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Boom Town
Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, its Chaotic Founding... its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis | Sam Anderson
12 posts | 9 read | 2 reading | 25 to read
Award-winning journalist Sam Andersons long-awaited debut is a brilliant, kaleidoscopic narrative of Oklahoma City--a great American story of civics, basketball, and destiny. Oklahoma City was born from chaos. It was founded in a bizarre but momentous "Land Run" in 1889, when thousands of people lined up along the borders of Oklahoma Territory and rushed in at noon to stake their claims. Since then, it has been a city torn between the wild energy that drives its outsized ambitions, and the forces of order that seek sustainable progress. Nowhere was this dynamic better realized than in the drama of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball teams 2012-13 season, when the Thunders brilliant general manager, Sam Presti, ignited a firestorm by trading future superstar James Harden just days before the first game. Prestis all-in gamble on the Processthe patient, methodical management style that dictated the trade as the teams best hope for long-term greatnesskicked off a pivotal year in the citys history, one that would include pitched battles over urban planning, a series of cataclysmic tornadoes, and the frenzied hope that an NBA championship might finally deliver the glory of which the city had always dreamed. Boom Town announces the arrival of an exciting literary voice. Sam Anderson, former book critic for New York magazine and now a staff writer at the New York Times magazine, unfolds an idiosyncratic mix of American history, sports reporting, urban studies, gonzo memoir, and much more to tell the strange but compelling story of an American city whose unique mix of geography and history make it a fascinating microcosm of the democratic experiment. Filled with characters ranging from NBA superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; to Flaming Lips oddball frontman Wayne Coyne; to legendary Great Plains meteorologist Gary England; to Stanley Draper, Oklahoma City's would-be Robert Moses; to civil rights activist Clara Luper; to the citizens and public servants who survived the notorious 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building, Boom Town offers a remarkable look at the urban tapestry woven from control and chaos, sports and civics.
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WorldsOkayestStepMom
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I loved the history in the book. I don't like the sports analysis. It was hard to read about the 2013 tornados because I was here. It was a long day.

Susanita One of the longest subtitles! 4y
48 likes1 comment
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WorldsOkayestStepMom
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I really enjoy the history parts of the book and could do with less of the sports analysis and recollection. But the highlighted line made me feel 🤦‍♀️
I'm a longtime Dallas Cowboys fan. They are America's team, not Washington!

RamsFan1963 Actually, Dallas is now ranked 2nd among NFL fans 18-34. New England is 1st, but I'd cut out my tongue before I'd call them America's team 🤮🤮🤮 4y
WorldsOkayestStepMom @RamsFan1963 I didn't know those stats! 4y
RamsFan1963 @WorldsOkayestStepMom If truth be told, my Rams are the true America's team, I'm just waiting for the rest of America to catch up with me 🤣🤣🤣 4y
32 likes4 comments
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Nitpickyabouttrains
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I really loved the history of Oklahoma City. And I really enjoyed the modern parts, especially about the flaming lips and their front man. Even the sports parts were interesting, when they were about the politics of it and not play by plays of games.

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karenna
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I loved reading this book. Anderson‘s writing transforms an arguably unglamorous topic, Oklahoma City, into a gripping read. Note: I listened to it on audio, which the author himself narrates. His reading enhanced my experience because his wry humor is emphasized by the delivery tone.

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Well-ReadNeck
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I loved this quirky history Of Oklahoma City. A fun and surprisingly entertaining book!

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/boom-town-sam-anderson/

#Recommendsday

91 likes2 stack adds
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DocBrown
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Author tells the story of this lesser-known & (debatably) underrated city by weaving together profiles of some of its more notable residents, past & present, using its NBA team as a narrative frame. Land rush, annexation, civil rights, urban renewal, tornadoes, McVeigh — all are covered. Still, it‘s too heavily weighted toward white male voices. Few POC, almost no women, and NO (!!) 1st Nations. Great writing and very informative, but how can....

DocBrown ...you tell the story of Oklahoma and NOT mention the dispossession of native peoples?? 6y
Mdargusch Hmmmm 🤨 6y
Mamashep How do you not mention native Americans?! 6y
DocBrown @mdargusch @mamashep Right?!? (edited) 6y
71 likes4 comments
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Litpixie
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Meet one of the few people in Oklahoma who has never watched a Thunder game nor do I own any Thunder merchandise. I just don't like sports. Here in Oklahoma Boom Town has been talked about for several months. It's a fascinating read, although I wish more history had been included and less Thunder.

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Litpixie
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Litpixie
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Getting ready to vote. When I return home I'm going to read a book that has had Oklahoma talking.

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Margereadsthings
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#readharder2018 task - read a book of social science. This one is wonderfully written.

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Well-ReadNeck
Okc | Sam Anderson
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Pickpick

thoroughly enjoyed this non-fiction look at Oklahoma City. This book tells the story of Oklahoma City from being the bottom of an ocean on the continent of Pangea to present day. (Don't worry, not in chronological order and not in detail). If there is a slight hesitation in recommending this book, it's to warn you that there is a LOT about basketball. Great out-of-the-box read. #netgalley

KristinaRay I‘m not sure I could deal with the basketball stuff, but the premise sounds fascinating. 6y
Amiable Looks interesting! Thanks for bringing it to my attention! 6y
122 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
Okc | Sam Anderson
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#FridayReads

One fiction. One non.

Happy Weekend!!

ErikasMindfulShelf The Great Believers is excellent 😍 6y
LeeRHarry The Great Believers is up next for me 😊 6y
115 likes2 comments