BASEBALL'S SHINING SEASON

As the United States anxiously followed news of World War II in Europe and Asia and debated becoming involved, baseball moved into one of its most exciting eras.

In the spring of 1941, as the U.S. launched its first peacetime draft, Americans escaped their worries by tuning in to radio broadcasts of the national pastime. Nothing enthralled the nation quite like Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio and Ted “the Kid” Williams. DiMaggio began a hitting streak on May 15 that lasted 56 games, leading his team to victory in the 1941 World Series; Williams’ flawless swing carried him to a batting average above .400—a “seemingly impossible” feat. But Joe and Ted weren’t the only game in town. With enormous scope, laser focus, and curatorial accuracy, the authors draw readers into the world of WWII baseball. They profile the Black athletes who were barred from white teams but who captivated spectators during the summer of ’41, and jump ahead to explore the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which called on the best women athletes to keep baseball alive as male players enlisted. Entertaining play-by-plays paired with journalistic reporting throughout highlight how ingrained baseball was in American culture; a chapter toward the end explores the game’s role in both Japan and the U.S.—an athletic tie that helped repair broken bonds in the wake of the war.

For history buffs, baseball fans, and anyone in between—this one knocks it out of the park.