Leahy's book packs an unanticipated jolt of humanness." ( Publishers Weekly)
Compelling Baseball History • Gripping Player Stories • Fantastic Narration • Insightful Team Coverage • Subtle Delivery

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
Superb retelling of the 1960s Los Angeles Dodgers, Walter Alston, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, Wes Parker, and the rest of their team, along with difficult team GM Buzzi Buvasi and their tight-fisted cheapskate owner, Mr. Walter O'Malley!

Great stories, and superb narration.
Perfect, like Mr. Koufax, if you love MLB History!

GRADE: A

LAST INNOCENTS HIT A GAME-WINNING HOME RUN! 🇺🇸⚾️🇺🇸⚾️🇺🇸⚾️

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great accounting of the turbulent 60s and how the great Los Angeles Dodgers dealt with the changing world. The best books provide insight and reveal previously unknown information. This book checks those boxes.
As a longtime Dodger fan, I knew the names and some of the stories, but now I know even more, and with a greater understanding and appreciation.
Sandy Koufax, we already know and love. But the details about Wes Parker and Maury Wills were so revealing, and humanizing! They’re heroes now, 60 years later.
And then there is narrator Joe Barrett. I’m sure not everyone appreciates his unique voice and delivery, but give the man a chance and he’ll become a favorite. He is just so good! For me at least, if he’s reading it, I’ll listen.

If I wasn’t already a Dodger fan. I would be now!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
To all septuagenarians, baseball enthusiasts, and Dodger fanatics, I urge you to turn your ears to this masterpiece.

Lend It An Ear

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A good account of the Dodgers in the 60s with a focus on Koufax, Wes Parker, Don Drysdale, and Maury Wills.

The Dodgers of the 60s

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story captures the story of the Dodgers and the country in the 1960s. I also really enjoyed the narration.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews