Need a Recommendation

My younger brother just finished his first year of college, in which he did terrible because he has no interest in educational anything. As his "punishment," my parents have turned him over to me for some tutoring and "instilling some educational drive" over the summer.

Apparently his high school (which is not the one I attended) was abysmal at teaching critical reading skills. I am trying to find a book that we can read together so I can help him develop some of those skills he is lacking. He is generally interested in American History, specifically 1900 to about 1960, and he plays baseball. I would like to find a book that is a nice balance between being literary and being accessible. And maybe something that isn't directly about baseball, but makes good reference to it. The closet thing I've read that I can use as a reference point would be Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon, but with a bit more baseball or history than that.

Any recommendations? I am really out of my element here.

Does Boys of Summer work? Not a terribly difficult read, but gripping nonetheless. Especially the chapter on Jackie Robinson.

Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association is a very fun read, and not only about baseball, though it gets rather "literary" toward the end.

It might be a good bet.

The Natural might be a good choice ... don't let the movie fool you.

It sounds like you're the one being punished, atlarge. I suggest October 1964 by David Halberstam. It's a good baseball-as-microcosm history, and very well written. The young, hip Cardinals vs. the old, stodgy Yankees storyline should appeal to a college kid. Good luck.

thanks for the speedy recommendations. this is why i love LTers so much!

The Mickey Rawlings Series by Troy Soos. Murder at Fenway Park, Murder at Ebbets Field, Murder at Wrigley Field, ect. is a good murder mystery, historical fiction series about baseball.

I liked Iowa Baseball Confederacy, but some thought it was to much fantasy to be considered as baseball.

Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella looks decent; it's the book on which Field of Dreams was based. I've not read it, but it's going on my wish list.

Good luck, and I've starred the thread in case I come across anything in my own library that sounds like it might fit your need.

>zinnbeck

both of those were mentioned elsewhere. Iowa Baseball Confederacy might be a good option to read after we've read something more history based. a good counterpoint. that's another thing he's not really good at, finding the connections between what he's learned one place, or in one class, and what he's studying somewhere else.

>aglaia

thanks for starring the thread and all that effort! it's much appreciated.

i've been thinking about Shoeless Joe. i loved the movie, but apparently a lot of baseball fans hate it. of course, i don't want to judge the book by the movie, that just isn't fair.

I agree with Tomes about The Natural. Malamud wrote the novel to follow the themes of a Greek tragedy, at least according to my own high school English teacher. Basically, though, it's just a good baseball story and a good story about pride and greed and the damage they cause.

How about Play for a Kingdom by Thomas Dyja, which is about soldiers on both sides during the Civil War who call a truce and play baseball. Nicely written and has a lot of great details about 19th-century baseball.

"Jackie Robinson" by Arnold Rampersad. Great combo of history and baseball, will give a greater appreciation for the man and the struggles he and other black people of the period went through.

If he's interested in history, Jules Tygiel's Past Time: Baseball as History would make an excellent read. It lines up baseball within the context of American history and culture in a highly accessible manner.