National Book Award-winning author Martin Sandler (1919: The Year That Changed America) collaborates with his son, journalist Craig Sandler, to chronicle the impact of America's pastime on the United States during the lead-up to World War II in the wholly captivating Baseball's Shining Season.
Major League baseball was a different sport in 1941: the players' salaries were significantly lower; "not a single club was located farther west than St. Louis"; there were just 16 teams; and "every game was played in the afternoon." The Sandlers introduce readers to the New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio, with his record-breaking hitting streak, and the Red Sox's Ted Williams, with his astounding .400 batting average season. Their accomplishments on the field helped offset fans' dread of impending war: "The bad news would continue to come, but DiMaggio's play would continue to offer a bright spot all the same." Since Major League Baseball was segregated in a "fiercely racist" 1941, the Sandlers dedicate much of the book to the incredible talent found in the Negro Leagues as well as the Japanese and All-American Girls Professional Baseball Leagues. "After the fighting was over, as the world was entering its next chapter, baseball would play a unique and crucial role in rebuilding the relationship" between the United States and Japan.
Baseball's Shining Season is a thorough survey of baseball in 1941, and the Sandlers scrupulously describe the political and historical context of the exceptional season, illustrating its influence on people in the United States and around the world. Martin W. Sandler and Craig Sandler hit it out of the park with this stunning piece of upper middle-grade nonfiction; it's an all-around winner. --Jen Forbus, freelancer