Marty, a budding writer, and a group of his friends graduate in 1964 from a small town high school in northern Virginia, all promising each other to attend their 50th reunion. Observing his friends at the prom, Marty recollects the rebellious and defiant school years that for many of them had been demanding beyond their youth. As decades pass their paths diverge and they emerge from the influence of their parents, many of whom experienced the barbarity of World War II. Eventually, the anticipated reunion approaches and they must face the changes the time brought to their lives. What became of them and how did they get there? Did they catch the Nazi war criminal hiding in Latin America as they all committed to before the graduation? Will the activist, the global executive and the poker player settle their differences? How did the lawyer, the doctor, the Navy commander, the scientist and Marty deal with the traumas of the past? Were the homeless alcoholic, the handyman and the gay CIA agent with his math-teacher partner able to start new lives? Will the Vietnam Vet attend?Their life stories full of diverse and overlapping plots, crises and triumphs, conflicts, loves and friendships prove the wisdom of Marty's high school commencement speech. He predicted that not all of them will become whatever they want because not everybody is dealt the same cards or the same card-playing skills. When they meet at the 50th reunion, he traces their lives since the graduation. The leader of the group and the link keeping them together over the years, Marty is the real author of The Class of 1964, telling the story about himself and his friends.

The “compelling” New York Times bestseller by the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, capturing the 1964 World Series between the Yankees and Cardinals (Newsweek). David Halberstam, an avid sports writer with an investigative reporter’s tenacity, superbly details the end of the fifteen-year reign of the New York Yankees in October 1964. That October found the Yankees going head-to-head with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series pennant. Expertly weaving the narrative threads of both teams’ seasons, Halberstam brings the major personalities on the field—from switch-hitter Mickey Mantle to pitcher Bob Gibson—to life. Using the teams’ subcultures, Halberstam also analyzes the cultural shifts of the sixties. The result is a unique blend of sports writing and cultural history as engrossing as it is insightful. This ebook features an extended biography of David Halberstam.