1978: Baseball and America in the Disco Era

by David Krell

David Krell chronicles in novelistic detail the notable achievements of some of baseball’s greatest players of 1978, along with some of the national pastime’s quirkiest moments, to capture an extraordinary year in baseball.

Genres: Baseball, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Krell has taken on an exceptional journey back in time to 1978 with his most recent book that combines Baseball with what is going on in American culture. Laid out in a month by month format we can follow the big events in Baseball during the Hot Stove Season, Preseason, Regular Season, post Season and beyond. This keeps us from mushing everything together and when coupled with what was going on culturally you get a fascinating look at the US from the Blizzard of '78 to the "best interests of baseball", to movies, TV, the amazing Yankees comeback to win the AL pennant and World Series, and so much more. A must for baseball fans, as well as cultural fanatics. As always, impeccably researched and an easy to read and super fun book!!!!
Kudos David!!!!

[TK421 · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read David Krell is akin to having an intimate conversation with a friend while sitting around a campfire. You just know the conversation will meander between topics in the most delightful of ways. 1978: Baseball and America in the Disco Era fits the aforementioned description. Krell's use of popular culture to highlight the happenings of the 1978 baseball season is both highly entertaining and beautifully executed. Throughout my reading of this book, I often allowed myself to go to YouTube to watch clips of movies and television shows of a forgotten time period only to be enamored by these brief viewings. Additionally, my TBR grew by a score of books because of the excellent bibliography. There is much that can be said of this book, but I want the reader to experience it firsthand without my anonymous spoilers ruining it. One thing I can say: Reggie Jackson really was an ass.

[Shawn Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not bad but not great either. It’s like a story with ADD. It goes everywhere. It’s not a baseball book. It’s not a culture book. More about TV

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1978, baseball and the social culture of the United States were both undergoing significant changes. In social circles, disco was the most popular genre of music, there were actions taken to advance the causes of feminism (one of which involved baseball, allowing female sportswriters access to baseball locker rooms), and many movies and television shows showcasing new talent.

In baseball, however, the change really brought something that was not so new – the two best teams in 1978 were the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Like the previous year and many times in previous decades, they faced each other in the World Series. This book by David Krell examines the paths the two teams took to get there and also takes readers into the details of many popular movies, television shows, musical artists and some social issues as well.

Krell never gets too deep into any one topic, not even the baseball as many of the stories told about the Yankees, Dodgers or other teams are never too lengthy – they are just long enough to get the message across about what were the results. A great example of this is how the Yankees won the American League East division over their rivals, the Boston Red Sox (another team that has a good amount of coverage). While the chapter on September (there’s a chapter for each month) mentions the “Boston Massacre” when the Yankees swept a four game series at Fenway Park to complete a comeback from 14 ½ games behind the Red Sox, there is little else about this comeback save for the first story in October about the tie-breaking game played by the two teams.

For other subjects, it’s the same style. Whether talking about a new comic genius named Robin Williams appearing on “Happy Days” as Mork from Ork, movies such as “Grease” or news events such as the assassination in San Francisco of supervisor Harvey Milk and George Moscone, Krell has the same style – enough coverage for the reader to understand the story, but not too much detail where the reader may lose interest. This is especially important to readers who experienced these events as they will bring back memories and maybe even add something they did not recall. The book’s style certainly would appeal to these readers who lived through that baseball season.

While not completely about the 1978 baseball season, this book is nonetheless an enjoyable and quick read for fans of the game in that time – the beginning of free agency, the re-emergence of the Yankee-Dodger rivalry and some other events that made that season memorable for many fans.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

[Mr. Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Thank you, University Of Nebraska Press, for providing this book for review consideration in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just finished 1978: Baseball And America In The Disco Era, by David Krell.

This book will be published on April 1, 2025.

This was a very good look at baseball in 1978. There was plenty about the Yankees, including profiles of Reggie Jackson and Ron Guidry, the team’s historical comeback, the “Boston Massacre”, the playoff game against the Red Sox along with the postseason. It also featured other baseball highlights, such as Pete Rose, the Dodgers and much more.

In addition to baseball, the book also looked at pop culture for that year. I was interested in the book solely for the baseball aspects, but still found a bunch of the culture stuff interesting too.

I give this book an A. It is the fifth book that I have read by this author and his second A (The New York Yankees In Popular Culture).

Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at Goodreads and Mr. Book’s Book Reviews.

Mr. Book finished reading this on December 6, 2024.

[SheMac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh ... I initially enjoyed this book as it was a nostalgic look back at a year I'm old enough to remember. The author, however, I feel fails in his attempt to link baseball in '78 to the TV, movies and politics of the year apart from the usual "baseball was changing ... expansion, free agency ... America had been through so much assassinations, Vietnam, Watergate ..." He struggles to transition from baseball to current events, the wildest being likening the Yankees once again beating the Dodgers to Bill Bixby returning to television. The writing is somewhat repetitive as a discussion about Pete Rose in the early chapters is virtually repeated in the final chapter. Lastly, the book just suddenly ends with brief discussions of two complicated topics: the Holocaust and the JFK assassination. Strange ...

[Tyler J Hinds · Rating 2 out of 5]

3.8