The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America

$16.99

Posnanski, Joe (Author)

ISBN: 0060854049

Publisher: William Morrow & Company

Binding: Paperback; 304 pages

Pub Date: March 11, 2008

When legendary Negro League player Buck O'Neil asked Joe Posnanski how he fell in love with baseball, the renowned sports columnist was inspired by the question. He decided to spend the 2005 baseball season touring the country with the ninety-four-year-old O'Neil in hopes of rediscovering the love that first drew them to the game.

The Soul of Baseball is as much the story of Buck O'Neil as it is the story of baseball. Driven by a relentless optimism and his two great passions--for America's pastime and for jazz, America's music--O'Neil played solely for love. In an era when greedy, steroid-enhanced athletes have come to characterize professional ball, Posnanski offers a salve for the damaged spirit: the uplifting life lessons of a truly extraordinary man who never missed an opportunity to enjoy and love life.

Biographical Note: A senior writer at Sports Illustrated, Joe Posnanski has twice been named the Best Sports Columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors for his work at the Kansas City Star. He is the author of The Good Stuff and The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America, which won the prestigious Casey Award for best baseball book of 2007. His work has also been anthologized in Best American Sports Writing, and he lives with his family in Kansas City, Missouri.

Posnanski, Joe (Author)

ISBN: 0060854049

Publisher: William Morrow & Company

Binding: Paperback; 304 pages

Pub Date: March 11, 2008

When legendary Negro League player Buck O'Neil asked Joe Posnanski how he fell in love with baseball, the renowned sports columnist was inspired by the question. He decided to spend the 2005 baseball season touring the country with the ninety-four-year-old O'Neil in hopes of rediscovering the love that first drew them to the game.

The Soul of Baseball is as much the story of Buck O'Neil as it is the story of baseball. Driven by a relentless optimism and his two great passions--for America's pastime and for jazz, America's music--O'Neil played solely for love. In an era when greedy, steroid-enhanced athletes have come to characterize professional ball, Posnanski offers a salve for the damaged spirit: the uplifting life lessons of a truly extraordinary man who never missed an opportunity to enjoy and love life.

Biographical Note: A senior writer at Sports Illustrated, Joe Posnanski has twice been named the Best Sports Columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors for his work at the Kansas City Star. He is the author of The Good Stuff and The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America, which won the prestigious Casey Award for best baseball book of 2007. His work has also been anthologized in Best American Sports Writing, and he lives with his family in Kansas City, Missouri.

Review Quotes:

"[A] poignant, very funny, and ultimately inspiring book."--Dave Barry

"This book is flat-out terrific...If Gandhi had played baseball, he would have been Buck O'Neill."--Leigh Montville, author of Big Bam and Ted Williams

"Posnanski masterfully conveys O'Neil's charisma and the rhythm of his words...A worthy paean to an American legend."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"[A] loving, lyrical effort by Joe Posnanski. One of the most original and winning baseball books in recent years."--Harvey Frommer

"Imagine, a year spent with Buck O'Neil...you don't have to imagine it, it's all here."--Bob Costas