Kevin Baker crafts politically charged narratives that delve into the often-unseen undercurrents of American life and history. His prose is characterized by a rich linguistic tapestry and a keen eye for societal inequalities. Baker's work consistently interrogates power structures and their profound impact on individuals. Through his writing, he offers readers a complex and nuanced exploration of the American social fabric.
Focusing on the vibrant history of baseball in New York City, the book showcases iconic figures and lesser-known heroes from the game's inception to the early 1940s. It captures the excitement and cultural significance of baseball, highlighting thrilling stories and pivotal moments that shaped the sport in one of its most influential cities.
An astonishing memoir of redemption—the moving story of a former top NBA player who miraculously rebounded from a monumental fall thanks to hard work and his deep, transformative faith. Sixteen years ago, Vin Baker was an NBA All-Star, an Olympic Gold medalist, and a multimillionaire. While he excelled on the court, Vin harbored a dark secret: a dependency on drugs and alcohol that began after the clean-cut preacher’s son turned pro. Eventually becoming a full-blown yet functional alcoholic, Vin convinced himself he played better under the influence—until his addiction cost him his basketball career, his fortune, and his health. But Vin’s story isn’t a tragic fall from grace. It is a joyous tale of salvation. For Vin, hitting rock bottom was a difficult yet transformative experience that led him to renew his relationship with God and embrace life in a rich and fulfilling new way. Today the manager of a Starbucks and a youth minister, Vin has found more security and happiness in his ordinary working life than in all his years in the glamorous world of professional basketball. God and Starbucks is a wise and unflinching look at the real dangers of addiction and the importance of taking charge of your life with meaning and purpose. It’s a powerful memoir about reaching the top and beginning again from the bottom—an inspiring personal tale of humility and grace that reminds us what is truly important in our lives.
Struggling with feelings of inadequacy, Rev. Jonah Dove grapples with his legacy as the son of a prominent Harlem minister while confronting his own troubled past of "passing" as white. Simultaneously, the narrative introduces Malcolm Little, a teenage hustler navigating his ambitions and identity in a racially charged environment. Both characters face the challenges of their identities and the societal pressures of a changing world, highlighting themes of race, self-worth, and the search for purpose.
Drawing inspiration from the life of baseball legend Ty Cobb, this novel explores the complexities of fame, talent, and the darker side of the sport. It delves into the personal struggles and triumphs of its characters, capturing the essence of baseball's impact on American culture. With rich storytelling and vivid character development, it stands out as a significant contribution to the genre of baseball literature.
The book presents a compelling narrative that intertwines personal struggles with broader societal issues. It explores themes of resilience, identity, and the search for belonging through richly developed characters. The storyline is set against a backdrop of significant historical events, offering readers both an emotional journey and a thought-provoking commentary on contemporary life. With its engaging prose and insightful observations, it invites reflection on the complexities of human experience.
There have been few books which put the conflicts into the broadest perspective, and even fewer that also include in their narrative descriptions of the numerous wars and conflicts on the Northwest Frontier as well as Afghanistan. This book includes information on all such wars in Afghanistan, not just those involving British armies, and also describes their background. For the past four years Kevin Baker has been Lecturer and now Visiting Fellow at the Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW at ADFA).
The acclaimed nationwide best seller and companion volume to Ken Burns’s grand-slam PBS documentary—updated and expanded to coincide with the broadcast of a new, two-part Tenth Inning that looks back on the age of steroids, home-run records, the rise of Latino players, and so much more. With a narrative by Geoffrey C. Ward, a preface to the new edition by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, a new chapter by Kevin Baker, and an introduction by Roger Angell Essays by Thomas Boswell, Robert W. Creamer, Gerald Early, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bill James, David Lamb, Daniel Okrent, John Thorn, George F. Will And featuring an interview with Buck O’Neil
America The Story of Us is a groundbreaking series that brings to life the epic story of our nation in a new way for a new generation. The companion book, America The Story of Us is a history that is at once penetrating and lively, elegant and authoritative; great for serious reading as it is for casual skimming. America The Story of Us brings to life the vast forces that shaped this remarkable country and the ways in which revolutions in technology and transportation altered the way Americans lived, made money, and fought one another. Explored in these pages is the struggle between settlers and Native Americans; the epic conflict of slavery, from cotton gin to Civil War; the creation of the transcontinental railroad alongside the thundering herds of buffalo across the West; and how American ingenuity and determination both carried us through the Great Depression and won the Second World War. Beginning with Jamestown and Plymouth Bay, the first successful British colonies on the mainland, the book highlights the landmark moments in political, social, economic, and military history, from the prototypical entrepreneur John Rolfe and his tobacco seeds to Barack Obama and the seeds of change, from the Model T to the moon landing. Written by novelist, historian, and journalist Kevin Baker (a key contributor to The American Century, by Harold Evans), the narrative shares the TV series- eye for the dramatic moment in U.S. history-there is danger, action, struggle-while adding new layers of detail and nuance. America The Story of Us is decisive and essential, the story of the country that every family will want to own. Foreword by President Obama A stunning companion piece for the most anticipated HISTORY broadcast of all time, includes 412 heavily illustrated pages featuring over 300 full color images and layers of information including “charticles,” graphics, photographs, and text. The adventure that became a nation – the complete history of the US has not been told for 40 years. AMERICA the Story of Us is an exuberant, unprecedented look at the invention of America focusing on how events small and large are intrinsically linked to the exploration and innovation, leading us from the frontier to 21st century cities, from the Mississippi to the moon, from Jamestown to 9/11 up to present day. Moving though time and space linking key events, people and locations, capturing the vast sweep of American history— bringing viewers on a journey through the forces that shaped the destiny of America.
New York Times bestselling author Kevin Baker (Dreamland) writes his first original graphic novel, with internationally acclaimed artist Danijel Zezelj. Alik Strelnikov lives in the shadow of Coney Island, a world of silenced rides and rusting amusement parks that mock his dreams of becoming a hero. Ten years ago, he traded a brutal existence in the Russian army for the promise of America only to become an enforcer in the Brooklyn mob. Now, he chases his ghosts with all he has left: booze, heroin and his lover, Marina, part-time prostitute and full-time fortune teller. The only way the two of them can escape their miserable fates hinges on a desperate plan that will put them between warring mobs and span a century, from contemporary Coney Island to the Russia of the Second Chechen War to spellbinding 1910s New York. Mixing historical novel, immigrant fiction and crime thriller, LUNA PARK marks Kevin Baker's return to Coney Island, the setting of his critically beloved Dreamland and features breathtaking art by Danijel Zezelj (LOVELESS) with to-die-for colors by Dave Stewart (DC: THE NEW FRONTIER).
They came by boat from a starving land—and by the Underground Railroad from Southern chains—seeking refuge in a crowded, filthy corner of hell at the bottom of a great metropolis. But in the terrible July of 1863, the poor and desperate of Paradise Alley would face a new catastrophe—as flames from the war that was tearing America in two reached out to set their city on fire.