Description
With a foreword by Cesar Chavez's spokesman and speechwriter Marc Grossman
A high school senior, Jack Duncan dreams of playing college baseball and leaving the political turmoil of the agricultural town Delano behind. Ever since his father, a grape grower, died ten years earlier, he's suspected that his mother has been hiding the truth from him about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
With his family's property on the verge of a tax sale, Jack drives an old combine into town to sell it. On the road, an old friend of his father shows up with evidence that Jack's father was murdered. Armed with this new information, Jack embarks on a mission to discover the entire truth, not just about his father but the corruption endemic in the Central Valley.
When Jack's girlfriend warns him not to do anything to jeopardize their post graduation plans and refuses to help him, Jack turns to his best friend, Adrian, the son of a boycotting fieldworker who works closely with Cesar Chavez. The boys' dangerous plan to rescue the Duncan family farm leaves Adrian in a catastrophic situation, and Jack must step up to the plate and rescue his family and his friend before he can make his escape from Delano.
The Road to Delano is the path Jack and Adrian must take to find their strength, their duty, their destiny.
While the book doesn't revolve around Chavez himself, it does focus on the Delano grape strike of the 1970s that helped launch Cesar Chavez to international fame The book should be of particular interest to the California central valley residents that remember the labor strikes of the middle of the last century
About the Author
John DeSimone is a published writer, novelist, and teacher. He's been an adjunct professor and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. His recent co-authored books include Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan (Little A Publishers), and Courage to Say No by Dr. Raana Mahmood, about her struggles against sexual exploitation as a female physician in Karachi. His published novel Leonardo's Chair published in 2005.
In 2012, he won a prestigious Norman Mailer Fellowship to complete his most recent historical novel, Road to Delano. His novels Leonardo's Chair and No Ordinary Man have received critical recognition.
He works with select clients to write stories of inspiration and determination and with those who have a vital message to bring to the marketplace of ideas in well-written books.
Reviews
"Devastating and triumphant, The Road to Delano is a meticulous historical novel that honors the bravery and sacrifices of those who stand up to injustice, even at great peril to their own well being."
-Foreword Reviews
"An original and deftly crafted novel that showcases author John DeSimone's impressive flair for originality and the kind of narrative storytelling style that keeps the reader's total attention from cover to cover."
-Midwest Book Review
"The Road to Delano is a worthwhile read on a couple of levels: it's a wonderful visit to John Steinbeck's California and a valuable history lesson we may have missed in high school when were we not paying attention-or never taught at all."
-BookTrib
"I truly enjoyed this fictional journey through labor history and the development of a young man's conscience. Recommended."
-Book Sirens
"This whole story is an absolute triumph!"
-Thehauntedfae Book Blog
"...a fast-paced thriller with a social conscience."
-Online Book Club
"The Road to Delano is a compelling story that will leave readers thinking about its surprise ending long after the final confrontation comes to a head."-
California Bookwatch
"Five Stars. Outstanding writing, fast-paced. A must-read for people who love history AND baseball."
-ReedsyDiscovery
Book Information
ISBN 9781644280317
Author John DeSimone
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Rare Bird Books
Publisher Rare Bird Books
A high school senior, Jack Duncan dreams of playing college baseball and leaving the political turmoil of the agricultural town Delano behind. Ever since his father, a grape grower, died ten years earlier, he's suspected that his mother has been hiding the truth from him about the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.
With his family's property on the verge of a tax sale, Jack drives an old combine into town to sell it. On the road, an old friend of his father shows up with evidence that Jack's father was murdered. Armed with this new information, Jack embarks on a mission to discover the entire truth, not just about his father but the corruption endemic in the Central Valley.
When Jack's girlfriend warns him not to do anything to jeopardize their post graduation plans and refuses to help him, Jack turns to his best friend, Adrian, the son of a boycotting fieldworker who works closely with Cesar Chavez. The boys' dangerous plan to rescue the Duncan family farm leaves Adrian in a catastrophic situation, and Jack must step up to the plate and rescue his family and his friend before he can make his escape from Delano.
The Road to Delano is the path Jack and Adrian must take to find their strength, their duty, their destiny.
About the Author
John DeSimone is a published writer, novelist, and teacher. He's been an adjunct professor and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. His recent co-authored books include Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan (Little A Publishers), and Courage to Say No by Dr. Raana Mahmood, about her struggles against sexual exploitation as a female physician in Karachi. His published novel Leonardo's Chair published in 2005.
In 2012, he won a prestigious Norman Mailer Fellowship to complete his most recent historical novel, Road to Delano. His novels Leonardo's Chair and No Ordinary Man have received critical recognition.
He works with select clients to write stories of inspiration and determination and with those who have a vital message to bring to the marketplace of ideas in well-written books.
Reviews
"Devastating and triumphant, The Road to Delano is a meticulous historical novel that honors the bravery and sacrifices of those who stand up to injustice, even at great peril to their own well being."
-Foreword Reviews
"An original and deftly crafted novel that showcases author John DeSimone's impressive flair for originality and the kind of narrative storytelling style that keeps the reader's total attention from cover to cover."
-Midwest Book Review
"The Road to Delano is a worthwhile read on a couple of levels: it's a wonderful visit to John Steinbeck's California and a valuable history lesson we may have missed in high school when were we not paying attention-or never taught at all."
-BookTrib
"I truly enjoyed this fictional journey through labor history and the development of a young man's conscience. Recommended."
-Book Sirens
"This whole story is an absolute triumph!"
-Thehauntedfae Book Blog
"...a fast-paced thriller with a social conscience."
-Online Book Club
"The Road to Delano is a compelling story that will leave readers thinking about its surprise ending long after the final confrontation comes to a head."-
California Bookwatch
"Five Stars. Outstanding writing, fast-paced. A must-read for people who love history AND baseball."
-ReedsyDiscovery
Book Information
ISBN 9781644280317
Author John DeSimone
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Rare Bird Books
Publisher Rare Bird Books
