The Wonder Year: The Championships of the New York Jets, Mets, and Knicks Were Only Part of the Story in 1969 - Paperback

by Bert Flieger (Author)

Imagine you're a ten-year-old suburban New York kid, growing up on a dead-end street with dozens of sports-crazed friends. Your daily routine burns thousands of calories, playing in the street every minute your parents allow, imitating your favorite players from your local sports teams.

But while the games are fun to watch, your teams are not so good, at least not good enough to raise a trophy at the end of the season. Then it all changes, when not one but three underdog teams chase-and catch-glory.

Fantasy movie script? No, this was very real.

Framed by the first lunar landing, the legendary Woodstock festival, the tragedies of the Vietnam War, and the tribulations of Catholic school, this funny and nostalgic chronicle written through the eyes of a ten-year-old enthusiastically recounts the high emotions of this special year in the history of the country. It reveals the closeness and camaraderie that shined through in all aspects of family and community life.

The Wonder Year transports the reader to a place that for some is long forgotten, but can now be fondly remembered-and to a time that in some ways was very simple, but simultaneously extraordinary. It captures the spirit of the times: the family values, neighborhood friendships, the common and comfortable rituals, the shared experiences.

In short, 1969 was nothing short of The Wonder Year.

Author Biography

Bert Flieger was born in Hempstead, New York, and raised in Uniondale. Those magical years of the late Sixties and Flieger's enthusiasm for local New York sports teams form the basis of his new book, The Wonder Year. A survivor of Catholic grade school, Flieger is blessed with many friendships that go back to those days, and he loves reminiscing with friends old and new about the sports teams, events, and characters of his childhood. Although he has lived in many places, he will never forget his Long Island roots and still carries New York in his heart.