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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

Sam Anderson

4.39 · Rating details · 5,547 ratings · 816 reviews

Award-winning journalist Sam Anderson’s 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 stak Award-winning journalist Sam Anderson’s 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 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. ...more

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Hardcover, 448 pages

Published August 21st 2018 by Crown

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Start your review of 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

Jul 21, 2019 Brina rated it really liked it

Shelves: sports, basketball, history, western

As the summer approaches it’s apex I am drawn to books about the south and west, climates where residents have a penchant for front porch story telling. If not a southern verdant, then I find myself moved by tales of the old west, cowboys, Indians, and America’s manifest destiny to overtake an entire continent. Oklahoma is in America’s fly over country en route to either coast and is best known for foisting Indian territory from the native Americans and for its inferiority complex and rivalry wi As the summer approaches it’s apex I am drawn to books about the south and west, climates where residents have a penchant for front porch story telling. If not a southern verdant, then I find myself moved by tales of the old west, cowboys, Indians, and America’s manifest destiny to overtake an entire continent. Oklahoma is in America’s fly over country en route to either coast and is best known for foisting Indian territory from the native Americans and for its inferiority complex and rivalry with Texas. Nothing seemingly stands out about Oklahoma at first glance, yet I was intrigued by Boom Town with its bright blue and orange cover on the staff recommendation rack at my library. Featuring disjointed history, tornadoes, and an unlikely basketball team, Boom Town looked to be a wild ride through Oklahoma history that appeared too bright to ignore.

Sam Anderson first game to Oklahoma City in 2012 to cover the Thunder and was taken by the city enough to stay for awhile and uncover its history. Oklahoma was one of the last bastions of the American west, after it had been declared closed. Settlers from neighboring states looking for land to call their own petitioned the federal cover to open Indian Territory to settlers. After a few botched attempts in what would be emblematic of the city’s history, the government allowed Oklahoma to be open to settlers. The race to settle the territory that would become known as the Land Grab began at high noon on April 22, 1889. Rife with illegal activity, competing groups, and lawlessness, Oklahoma City in its earliest form was founded. What is often swept under the rug is that the Land Grab was limited to white settlers, although blacks came to Oklahoma in search of a better life following the reconstruction era. The city and territory aligned itself with southern values and looked to find leaders at the dawn of the 20th century. The first civic leader Angelo Scott would bury a time capsule in 1913 to be unearthed one hundred years later by what he assumed would be Oklahoma City’s venerable citizens.

Oklahoma City is a history of destruction and failed promises. Only 130 years old, the city has been victim to the boom and bust cycle, tornadoes, the bombing of a federal building, and Jim Crow laws that have largely been swept under the rug. Anderson navigates back and forth between present and past, featuring a large cast of characters ranging from Invisible Man author Ralph Ellison to Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne. Weatherman Gary England is a statewide celebrity, and civil rights activist Clara Luper is largely forgotten in the annals of history yet equally as important as her eastern contemporaries. One would be remiss not to mention Stanley Draper, a chamber of commerce official who used his government connections to tear down and modernize Oklahoma City for better or worse. These characters who have dotted the brief history of Oklahoma City have contended with inept officials, failed promises of urban renewal, tornadoes’ destruction, and a federal building bombing that threatened to derail any progress the renewal committee had promised as history moved toward the 21st century.

Boom could refer to the path of a tornado, a stick of dynamite tearing down an old building, a sonic jet flying over the city, or the sound of 19,000 raucous fans filling a basketball arena. The 2012 version of the Oklahoma City Thunder that Sam Anderson first reported on is now obsolete. Over the last month, the last of the team’s original stars has left for glitzier surroundings elsewhere. In 2008, Thunder owners stole the SuperSonics from Seattle right under the league’s nose and moved the team into Oklahoma City’s new Chesapeake Energy Arena, built to be a symbol of urban renewal. Only thirteen years after the Murrah Federal Building bombing, the Thunder’s presence gave the city and state something to be proud of, to galvanize themselves over. Although the first four years of the franchise featured bad teams that gave fans few reasons to cheer, by 2012, the team featuring young stars had matured to become a major force in the NBA. People from all over Oklahoma City from Wayne Coyne to rapper Jabree to Clara Luper’s son Calvin came to cheer the Thunder. In the city’s 130 year history, the team’s success was its most shining moment. In this moment, Anderson realized that he wanted to research the story behind the city and stayed to study the characters and events that gave the city its unique flavor.

Today, Oklahoma City has a bohemian district. The young people are staying put rather than leaving for better pastures in Houston, Denver, or Los Angeles. The Thunder remains the city’s only major team and looks to have some down years ahead. Wayne Coyne is still relevant, Gary England is enjoying retirement, and April 22 is still celebrated by school children as Land Grab Day. All new members of the Thunder are required by team president Sam Presti to tour the Murrah Building Memorial, even Oklahoma City native son Daniel Orton who lived through the horrific day as a four year old. Tornadoes rumble through, buildings rise and fall, yet Oklahoma City finally seems to have a grasp on maintaining itself for future generations. I knew little of the city or state aside from it being Indian Territory prior to reading Boom Town, yet Sam Anderson has depicted Oklahoma City as a fun place to visit in the midst of fly over country, a city of colorful characters who have somehow created a vibrant history in-spite of the cycles of boom and bust destruction.

4 stars ...more

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Aug 27, 2018 Paquita Maria Sanchez added it

Shelves: actuals-n-factuals, oklahoma

If Sam Anderson can emotionally invest born and raised Okie-me in the politics and interpersonal relationships of the Thunder, a basketball team I've never watched play a single game (not even on a television screen), then I promise you that he can effortlessly breathe life into my hometown's unique and bizarre history for even the most removed reader. He's just that good...and OKC is just that weird. I would recommend this to anyone, without qualifiers. ...more

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Nov 17, 2019 Dan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: basketball

The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City by Sam Anderson

In 1880, Oklahoma still did not exist. This was light-years into the American experiment, more than a century after the Declaration of Independence, fifteen years after the end of the Civil War. By then, all the states around it existed

I enjoyed this bestselling book about OKC’s history. The pacing was perfect. I wish histories of this quality were written about every American city. To be sure, this is not a comprehensive history of the town. ...more

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Dec 03, 2019 Brandice rated it liked it

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 is quite the title for a book, yet also a fitting summary of what’s covered here by journalist Sam Anderson.

Boom Town chronicles the history of Oklahoma City (OKC) — a, dare I say it, “small” city — that seems to have perpetually ridden the rollercoaster of boom and bust. Anderson details OKC’s founding in 1889 and man ...more

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Nov 04, 2018 Hank Stuever rated it it was amazing

It's a surreal experience to read the deepest dive any writer (and big-time publisher) will ever undertake about your hometown, which, as "Boom Town's" mostly East Coast reviewers have noted, is one of those places that almost nobody thinks about.

I was born and raised in Oklahoma City and left to go to college when I was 18 (in 1986), returning less and less as the years passed and family died (or moved). Now it's mostly a trip back for a high school reunion every five or 10 years. Enough about It's a surreal experience to read the deepest dive any writer (and big-time publisher) will ever undertake about your hometown, which, as "Boom Town's" mostly East Coast reviewers have noted, is one of those places that almost nobody thinks about.

I was born and raised in Oklahoma City and left to go to college when I was 18 (in 1986), returning less and less as the years passed and family died (or moved). Now it's mostly a trip back for a high school reunion every five or 10 years. Enough about OKC remains the same, so that these visits can become a satisfying nostalgia trip. It's a real and always sentimental journey for me, but a lot has changed, to say the very least. This is a book about a truly American place always on the verge of something big, ever since 1889, and never quite getting there. Sam Anderson has done a terrific job of mixing historical research and literary wonder, understanding Oklahoma City for what it is and what it dreams of being.

It's heartbreaking, really -- the implosion/explosion and boom/bust metaphors woven into its identity, including the 1995 federal building bombing that I covered as a reporter who was sent back home to write about the nature of the place.

I was telling a friend from high school about the experience of reading "Boom Town" and encountering all this historical material that I somehow already knew, almost inherently. "Laverne Crumley, duh," she said, recalling our sweet but stern Oklahoma History teacher (all high school freshmen had to take a semester of Oklahoma History, by law). My friend is right -- Mrs. Crumley gave us a great education in our state's chaotic history, people and places. Sam Anderson fills in a lot of holes in the story, particularly as it pertains to Oklahoma City's (and the state's) deplorable record on race and civil rights. As Anderson notes, it's a wonder Oklahoma City isn't uttered in the same breath as Birmingham and other Southern cities, given how hideously its white citizens treated anybody who wasn't white. (Or straight, I hasten to add. Or Christian, others hasten to add.)

I was happy and sad reading this book. I left OKC at full escape velocity -- I was a closeted gay kid who wanted to be a journalist, and the city offered me nothing but disappointment in either regard. Part of me wonders: What would it be like to return and make a life there?

Answer: I'd have to really like basketball, and I really don't. My only letdown with "Boom Town" is that soooooooo much of it is about the Thunder, the NBA franchise credited with finally putting Oklahoma City on the nation's cultural/entertainment map. I rarely buy into longform narrative journalism about the meaning of sports and sports teams/glory, etc., but I persevered and trusted Sam Anderson to tell the story he wanted to tell. After all, the Thunder is the only reason he visited Oklahoma City in the first place -- on assignment. Good for him for seeing so much more than that and sticking around so long to learn about it. ...more

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Oct 26, 2018 L.A. Starks rated it it was amazing

Anderson came to OKC from New York to report on the Thunder, Oklahoma City's basketball team, but he writes a fine history of Oklahoma City itself, interspersed with the Thunder's on-court drama. Anderson starts with the land run, writes about the growth by annexation, desegregation, the unfortunate clearing of downtown--an idea generated by I.M. Pei and adopted by the city fathers--the Murrah bombing, and tornadoes. He writes some about oil and gas but is less specific than he could be that poo ...more

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Jan 31, 2019 Scott rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

Boom Town is one of those books that I refer to as "It's all right there in the title, folks."

Anderson - with a a lot of well-placed humor and extensive research - examines the origin of the relatively young metropolis, that is firmly entrenched in what is called America's 'flyover country,' starting with the chaotic Land Run of 1889 (where the settlers physically raced in to the then-territory to claim real estate -- probably best known from its depiction in the Tom Cruise / Nicole Kid 4.5 stars

Boom Town is one of those books that I refer to as "It's all right there in the title, folks."

Anderson - with a a lot of well-placed humor and extensive research - examines the origin of the relatively young metropolis, that is firmly entrenched in what is called America's 'flyover country,' starting with the chaotic Land Run of 1889 (where the settlers physically raced in to the then-territory to claim real estate -- probably best known from its depiction in the Tom Cruise / Nicole Kidman movie Far and Away) and the haphazard and often-violent origin of what would become the state's capital city. It initially depicted as a rough community, brimming with mostly cowboys and criminals. (The state itself is somewhat 'new,' at least by U.S. standards, established only in 1907.)

After detailing some of the founding fathers Anderson begins to switch gears between the other segments, focusing on the personalities in the region -- the newly acquired Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics), and a study in contrasts between its superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; civil rights pioneer Clara Luper, a local legend who deserves to be more well-known like many of the men in national prominence from the same time period; long-time TV meteorologist Gary England, a calming, respected, and trusted presence during many of the area's frequently severe thunderstorms and tornadoes; and Wayne Coyne, eccentric front-man of the experimental rock group Flaming Lips, responsible for the single 'She Don't Use Jelly' in 1993.

Appropriately and tactfully, Anderson discusses the tragic Alfred Murrah federal building bombing near the finale, detailing terrorist Timothy McVeigh's horrific and devastating work in 1995. It is here that the author takes a rare misstep, albeit briefly, with a needless cheap shot at the state trooper who apprehended McVeigh (which was the first break in the case). Just stick to the facts, guy.

Boom Town is off-beat but intelligent history, uniquely covering the good and bad of a city. ...more

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Apr 09, 2018 Ron S rated it really liked it

Shelves: oklahoma, history

Who needs a synopsis with a sub-title like that? A fun, fast-paced read for people that enjoy unusual histories with a generous helping of weird.

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Oct 12, 2019 Louise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: us-history

The motif of “boom” underlies the improbable story of Oklahoma City. Author, Sam Anderson, weaves back and forth in time often returning to the Thunder basketball team as a barometer of the city's present. Through unique and engaging prose, he gets to the essence of people and events.

While most cities grow organically, Oklahoma City was “boomed” on April 22, 1882, the day of the “Land Run”. People came from all over the US and elsewhere to claim “unassigned land” at the sound of a gun. This lan The motif of “boom” underlies the improbable story of Oklahoma City. Author, Sam Anderson, weaves back and forth in time often returning to the Thunder basketball team as a barometer of the city's present. Through unique and engaging prose, he gets to the essence of people and events.

While most cities grow organically, Oklahoma City was “boomed” on April 22, 1882, the day of the “Land Run”. People came from all over the US and elsewhere to claim “unassigned land” at the sound of a gun. This land was a Native American Reservation - the end point of the “Trail of Tears”. It was confiscated because tribes had fought for the Confederacy.

The dubious origins of the unassigned land (how many other confederates had their land confiscated?) presaged a future with other dubious deals such as the means by which an NBA team was procured and the the State Capitol designation taken from Tulsa. Residents had Project Bongo (6 months of loud booms 6 times a day) and an expensive urban renewal (plans by I.M. Pei) thrust upon them. Chesapeake Energy turned out to be a mixed blessing as a corporate citizen.

There are some sketches of the first days of the instant town with no infrastructure – no water, law enforcement, or streets between claims. There seems to be no retribution for those who cheated to get their land. The author shows the plight of the small number of black settlers who got the worst land.

With basketball as a major theme a lot of space is devoted to the personalities of the Thunder’s coach, Sam Pesti (and his “method”), James Harden (his beard and career), Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (as individuals and as a pair) and local talent Daniel Orton. There are in depth and compelling portraits of the wild and complex pop star (who out Zappa’s Frank Zappa) Wayne Coyne and his compound; Clara Luper the leader of OKC’s sit-ins and other civil rights causes and Gary England (extreme) weather expert and forecaster.

From the past you learn of David Payne who died suddenly in the first settlement attempt. Roscoe Dunjee publisher of an uncompromising and influential paper for blacks that inspired the "Invisible Man" author and OKC native, Ralph Ellison; Angelo Scott who chronicled the city’s early days and spoke to future generations in a time capsule; and Stanley Draper who lead urban renewal that did not create its intended “boom”.

The treatment of the Murrah Building bombing is a reporting and literary masterpiece. Anderson tells of an ordinary morning that has people greeting one another, dropping off day care kids, waiting for elevators and beginning meetings. He brings the tragedy home on p. 354: “168 people died, 219 children lost a parent; 30 were orphaned completely”. There are brief descriptions of McVeigh’s apprehension and sorry end.

There is no mention of the dust bowl. The 1930’s is shown as a “boom” time with the of discovery of oil.

Anderson shows how Oklahoma City is on par with, and may exceed, the US cities that are noted for their eccentricities: college towns, some CA cities, and artistic areas. It is an entertaining and informative book. Appreciating basketball will add to your enjoyment of it.

Because of the back an forth of time, a chronological chart would have been helpful- ...more

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Aug 28, 2018 Stella rated it it was amazing

There a few versions of Oklahoma City. There's the "bombing" OKC. There's the "flyover state" OKC. Then there's the Thunder version.

Sam Anderson has taken Oklahoma City, the OKC Thunder and, really, the state of Oklahoma and combined it into a fantastic story. Shooing back and forth through time, Anderson captures what makes Oklahoma and the Thunder so great. This is the story of a great state, a state that popped up over night, a state that had a college before it was officially recognized as ...more

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Jul 12, 2019 Nathan "N.R." Gaddis added it

Shelves: 2019-gelassen

This came as a nice surprise for me. Meet someone and tell them you read and they tell you about a book written by their friend and you go out and get a copy because that's just the kind of guy you are.

So but you know how we're all working through this list of novels we call Großstadtromane? It's here ::
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Well, Boom Town is kind of like that. Except it's nonfiction. And it's about a Town that only wants to be groß, that thinks itself to be groß, that wills ...more

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May 21, 2018 Uriel Perez rated it it was amazing

This is a stunningly good piece of civic history here. Sam Anderson does the impossible and makes the arid, droll landscape of Oklahoma City explode with intrigue. ‘Boom Town’ is a wonderful mix of basketball reportage, frontier history and expose of a city in flyover country that really deserves a second look.

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Dec 26, 2018 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018, non-fiction

How is this book not on every "best of 2018" list for non-fiction? So fun, so well-written, so fascinating (I listened to it on audiobook--great listen as well). The majority of my family is from Oklahoma, and that's what compelled me to pick up the book but I would've loved this anyway, regardless of any connection. I love sports but hate the NBA but the Thunder storyline is so fantastically woven into the overall narrative I was completely hooked. The author tackles the founding of the city, t ...more

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Aug 08, 2019 Andrea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites-2019, audio, non-fiction-2019

I have a connection to Oklahoma City-- my parents are from there and I lived there for part of my childhood. I might have passed this by (and the author, in the into suggests that this book might not be for you) but thought I'd give it a shot via audio and if I didn't like it, I could abandon it.

I'm glad I kept on. There was a lot I was familiar with (the celebration of the land grab on April 22, when I was a kid, downtown? what downtown?, Enterprise Square USA) and a fair amount I wasn't (I'm n ...more

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Feb 09, 2019 vanessa rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, 2019, listened-on-audiobook, nonfiction

Overall a really amusing book... Definitely can recommend as an audiobook (narrated by the author). It's part history, sports recap, and anecdotal life in Oklahoma City. Anderson tells readers of OKC's land run days, its eagerness to grow as a metropolis (good luck with that), its civil rights movement, the Oklahoma City bombing, disastrous tornadoes and the weathermen who follow them, and of course: Thunder basketball. He focuses on the humor and irony and weirdness of Oklahoma City, so you wil ...more

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Jan 26, 2019 Bethany rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The 5-star rating may be a little biased considering I’m a lifelong Oklahoma resident, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author covers all the big events/themes in OKC history - the Land Run, the oil booms & busts, Clara Luper & the civil rights movement, the OKC bombing, the Thunder, the tornado tragedies - and also touches on really interesting small details. I found myself both laughing out loud and crying at different points, and I found it really interesting to see decades of chaotic ...more

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May 26, 2020 Campbell rated it it was amazing

I initially picked up this book to ease my nagging nostalgia for my time in OKC, expecting to be mildly bored by the chapters dedicated to the Thunder, but instead, I got a witty, touching, and informative look into middle America, perfectly blending past and present with foreshadowing to the future. Anderson skillfully captures the absurdity of this weird little city with a nod to its inexplicable charm. This book is definitely for you if you are interested in the NBA, the Flaming Lips, urban p ...more

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Sep 26, 2020 anklecemetery rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel, history, nonfiction, audiobook, sports

This book was utterly bananas. I'm not a sports person, but I was completely engrossed in the way Anderson wove together all of his narrative threads; he made civics, history, basketball, and the weather into a story I could not put down.

His writing is simultaneously funny and poignant; in one chapter, he describes the reverence of opening a time capsule, or the way survivors of a tornado thanked their local weatherman, and follows it up with a description of a basketball game that includes the ...more

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Nov 20, 2018 Trike rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2018, history, earthquake, non-fiction, sports, music

Oklahoma City has a crazy history. Crazier than most cities. From its birth during the Oklahoma Land Run through its lawless Wild West days continuing through booms and busts and failed urban renewal to the Murrah building bombing and the area’s insane tornado weather, it’s been one crazy rollercoaster ride. If this were the backstory of a sci-fi book no one would buy into it because it’s so completely absurd.

For instance, the bit about the “purloined basketball team” refers to the OKC Thunder, ...more

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Sep 12, 2019 Jon Barr rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Brilliant look at the city I get to live in, the basketball team I get to watch and the people and places surrounding them.

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Feb 16, 2019 Molly rated it really liked it

Shelves: oklahoma

What a fucking trip. Living in Oklahoma City definitely fertilizes the soil here, but I think I might've loved this book even if I didn't. Sam Anderson's writing is bright, conspiratorial, and funny; it's snarky but not mean, personal but not self-centered. He tells the story of Oklahoma City, from its bizarre artificially inseminated birth to its sleek new basketball franchise. The Thunder, in fact, consume about half the book; perhaps it's more accurate to say that this book intertwines the hi ...more

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Mar 25, 2020 Cat Duffy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020

Boom Town is a narrative non-fiction book about the history of Oklahoma City and its NBA team, the Oklahoma Thunder (or Zombie Sonics if you’re from Seattle). It is an incredibly engaging book that does a really good job of interweaving the history of Oklahoma City with the rise and fall of its professional basketball team -- both of which are truly wild sagas. There are so many things I learned that shocked the hell out of me, ranging from OKC’s experiment with sonic flight (what an insane colo ...more

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Mar 31, 2019 J rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, audiobook

A totally compelling look at a relatively young boom-or-bust American city. Brilliantly written and structured. I'm really in awe of this book. ...more

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Feb 26, 2020 Jake Spencer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is one of my absolute favorite books ever. I’ve lived in Oklahoma and I learned a lot about the state and OKC! This is an honest look at what’s great (and what’s not) about “The City”.

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Jun 02, 2020 Dana Stabenow rated it liked it

Shelves: hpl-s-lit-lineup-2020

I finished this book a couple of days ago but I've put off reviewing it because I don't know quite what to make of it. It's the story of Oklahoma City, a place unique even in the history of the United States. It's also the story of the Thunder, OKC's pro basketball team. The two stories are told in parallel, although OKC came into being a century before the team did.

Taken at the level of craft, this is a great read. You can always count on a sports writer for imaginative metaphors and a vigorous ...more

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Nov 10, 2019 Keely rated it it was amazing

I loved it. It’s complicated.
.
To read such a thorough, well-researched, masterfully written account of your home is a unique treasure. Sam Anderson’s book is just that. But history is messy, ugly, and often face-palm invoking, and Oklahoma’s is all of that.
.
I learned so much as I read, having been either oblivious to or simply uninterested in these stories before. Growing up an Okie, I’ve re-enacted many a Land Run in my day, and I’m Sooner born and Sooner bred; but these things take on a differ ...more

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Jun 09, 2019 audrey rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-m-cuckoo-for-colonialism, prairie-gothic, oklahoma, us-nonfiction, where-you-go-you-always-take-the-we, eco-gothic, weird-feelings-about-architecture

Y'all, this was so fun.

So, so fun. Anderson takes as his starting point the entirely reasonable view that US history is little pockets of weirdness driven by racism, guns and money, and we go from there.

Even by the standards of 19th century US history the founding of Oklahoma takes the weirdness cake. After conveniently driving off the indigenous people who lived there and/or had been driven there at bayonet-point, massive amounts of settlers lined up at the edges of the state until seven diff Y'all, this was so fun.

So, so fun. Anderson takes as his starting point the entirely reasonable view that US history is little pockets of weirdness driven by racism, guns and money, and we go from there.

Even by the standards of 19th century US history the founding of Oklahoma takes the weirdness cake. After conveniently driving off the indigenous people who lived there and/or had been driven there at bayonet-point, massive amounts of settlers lined up at the edges of the state until seven different people shouted "GO" in nothing like unison. Then everyone tried to grab a homestead, except for all the settlers who cheated by sneaking into Oklahoma early. From there, things got shouty and disorganized.

But what I hadn't realized until I read this book is that after Oklahoma got its settling together, things continued to be weird. They let the US government test sonic booms on Oklahoma City. They stole a basketball team. They accidentally paved over their downtown. Tornados did some redecorating. A couple recessions did some more.

And Anderson makes it all fascinating, in a voice reminiscent of Sarah Vowell.

To be fair, there's a lot more NBA drama in this book than anything else, which I could take or leave, but I now at least have some idea of who Kevin Durant is and why lots of people care about his Achilles tendons.

And I really enjoyed all the other sections as well: the story of Oklahoma's one true weatherman, civil rights activist Clara Luper and her sit-ins at Oklahoma City lunch counters, Teddy Roosevelt having to intervene with the founding of the state in 1907 and tell the then-governor to dial it back a bit on making spectacular racism part of the state's charter, and how El Reno, OK keeps getting flattened by tornadoes.

Anderson also includes a section at the end of the book dealing with the duckweed white supremacist who-shall-not-be-named and his Ryder truck. It's difficult to write about terrorist incidents with skill rather than alarmism or ghoulishness, but Anderson pulls it off, and I confess I cried a little bit during that section. But only a little bit, because I am cold and hard and steely inside.

Overall: lovely amounts of history, architecture, weather, and more history, interrupted at regular intervals by NBA drama. (And that's why it's four rather than five stars. I try mightily to care about basketball but it hasn't been the same since The Monarchs folded). ...more

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Aug 14, 2019 Kirsti rated it really liked it

Shelves: economics, emotions, environment, sports, history, audio, true-crime, business, 2019, journalism

Just as sprawly and eccentric as the subtitle implies. The author hops back and forth between basketball, history, civil rights, economics, weather, urban planning, fracking, and many other topics.

Wayne Coyne is a beautiful genius.

The author describes the Oklahoma City bombing sensitively.

I think my favorite part was the description of the 12-hour-long live televised weather forecast during a tornado outbreak. The meteorologist, a 20-year veteran of the station at the time, gave instructions to ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Kimberly rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, history, adult, sports

You guys, this book is really good. That statement probably seems suspect since it took me over a year to read it, but I’m being honest. The chapters are (mostly) quite short, so I kept it by my bedside to read one or two chapters between my endless book club reading.

I knew almost nothing about OKC, and now I know quite a lot about it, and the place is fascinating. And yet, it sounds super boring. Anderson weaves the narrative back and forth from the Land Run to the Thunder to Timothy McVeigh t ...more

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Jun 18, 2020 Walker rated it it was amazing

Well written and well researched-an author like this who knows how to get at what ‘place’ is and how humans interact with that place and space is an instant friend of mine. Cool also to read about city management and city planning, and think about how future practitioners can learn from past mistakes (because of course there have been plenty) to become more centered around the people at a human level. And finally, also 🏀 basketball 🏀.

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About Sam Anderson

Sam Anderson

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Sam Anderson is an American book reviewer and author. He is the critic at large for The New York Times Magazine. Prior to joining The New York Times Magazine, he was a book critic at New York Magazine. In 2007 he received the Balakian Award for Excellence in Criticism from the National Book Critics Circle.

He holds a masters degree from Louisiana State University.

Books by Sam Anderson

ESSENTIAL SOUS VIDE COOKBOOK TO BECOME AN EXPERT: Complete, Healthy and Delicious Recipes for Effortless Every Day Cooking at Home Using Modern Techniques!

BEEKEEPING: Amazing Guide for Beginners(Beekeeping Basics,Beekeeping Guide,The essential beekeeping guide,Backyard Beekeeper,Building Beehives,Keeping Bees,Honey Bees,honey bee keeping,bee keeping)

Cafe Racer: Steps to Build Your Own Cafe Racer (cafe racer, how to build cafe racer, cafe racer guide, how to design cafe racer, how to make cafe racer)

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WHOLE ILLUSTRATED SOUS VIDE COOKBOOK: Complete Sous Vide Recipes With Appetizing Photos to See What Comes Out!

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Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” So, this January, as we celebrate Martin Luther King...

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“The Land Run should be called something like “Chaos Explosion Apocalypse Town” or “Reckoning of the DoomSettlers: Clusterfuck on the Prairie.” — 4 likes

“It was a war zone, the very definition of a triage situation, and some victims were so badly hurt they had to be allowed to die.” — 1 likes

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