A sturdily documented history of blacks in pro baseball, from Reconstruction to the dissolution of the Negro American League in 1960. Gathering information from published material, plus scrapbooks and resources of the Baseball Hall of Fame library, the authors describe—with rare and welcome specificity—the growth and decline of black teams and organizations, the Negro Leagues' exciting, characteristic style of play, and the effects of segregation and prejudice on the players' daily lives. Combining league games with relentless barnstorming, black teams showed talent at least equial to their white counterparts, and often generated more income; Gardner and Shortelle suggest that Branch Rickey was driven as much by financial and legal motives as by conscience when he signed Jackie Robinson. Individual careers are'nt detailed, but there are surprises: unknown Bill Foster pitched more league victories than Satchel Paige; at least two players hit more (league) home runs than Josh Gibson. Well-founded, frank, and coherent; clearer than Cooper's Playing America's Game (p. 58). B&w photos; bibliography; end notes; index. (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-8027-8248-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Without that frame, this would have been a fine addition to the wacked-out summer-camp subgenre.
Survival camp? How can you not have bad feelings about that?
Sixteen-year-old nerd (or geek, but not dork) Henry Lambert has no desire to go to Strongwoods Survival Camp. His father thinks it might help Henry man up and free him of some of his odd phobias. Randy, Henry’s best friend since kindergarten, is excited at the prospect of going thanks to the camp’s promotional YouTube video, so Henry relents. When they arrive at the shabby camp in the middle of nowhere and meet the possibly insane counselor (and only staff member), Max, Henry’s bad feelings multiply. Max tries to train his five campers with a combination of carrot and stick, but the boys are not athletes, let alone survivalists. When a trio of gangsters drops in on the camp Games to try to collect the debt owed by the owner, the boys suddenly have to put their skills to the test. Too bad they don’t have any—at all. Strand’s summer-camp farce is peopled with sarcastic losers who’re chatty and wry. It’s often funny, and the gags turn in unexpected directions and would do Saturday Night Live skits proud. However, the story’s flow is hampered by an unnecessary and completely unfunny frame that takes place during the premier of the movie the boys make of their experience. The repeated intrusions bring the narrative to a screeching halt.
Without that frame, this would have been a fine addition to the wacked-out summer-camp subgenre. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4022-8455-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A new biography of the foremost boxer of our time emphasizes Ali's stubborn unwillingness to fit the low-profile ``Credit to His Race'' mold of his predecessors: his loud (and eminently quotable) self-promotion; his conversion to the Nation of Islam; and, especially, his refusal to be drafted, which cost him years of court battles, much of his career, and (temporarily) his title and boxing credentials. The author focuses on Ali's public career and major bouts rather than on his private life; except for Ali's 1990 appeal to Iraq to free hostages, he closes with his retirement in the early 80's. Several pages of notes; chronology; brief, well-chosen booklist; index. B&w photos not seen. (Biography. 11-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1992
ISBN: 1-56294-112-7
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1992
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