Central Kansas Library System

In this novel, the careers of a golden boy rookie hitter for the Cubs and a hard-hitting Mets pitcher take very different paths. The baseball is thrilling, but it is what happens off the field that makes this story a classic.

Part historical fiction, part memoir, this novel takes place over a 10-week period in the summer of 1956 in a small town in the mid-west. It is based on a true story of the social and athletic achievements of an eleven-man mixed-race baseball team, seven African-American, three Hispanics, and one Caucasian. Under the leadership of an aging charismatic African-American manager, the Brown Bombers tolerate the nearness of racism as part of the price...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Until that September of 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. But in the long, hot summer of his seventh year, two groups of migrant workers — and two very dangerous men — came through the Arkansas Delta to work the Chandler cotton farm. And suddenly mysteries are flooding Luke’s world.

A brutal murder leaves the town seething in gossip...

In 1884, Les Graves, the star pitcher for the Cedar Rapids municipal team, becomes haunted that his past will surface and ruin his attempt at a new start in life.

It's baseball season, and Charlie Brown's team has never won a game. How can he help his team win? Peppermint Patty says she'll give him five of her players --for Snoopy! Will Charlie Brown trade his own dog just to win a baseball game?--Back cover.