Goat Brothers

by Larry Colton

A magazine writer describes his years as a fraternity boy at Berkeley in the early 1960s, discussing his ambitious classmates, their dreams, and their disappointments during a decade of promise. 75,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, College, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been thinking about baseball books lately, including Colton's reminiscence. After first reading Counting Coup, his long lingering portrayal of the reservation Indian basketball life, I wanted to know more about the author.
Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn

We are about the same age, thus his 1960s biography held my interest. Although when he was in a frat house with his Goat Brothers, I was in the barracks with my card playing, book reading and bowling buddies.

His vignettes reinforced my belief that that sort of college life wasn't for me, and I mostly skimmed second half book, about the "brotherly" characters other than Colton. The section of his book that I most remember featured his baseball career. In my foggy memory, his story and the Brothers K book overlap. 1960s baseball. (Duncan played for the high school closest to the one I attended.)
The Brothers K

Here are some selected quotes from KIRKUS REVIEW

"Heartfelt but taxing chronicle of the lives of five fraternity brothers from their 60's matriculation at USC-Berkeley to their present middle age. ... white, middle-class, Californian ... athletics, alcohol, sex ... Colton is one of the most clearly delineated: A baseball natural since boyhood, he is signed by the Phillies and pitches minor league for six years, ascending briefly to the majors. His frank talk of life on the road while his marriage crumbles is captivating."

[Kim Ess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book seems like it might be geared more for men but I absolutely LOVED it. The author really gives great insight into what it was like coming of age in the early 60s. It helped me to understand my father's generation more as he was the same age as the men in this book. It's tragic and sad at times but it really defines the times. Great read!

[John Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars! I really loved it though, when I discovered it is 559 pages, I hesitated, considering it more a heavy paperweight, rather than my preferred “a speedy read.” When I got into it, however, I found Larry Colton writes at a breezy clip. The story flowed, the dialog was witty and I couldn’t put the book down, reading the entire thing in about four days.

I find I enjoy factual “true stories” of this nature, an accounting of the lives of real people. This book is written in the manner of two of my favorites: “What Really Happened to the Class of ‘65?”, the story of the 1965 graduating class of Pacific Palisades High School by author, radio talk show host and political pundit, Michael Medved; and, in military tradition, “The Long Grey Line” by Rick Atkinson, a 25-year biographical reconstruction of the West Point class of 1966, the devastating story of the promising graduates thrown into the breech of the Vietnam war.

The author, Larry Colton, was an aspiring Major League Baseball player who made it to the big leagues, pitched in two games, then crashed and burned. Without apology, 25-years later, he chronicles how he tripped and stumbled through the next twenty years. He shares the story of his four best friends, golden boys and frat brothers of Pi KA, the jock frat house of U.C. Berkeley in 1960. From the dust jacket:

#LOREN HAWLEY: charismatic, athletic, bold. He was a would-be Donald Trump . . . and destined for the slammer.

#JIM VAN HOFTEN: the only Goat who spent more time at the library than at the keg. He became a top gun in Vietnam and then an astronaut on the Challenger.

#STEVE RADICH: a football star, dynamic and irrepressible. He was a Marine’s Marine in Vietnam and signed on for another tour — on the front lines of the sexual revolution.

#RON VAUGHN: also a football star and riddled with doubts over the big secret he could never share, a secret that drove him to years of isolation. Ron Vaughn was black . . . but no one knew it.

The final quote from the dust jacket: “Their lives — troubled, heroic and heartbreaking — show us who we really were and how we became who we are today.”

Read the book, then read the review posted below. They are nearly as entertaining as the book.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a jock/frat boy and four of his friends who were in the Pi KA fraternity at U.C. Berkeley in the early 60s. They were conservatives who resented the hippies and their political protests that impeded the frat boys' efforts to get drunk and get laid. It's a completely unfamiliar world to me and interesting to read about as a kind of ethnography (though this book is in no way academic). But it was disturbing to see how much these boys hated women and how easy it was for them to objectify others. I saw nothing to admire or long for in Greek life. But the book was well-written and extremely engaging. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very honest and exposing story of the lives of five fraternity brothers growing up through the 60's, 70's and 80's. One of them dies living life to the fullest.

Larry Colton was courageous in exposing his misogynistic tendencies (and his friends, as well).

At the end, it made me wonder how he views these tendencies, now that his two daughters are in that same climate and age.

A very fast read.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Larry Colton follows four of his fraternity brothers (and himself) as they navigate life in the 60s, 70s and 80s. A individual stories, they are compelling and in many cases sad. I went into this book thinking the brotherhood formed by being in a fraternity would be the focus of this book, but perhaps due to the structure of the book (chapters devoted to a single person) that is lost and I never felt that they had any connection to each other in most cases. It doesn't really matter as their own stories are interesting on their own, but it threw me based on how the book is promoted and the title. Sadly not many of the men show growth and maturity and too many continue in their binge drinking, womanizing ways later in life. Thank goodness one of the stories is about a man (Jim van Hoften) who becomes an astronaut and remains successful throughout his life. Perhaps it would have been nice to profile more successes from his fraternity. But then again do I want to read only about the good in people? Unfortunately, probably not. Grade: B

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well it seems I'm Binge Reading Larry Colton. 1st a minor league baseball book, followed by a WWII POW book. Now a Frat. Book.
Larry is 10 years older than me, so at 22, I was 12, with my 1st Paper Route, and the beginning of reading the daily news. His Style is simplistic, multiple characters, News Headlines, and Race Relations. The Killer is he follows his characters right up to the book headed to the Printer.
The Headlines Hit Home. What was I doing then? But more important how can people experience the same thing and be so different?

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book about five men who grew up in the 50's, entering college in the early sixties. While appealing in the way of keeping one's interest yet the lives of these men were just so sad. All five were seemingly amoral with drug and alcohol addictions and seemingly no real direction in their lives. They used women and saw themselves as some sort of gods with their athletic abilities and good looks. I just felt depressed for each and every one. I hope each will have found a modicum of peace though without a focus on the Lord, I have to doubt it.

[Ross Lenhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Colton pitched two innings for the Phillies at The Show. Those two innings makes him a major leaguer. A promising star who was "did in" by the Phillies management, and, yes, "did in" by himself as well. The Phillies' and major league baseball's loss is our gain, because Larry Colton is a superb writer. Maybe it is because I grew up in the same "goat brother" age and was a member of a fraternity, or maybe its because I just love non-fiction which examines the motivation, the loves, the lives, the emotions of human beings, but I found the lives of these five fraternity brothers to be fascinating. And Colton has turned these lives into a page turner. A friend gave me this book fifteen years ago and I finally picked it up. I need to thank him. The characters are real, the events are real, what ties them all together is real. And that is what makes Goat Brothers a wonderful read. And, yes, for his two innings at The Show, he ended his major league career by striking out "Vada Pinson on a slider at the knees to leave Charlie Hustle stranded on third." Our gain.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sis and I trade books. She finds hers in secondhand stores so I often read things I might otherwise have missed. This was entertaining for me because it takes place in part at my alma mater - U.C. Berkeley - around the time I was there. It was fun to reminisce and such. This book follows six guys who start out as fraternity brothers in a jock fraternity, so everyone is a football player or baseball player or multi-sport athlete. The author is one of those frat boys. He follows the men as they make their way through college and head out into the world, get married, get divorced, struggle, have children, and so on. There are no apologies for the men's typical frat boy behavior and the manner in which they treat and talk about women - it was what it was (kind of appalling). I think the book is probably unique in its inspection of the "male" experience of other males and of life in general. One comes away with the sense that some men are pretty emotionally limited.

[Charlene Hamilton]

I was about 13-14 years old when the events in this book happened. I seriously had no idea that four Frat brothers in California could be such selfish jerks. I've never heard such of women who thought they were in a serious relationship with someone being treated like whores and going along with everything. The drinking, womanizing, lack of respect for almost everyone except themselves. Not caring about grades or graduating, constantly borrowing money from family members with absolutely no compunction. No birth control, walking away from babies and responsibilities. The only brother in this book that I had any respect for was Jim. I purchased the book used from a Goodwill store but would probably burn it before donating it back to them.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larry as many of you know can be a bit of a curmudgeon. But he's also a terrific writer. I laughed so hard about him driving his car backwards with his daughter in the car because he couldn't get it into first. Community of Writers is a valuable organization and that's how I first learned about Larry, his books and started writing myself. Larry helped me begin. And Peter (Sears) helped me continue. I owe both of them so much admiration and respect, and for Larry, a punch in the arm for being so brutally honest about my shitty first draft.

This memoir tells the story about what happened to several friends, it's poinant and touching. I highy recommend.

[Arch Bala · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been like forever since I first read this during my first year in College – I feel like I was reliving their “frat days” back then up until I graduated. Phew! Good Ol’ days! Of course, based on true events – it was really admirable for Larry Colton to give us a glimpse of his life and his friends / “brothers'” antics during the 60’s – it was almost hateful at some point, poignant depending on your mood while reading it, cringe-worthy that’s for sure but the brutal honesty is what makes it (and all those stuff) believable. Gawd, it almost felt like living in that era – it’s funny that not much has changed since…

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

[Mollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic coming of age story...true story follows the lives of 5 frat brothers (one of whom writes the book) attending Berkeley in the late 60s and how their lives diverge, are impacted by their college experiences, where they end up.

[Melody]

I bailed out of this one early on. I read the first chapter and the last, looked at the photos and decided I just didn't care. I am not rating it because I got the impression that it's well written and interesting- just not to me. Frat boys grow up? They do tend to, after all.

[Richard Kravitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at the reading room in my Uncle's retirement home. Turned out to be a "great" book, uncomfortable in places, but real and almost read like a mystery at times. Living in the Bay Area I knew many of the areas in the book, and the times to a lesser degree. Highly recommended.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sleeper. Very riveting book on life in the 60s and 70s.

[April Howie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read ... and if you wanna know what hazing was done in the 60's it's in detail here (wow, who'd a thunk syrup and brulap bags would do such a thing).

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely hated this book. Made me very glad that I wasn't around with these guys during their college "glory days."

[Roy Reyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. I so loved the characters. This book made me feel like someone should option This book for a future TV series. I could see this on the screen as I read.