Jackie Robinson remains baseball's singular figure, the person who most profoundly extended the reach of the game. Beyond Ruth. Beyond Clemente. Beyond Aaron. Beyond the heroes of today. Now, a half-century since Robinson's death, letters come to his widow, Rachel, by the score. Robinson opened the door for Black Americans to participate in other sports, and was a national figure who spoke and wrote eloquently about inequality. True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson by Kostya Kennedy is an unconventional biography, focusing on four transformative years in Robinson's life: 1946, his first year playing in the essentially all-white minor leagues for the Montreal Royals; 1949, when he won the MVP Award as a Brooklyn Dodger; 1956, his final season in major league baseball, when he played valiantly despite his increasing health struggles; and 1972, the year of his untimely death. Through it all, Robinson remained true to the effort and the mission, true to his convictions and contradictions. Kennedy brings each of these years to life in vivid prose and through interviews with fans and players who witnessed his impact, as well as with Robinson's surviving family. These four crucial years offer a unique vision of Robinson as a player, a father and husband, and a civil rights hero-a new window on a complex man, tied to the 50th anniversary of his passing and the 75th anniversary of his professional baseball debut.

True is a probing, richly-detailed, unique biography of Jackie Robinson, one of baseball's-and America's-most significant figures.

About the Author
KOSTYA KENNEDY is an editorial director at Meredith and a former Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated. He is the New York Times bestselling author of 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports and Pete Rose: An American Dilemma. Both won the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year. He has taught at Columbia and NYU, and lives with his wife and daughters in Westchester County, NY.


Book Information
ISBN 9781250782892
Author Kostya Kennedy
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
Publisher St Martin's Press
Weight(grams) 314g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 146mm * 21mm