Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis
'Boom Town' by Sam Anderson is a captivating exploration of the history of Oklahoma City, delving into its chaotic founding, apocalyptic weather events, the purloined basketball team - the Thunder, and the city's dream of becoming a world-class metropolis. The book weaves together narratives of the city's past with the saga of the Thunder, offering a deep reflection on sports and their impact on the cities they represent. Anderson's writing style immerses readers in the forgotten culture and history of Oklahoma City, making the city itself feel like a compelling literary character.
The author skillfully intertwines the stories of Oklahoma City and the Thunder, creating a rich and engaging read that showcases the city's growth, struggles, and unique identity. Through Anderson's narrative non-fiction approach, readers are taken on a journey through the city's past, from its chaotic beginnings to its modern-day aspirations, all while highlighting key figures and events that have shaped Oklahoma City into what it is today.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains content related to racial issues, violence, and natural disasters such as the Oklahoma City bombing and severe weather events.
From The Publisher:
A brilliant, kaleidoscopic narrative of Oklahoma City-a great American story of civics, basketball, and destiny, from award-winning journalist Sam Anderson
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review
NPR
Chicago Tribune
San Francisco Chronicle
The Economist
Deadspin
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 team's 2012-13 season, when the Thunder's brilliant general manager, Sam Presti, ignited a firestorm by trading future superstar James Harden just days before the first game. Presti's all-in gamble on "the Process"-the patient, methodical management style that dictated the trade as the team's best hope for long-term greatness-kicked off a pivotal year in the city's 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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