Synopses & Reviews
Stubborn Twig is a classic American story, a story of immigrants making their way in a new land. It is a living work of social history that rings with the power of truth and the drama of fiction, a moving saga about the challenges of becoming an American. Masuo Yasui traveled from Japan across the other Oregon Trail, the one that spanned the Pacific Ocean in 1903. Like most immigrants, he came with big dreams and empty pockets. Working on the railroads, in a cannery, and as a houseboy before settling in Hood River, Oregon, he opened a store, raised a large family, and became one of the areas most successful orchardists. As Masuo broke the race barrier in the local business community, his American-born children broke it in school, scouts and sports, excelling in most everything they tried. For the Yasu is a first-born son, the constraints and contradictions of being both Japanese and American led to tragedy. But his seven brothers and sisters prevailed, becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers, and farmers. It was a classic tale of the American dream come true until December 7, 1941, changed their lives forever. The Yasu is were among the more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry along the West Coast who were forced from their homes and interned in vast inland are location camps. Masuo was arrested as a spy and imprisoned for the rest of the war; his family was shamed and broken. Yet the Yasu is endured, as succeeding generations took up the challenge of finding their identity as Americans. Stubborn Twig is their story, a story at once tragic and triumphant, one that bears eloquent witness to both the promise and the peril of America.
Review
"[A] riveting page-turner that should appeal not just regionally but to the burgeoning number of women's basketball fans." Library Journal
Review
"An accurate and worthwhile contemplation on women's college basketball." School Library Journal
Review
"While many big-time college sports powers' athletic directors are slow in accepting it, both Kessler and Runge make a strong case that athletes are athletes, regardless of gender." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[A] great sports book that captures Runge molding disparate personalities into a cohesive, successful unit. Arguably the best book yet on intercollegiate women's athletics." Booklist
Synopsis
When Jody Runge, a young and ambitious basketball coach, arrived at the University of Oregon in the spring of 1993, she found the team the Oregon Ducks demoralized by its worst season in almost two decades, and ignored and underfunded in a male-dominated athletic department. The pressure on Runge was enormous: The Ducks had to earn the respect and recognition they needed to become a force in their league or decline into complete obscurity. While fighting a legal battle with the university administration for equal funding and support, Runge worked against the clock to improve the team's strategy and its collegiate standing. In the process, she taught the players the importance of self-esteem and commitment, and instilled in them a thirst for winning. As the players struggled with the pain of defeat, Runge put her career on the line by challenging the rules of collegiate politics. Game by game, the ragtag team built the strength that took them further than they ever thought they could go. And behind the scenes, their coach was maneuvering through a different, tough game of move and countermove, legal smarts, and gutsy cool against an establishment that wouldn't give in until it had to.
About the Author
Lauren Kessler is the author of ten books, including Los Angeles Times best-seller and Oregon Book Award finalist The Happy Bottom Riding Club (Random House 2000), the biography of one of the most colorful women of the 20th century: pioneering aviatrix, Hollywood stunt pilot and bordello madame Pancho Barnes.
Exclusive Essay
Read Lauren Kessler's exclusive essay, "The Art of the Guinea Pig"