Branch Rickey: A Life (Penguin Lives) - Softcover

Breslin, Jimmy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143120476 ISBN 13: 9780143120476

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2012

Synopsis

The book that inspired Harrison Ford in his portrayal of Branch Rickey in the hit movie “42”

In a brilliant match between author and subject, this latest addition to the Penguin Lives series features the inimitable Jimmy Breslin telling the rags-to-riches tale of Branch Rickey, the legendary manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who integrated baseball by putting Jackie Robinson into the major leagues. Moving from the dusty Midwest towns where Rickey built baseball's farm system to the Brooklyn streets where he hatched his most famous plan, Breslin brilliantly captures the heady days when baseball became the national pastime. What emerges is the irresistible story of a schemer and redeemer, a great American who remade a sport-and dreamed of remaking a country. See Branch Rickey’s life brought to the screen in the hit movie “42” in theaters everywhere now.

About this title

About the Author

Jimmy Breslin was born in Jamaica, Queens. He is the author of multiple bestselling and critically acclaimed books, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary. He lives in New York City.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Branch Rickey grew up poor in Ohio but graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. Later, he invented baseballs minor-league farm system and built winning teams in St. Louis, Brooklyn, and Pittsburgh. Yet one accomplishment dwarfs all others: he integrated baseball when he signed Jackie Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line in 1947. The mistreatment of a college teammate fueled his altruism, but Rickey also knew black players would expand baseballs fan base. Breslin, the acclaimed newspaper columnist and best-selling author, tells the Rickey-Robinson story in his own inimitable style, pointing out that before Rickey even selected Robinson, he aligned New Yorks business and legislative power brokers into a supportive alliance. Much has been written about Rickeys commitment to Robinson, but Breslin brings out the fact that the experiment might never have worked if Rickey hadnt been such a shrewd businessman, challenging baseballs racist ownership and gaining the backing of the games commissioner. And, yet, the heart of the story remains Robinsons strength of character and Rickeys understanding that it would take a very special person to endure the humiliation that would come with breaking the color line. This is a wonderful book, bringing new life to a much-told story; long a social activist, Breslin is filled with disdain for the small-minded and the haters, while exuding admiration for those who defy them. In a revealing epilogue that connects the dots, Breslin ends on Election Night 2008 in Brooklyn, at a polling place located at the Jackie Robinson Schoolthe night Barack Obama was elected president of the U.S. --Wes Lukowsky

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0143120476
• ISBN 13: 9780143120476
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160