Product Description

Jackie Robinson changed the face of baseball and captured the attention and hearts of America when he strode onto Ebbett's Field on Opening Day, 1947, as a Brooklyn Dodger. He broke baseball's color line, paved the way for African-American players in all professional sports, and became a pivotal figure in the struggle for racial equality. The Jackie Robinson Reader gathers together writings that demonstrate the cultural impact of Robinson's actions and the life of the man himself. In addition to Robinson's own words, there are contributions from some of baseball's greatest figures, including: * A previously unpublished manuscript by Arthur Mann, Branch Rickey's confidant, on why he chose to sign Robinson
* An excerpt from Roger Kahn's legendary Boys of Summer
* Actor Woody Strode's memories of his days playing football with Robinson at UCLA
* A notable exchange of correspondence between Robinson and activist Malcolm X
* A never-before-published 1946 report from the Major League Steering Committee, which defends the exclusion of blacks from the major leagues. The Jackie Robinson Reader covers the entirety of Robinson's life, creating a definitive work on the man, one no baseball fan will want to be without.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1761521 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.com Review
Jackie Robinson biographer Jules Tygiel has compiled a powerful batting order of prominent writers and those who knew Robinson first-hand--including Roger Kahn, Red Barber, black sportswriter Wendell Smith, Robinson's Olympic-medalist brother Mack, even Malcolm X and Jackie Robinson himself. Their perspectives help pierce the shadow cast by the legend and shed real light on the man. Barber's poignant recollection of his personal battle with racism still rings loudly a half century later, and Harold Parrott's "The Betrayal of Robinson" is an unforgettably harrowing account of the animosity directed toward Robinson that first season.

From Library Journal
This anthology must be made available as a valuable documenatry source in any library that collects in the areas of sports history or race relations. Selections include editor Tygiel's own piece on the court-martial of Robinson for refusing to move to the back of an officially desegregated bus. There are several accounts of the historic decision by Branch Rickey to bring Robinson into major league baseball, including one by Red Barber, a Southerner who had never questioned segregation before Rickey told him what was going to happen and who had to question his upbringing and his religion to determine the right thing to do. The document by the Major League Steering Committee attempting to justify the exclusion of "Negro" players from the league as being, somehow, not the result of discrimination is an amazing piece of obfuscation and deception. Of particular political interest are the accounts of Robinson's testimony against Paul Robeson before the House Un-American Activities Committee and the exchange of letters between Robinson and Malcolm X. Highly recommended.?Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Iowa
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first appearance in a Brooklyn Dodger uniform, editor Tygiel (Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, 1983) has pulled together essays by Robinson's contemporaries that reflect the mood of the country both when Robinson was a player and, later, when he became a symbol of the civil rights movement. If there's one point to be made it's this: it could never have been easy being Jackie Robinson. There are essays by Maury Allen, in which he recounts Robinson's California youth, and Woody Strode, in which the actor recalls his time as Robinson's football teammate at UCLA. Wendell Smith's 1946 account of Robinson's first game as a minor leaguer is an eye-opener, as is a previously unpublished 1946 report by the major league baseball steering committee. The committee has the temerity to blame baseball's segregation on selfish Negro league team owners, lousy black players, and the threat of protesters should the game be integrated. This collection offers a new perspective on Robinson's exemplary life. Highly recommended. Wes Lukowsky

Customer Reviews

Jackie Robinson
This book is pretty good. I just wish it would tell me more about baseball at that time. I learnd a few things abut Jackie, like how he lead the league in hits in in 1949 with 342 hits and drove in 142 runs. He was also MVP that year and thats why I gave this book 4 stars.