Synopses & Reviews
In the town of San Pedro in the Dominican Republic, baseball is not just a way of life. It's
the way of life. By the year 2008, seventy-nine boys and men from San Pedro had gone on to play in the Major Leagues—that means one in six Dominican Republicans who have played in the Majors have come from one tiny, impoverished region. Manny Alexander, Sammy Sosa, Tony Fernandez, and legions of other San Pedro players who came up in the sugar mill teams flocked to the United States looking for opportunity, wealth, and a better life.
Because of the sugar industry and the influxes of migrant workers from across the Caribbean to work in the cane fields and factories, San Pedro is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the Dominican Republic. A multitude of languages are spoken there, and a variety of skin colors populate the community; but the one constant is sugar and baseball. The history of players from San Pedro is also a chronicle of racism in baseball, changing social mores in sports and in the Dominican Republic, and the personal stories of the many men who sought freedom from poverty through playing ball. The story of baseball in San Pedro is also that of the Caribbean in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and on a broader level opens a window into U.S. history.
As with Mark Kurlansky's Cod and Salt, this small story, rich with anecdote and detail, becomes much larger than ever imagined. Kurlansky reveals two countries' love affair with a sport and the remarkable journey of San Pedro and its baseball players. In his distinctive style, he follows common threads and discovers wider meanings about place, identity, and, above all, baseball.
Review
"Kurlansky homes in on a singular subject and magnifies its every facet under the brilliant light of his investigative reporting, his historical sensibility, and his lively storytelling." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Review
"Classic Kurlansky: take one small thing...and through it tell a big multi-faceted story.... It is a history of missed opportunities and bittersweet successes." ---Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
Synopsis
The intriguing, inspiring history of one small, impoverished area in the Dominican Republic that has produced a staggering number of Major League Baseball talent, from an award-winning, bestselling author.
About the Author
Mark Kurlansky is the author of "The Basque History of the World;" the "New York Times" bestseller "Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World; A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry;" and "A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny." During the past twenty years he has spent a great deal of time in the Caribbean, including seven years as the "Chicago Tribune's" Caribbean correspondent, and has written numerous works of short fiction and journalism about the region. He lives in New York City.