RIP David Halberstam

[imjustagirl2]

I learned about it here. Bless SportsJournalists.com.

 

[MileHigh]

I read the Teammates during a vacation four years ago and couldn't put it down. What a talent.

 

[jgmacg]

And, of course, the tributes wouldn't be complete without:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/COL01/704240416&&imw=Y

Please note the first, and infinitely most important, word in the column.

And then notice the funereal last line, which concludes with the words "penning his epithet."

Perhaps Mr. Albom means "epitaph."

Thus perfectly illustrating the difference between Mr. Halberstam and himself; the difference between writing and typing; and the difference between good books and good book sales.

 

[imjustagirl2]

I bought The Teammates a few weeks ago and had not yet cracked into it.

I'll do so tonight.

 

[SoSueMe]

And, of course, the tributes wouldn't be complete without:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/COL01/704240416&&imw=Y

Please note the first, and infinitely most important, word in the column.

And then notice the funereal last line, which concludes with the words "penning his epithet."

Perhaps Mr. Albom means "epitaph."

Thus perfectly illustrating the difference between Mr. Halberstam and himself; the difference between writing and typing; and the difference between good books and good book sales.

Well said.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

JG-Mac
In honor of your great catch on "epithet," I humbly return the favor:

 

[jgmacg]

JG-Mac
In honor of your great catch on "epithet," I humbly return the favor:

I, and the other creatures of the northern fjords, our eyes as blue and cold as ice, thank you.

 

[Dyno]

I bought The Teammates a few weeks ago and had not yet cracked into it.

I'll do so tonight.

I loved The Teammates. ESPN did a show about it, with interviews. I only caught the last 10 minutes or so and was very moved.

I am still so damn sad about this. I'm very glad to hear about his Korean War book. I've been looking for a definitive book about it and I look forward to this one.

Jonathan Yardley, who was friends with David Halberstam for 45 years, did a chat on washingtonpost.com about him today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/24/DI2007042400682.html

 

[crustacean]

Here's a toast to what David Halberstam gave to this world.

In "Summer of 49", he recounted how he, as a kid, would compulsively bounce a rubber ball against the wall and catch it as he was listening to a game, convinced that if he missed, he would jinx his team.

That's about as much as he and I had in common.

What a great talent.

 

[wickedwritah]

A friend says the area where the crash happened is notoriously dangerous.

When I saw the news last night, I was like, "Damn, he seemed like one of those guys who NEVER would die."

RIP.

 

[Boom_70]

Wow - One of my favorite writers. Loved Best and the Brightest and Breaks of the Game. Summer of 49 also a fav.

Sometimes life is full of irony and mystery . Halberstam wearing a seatbelt in one of safest cars around - a camry dies and Jon Corzine going 90 MPH with no seat belt in unsafe truck makes it through.

 

[Blitz]

http://www.sunherald.com/228/story/38384.html

Good column on Halberstam.

 

[D-3 Fan]

I was visiting family over the extended weekend and saw the headline while checking email at my mom's house yesterday. The thought that someone of Halberstam's stature and reputation can have his life cut short by, of all things, a car accident, is mindblowing and devastating.
Eight years ago this spring, I was working my first job out of college, and went to the library to check out a book to read for lunch. I picked up "Summer of '49" because every baseball fan loved it. From the first page to the last page, I was wrapped up in the battles between the Sawx and the Yankees, DiMaggio and Teddy Ballgame, and the era leading into the 50's.

Several weeks later, I picked up "October 1964". From this day I checked the book out from the library, "October" is my favorite sports book of all time for numerous reasons: the end of the Yankees Dynasty at that time, Bob Gibson, the Cardinals sending Lou Broglio to the Cubs for Lou Brock, and the dynamics of the civil rights period when the Cardinals had Brock, Gibby, Bill White and the Yankees had only one African-American on the team. I learned more about that "crazy god-damned" Mike Shannon, Boyer, and how the Redbirds took down the Yankees in the World Series.

What is so amazing is that I haven't read those books since 1998 when I first read them. They were so good to read, I felt it would be bad to re-read them. I came to appreciate how powerful the written word can be to so many through Halberstam.

But a car accident, of all things, ended a life that all of us didn't expect to end so soon. So quickly.

God speed Mr. Halberstam. The big guy upstairs would love to hear you tell another story again.

 

[Omar_dont_scare]

AP story just moved interviewing the driver of the car Halberstam was in.

 

[imjustagirl2]

Here's the story (I was cleaning it up as Omar posted).

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The journalism student who was chauffeuring David Halberstam when the Pulitzer Prize winner was killed said Tuesday he jumped at the chance to spend time with the writer and is grief-stricken at what happened.
“I want to apologize to his family because I feel so bad,” said Kevin Jones, 26, who is in his first year of a two-year program at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. “I just wanted to help him.”
Although police have not established who was at fault in Monday’s crash, Jones said he felt responsible for the safety of his celebrated passenger.
An autopsy conducted Tuesday showed Halberstam died almost instantly when a broken rib punctured his heart, San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said. The cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force trauma.
Jones was driving through an intersection with a traffic light when another car broadsided his, smashing into the passenger side, authorities said. Police said they were interviewing witnesses.
Halberstam, the author of 21 nonfiction books, was at work on a new one about the legendary 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants. Jones was taking him to interview Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who lives south of San Francisco.
Jones, who suffered a small puncture in one lung, said he received an e-mail from the journalism school last Friday saying Halberstam was looking for a driver who would get $20 an hour and a one-on-one journalism lesson.
Jones was the first one to reply.
“He is one of those people you can’t say his name without saying Pulitzer Prize-winning author,” Jones said. “I’m a journalist and that deserves the utmost respect.”
Halberstam’s interview had been set for Saturday but was rescheduled for Monday morning, according to Jones. During the hour they spent in the car, they spoke about having children and about how Jones’ wife and Halberstam’s daughter were teachers. Jones, who has hired a lawyer, would not discuss the crash itself. But he repeatedly expressed a desire “to make some kind of tribute” to the man who reached the pinnacle of his profession and spent the last hour of his life giving advice to a man just beginning his career.

 

[Double J]

And, of course, the tributes wouldn't be complete without:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/COL01/704240416&&imw=Y

Please note the first, and infinitely most important, word in the column.

And then notice the funereal last line, which concludes with the words "penning his epithet."

Perhaps Mr. Albom means "epitaph."

Thus perfectly illustrating the difference between Mr. Halberstam and himself; the difference between writing and typing; and the difference between good books and good book sales.

Well said.

Tuesday's Globe and Mail:

From a speech by David Halberstam to the Columbia School of Journalism in 2005:

"One of the things I learned, the easiest of lessons, was that the better you do your job, often going against conventional mores, the less popular you are likely to be. So, if you seek popularity, this is probably not the profession for you. … There are a few things I would like to pass on to you as I come near to the end of my career. One: It's not about fame. By and large, the more famous you are, the less of a journalist you are. Besides, fame does not last. At its best, it is about being paid to learn."

 

[gingerbread]

If anyone is in NYC later today, a small memorial service for David will be held at the 40/35 firehouse on Amsterdam and 65th.
This is the house that lost 12 guys in 9/11, and was memorialized in David's book "Firehouse." I live a few blocks from the house and have known several of the guys for years. Briefly I thought of asking if I might write a book about their experiences that autumn, maybe help the world get to know their fallen brothers, but there's no way I ever expected to be allowed that privilege.
David, who lived across the street, showed up at their door a few days after the attacks, charmed his way inside to the kitchen, and over the next few months managed to drag stories and gut-wrenching details from them that even their families didn't know. One day he literally had these tough, gruf guys crying as he cooked spaghetti dinner. He accompanied them to ground zero as they searched for their brothers -- it was many months before all 12 were found -- and went to all the funerals, and many times comforted the families.
More than his reporting skills, it's David's warmth they'll remember.

 

[gingerbread]

Someone needs to find Kevin Jones and send him this way.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The journalism student who was chauffeuring David Halberstam when the Pulitzer Prize winner was killed said Tuesday he jumped at the chance to spend time with the writer and is grief-stricken at what happened.
“I want to apologize to his family because I feel so bad,” said Kevin Jones, 26, who is in his first year of a two-year program at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. “I just wanted to help him.”
Although police have not established who was at fault in Monday’s crash, Jones said he felt responsible for the safety of his celebrated passenger.
An autopsy conducted Tuesday showed Halberstam died almost instantly when a broken rib punctured his heart, San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said. The cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force trauma.
Jones was driving through an intersection with a traffic light when another car broadsided his, smashing into the passenger side, authorities said. Police said they were interviewing witnesses.
Halberstam, the author of 21 nonfiction books, was at work on a new one about the legendary 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants. Jones was taking him to interview Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who lives south of San Francisco.
Jones, who suffered a small puncture in one lung, said he received an e-mail from the journalism school last Friday saying Halberstam was looking for a driver who would get $20 an hour and a one-on-one journalism lesson.
Jones was the first one to reply.
“He is one of those people you can’t say his name without saying Pulitzer Prize-winning author,” Jones said. “I’m a journalist and that deserves the utmost respect.”
Halberstam’s interview had been set for Saturday but was rescheduled for Monday morning, according to Jones. During the hour they spent in the car, they spoke about having children and about how Jones’ wife and Halberstam’s daughter were teachers. Jones, who has hired a lawyer, would not discuss the crash itself. But he repeatedly expressed a desire “to make some kind of tribute” to the man who reached the pinnacle of his profession and spent the last hour of his life giving advice to a man just beginning his career.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

And, of course, the tributes wouldn't be complete without:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/COL01/704240416&&imw=Y

Please note the first, and infinitely most important, word in the column.

And then notice the funereal last line, which concludes with the words "penning his epithet."

Perhaps Mr. Albom means "epitaph."

Thus perfectly illustrating the difference between Mr. Halberstam and himself; the difference between writing and typing; and the difference between good books and good book sales.

I don't understand the criticism here.

Epithet works, as does epitaph.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

And, of course, the tributes wouldn't be complete without:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/COL01/704240416&&imw=Y

Please note the first, and infinitely most important, word in the column.

And then notice the funereal last line, which concludes with the words "penning his epithet."

Perhaps Mr. Albom means "epitaph."

Thus perfectly illustrating the difference between Mr. Halberstam and himself; the difference between writing and typing; and the difference between good books and good book sales.

I don't understand the criticism here.

Epithet works, as does epitaph.

The only way "epithet" works is if Halberstam's last thought was,
"Holy ****, is that guy a hack!"