Synopses & Reviews
With compassionate intensity and great heart, Brian Shawver, in his powerful debut novel, tells the story of Dennis Birch, a 34-year old failed major league ball player turned minor league scout whose field of dreams has always been baseball. No longer a candidate for baseball greatness himself-if he ever was-Dennis accepts the challenge of smuggling a hot right-handed pitcher out of Cuba in the hope that promoting the greatness of another will somehow confer a small, manageable portion of it on himself.
Birch's innocent belief in the rightness of his mission blinds him to some of the realities of it, and what seems at first to be a straight road to glory and his name on a plaque in Cooperstown, leads him into dangerous, sordid, and morally complex waters. As becomes excruciatingly clear, Fidel Castro's Cuba is much further from the Florida Keys than the miles marked on a map.
A novel of last-ditch hopes, destiny's curve balls, and quiet redemption, The Cuban Prospect gloriously projects a harrowing, yet affirming vision.
Review
A powerful, terrible story told in exacting detail. (Kirkus, starred review)
Synopsis
For many, Douglas MacArthur was a general to be ranked with Grant and Lee; for others he was much bluster and some cowardice, the "Dugout Doug" who abandoned his troops at Corregidor. The truth, according to military historian Richard Connaughton, lies somewhere in the middle.
Connaughton's extensive research and compelling narrative come together to paint a judicious portrait of a courageous general and deeply flawed man. MacArthur and Defeat in the Philippines is a must-have for anyone with an interest in modern European history.
Synopsis
With disarming intensity, humor, and great heart, Brian Shawver tells the story of Dennis Birch, a washed up thirty-four-year-old failed ball player turned minor league scout whose field of dreams has always been baseball.
Synopsis
No longer a candidate for baseball greatness himself--if he ever was--Dennis accepts the challenge of smuggling a hot left-handed pitcher out of Cuba in the hope that promoting the greatness of another will somehow confer a small, manageable portion of it on himself. A novel of last-ditch hopes, destiny's curve balls, and quiet redemption, The Cuban Prospect projects a vision at once humorous, harrowing, and affirming.
About the Author
Richard Connaughton retired from the British Army with the rank of Colonel. He is the author of numerous books and essays, including The Battle for Manila and The Nature of Future Conflict.