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Kevin Baker

ケビン・ベイカー

Kevin Baker

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1958-01-01 （Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Rockport, Massachusetts (grew up) → New York City (current residence)

Career

Occupations
novelist, historian, journalist, political commentator
Active Years
1993-
Affiliations
Harper's Magazine (contributing editor), The New York Times (contributor)

Education

Columbia University
Columbia College / Political Science
Degree: 学士
Period: 1976-1980
Year of Graduation: 1980
Country: United States

Awards

James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction
2003
Work: Paradise Alley
Organization: Society of American Historians
Result: 受賞
American Book Award
2003
Work: Paradise Alley
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2017
Work: Non-fiction (research/writing)
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sometimes You See It Coming

1993 Contemporary fiction (baseball novel)

A contemporary baseball novel loosely inspired by the life of Ty Cobb.

sportsfame and ethics

Dreamland

1999 Historical fiction

A historical novel set in early-20th-century New York, depicting the rise and fall of urban entertainments.

urban historyimmigration and class

Paradise Alley

2002 Historical fiction

The middle volume of the City of Fire trilogy, set in early 20th-century New York, portraying ordinary people's lives and struggles.

urban transformationlabor and struggle

Strivers Row

2006 Historical fiction

A volume of the City of Fire trilogy focusing on African American communities and social ascent in New York.

race and classurban society

Luna Park

2011 Graphic novel

A graphic novel illustrated by Croatian artist Danijel Žeželj.

visual narrativememory of the city

The Big Crowd

2013 Non-fiction

Critical non-fiction on contemporary events and urban life.

urban policypublic sphere

Becoming Mr. October

2014 Non-fiction (sports)

A biographical essay related to sports figures.

baseball historyheroic figures

America The Ingenious: How a Nation of Dreamers, Immigrants, and Tinkerers Changed the World

2016 Non-fiction

Non-fiction examining how American creativity, immigrants, and tinkerers shaped the world.

history of technologyimmigration and innovation

The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City

2024 Non-fiction (urban history + sports)

A research non-fiction exploring the relationship between baseball and the rise of New York City.

baseball historyurban formation

Bibliography

  • Sometimes You See It Coming (1993)
  • Dreamland (1999)
  • Paradise Alley (2002)
  • Strivers Row (2006)
  • Luna Park (2011)
  • The Big Crowd (2013)
  • Becoming Mr. October (2014)
  • America The Ingenious (2016)
  • The Fall of a Great American City: New York and the Urban Crisis of Affluence (2019)
  • The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City (2024)
  • The American Century (1998, with Harold Evans and Gail Buckland)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic depictionresearch-driven prose based on historical sourcesblend of narrative and commentary
Recurring Motifs
New York urban historyimmigration and laborclass struggle and public space

Legacy

Kevin Baker is known for depicting New York's urban history and everyday lives; he has been recognized in both historical fiction and nonfiction. His awards for Paradise Alley and the Guggenheim Fellowship have cemented his literary and scholarly reputation.

Academic Societies

  • Society of American Historians (associated)

In Popular Culture

  • Paradise Alley was chosen by Frank McCourt as a Today Show book club selection.

Trivia

  • As a youth he worked at the Gloucester Daily Times covering high school sports.
  • Graduated from Columbia University with a major in political science in 1980.
  • Paradise Alley, the central volume of the City of Fire trilogy, won multiple awards in 2003.