Tells the true story of Jackie Robinson's battle against prejudice while serving in the military during World War II, covering his court-martial for refusing to move to the back of an integrated bus.

"Havana Hardball captures the excitement of the Cuban League's greatest pennant race and the anticipation of the looming challenge to MLB's color barrier. Illuminating one of the sport's most pivotal seasons, veteran journalist Cesar Brioso brings together a rich mix of worlds as the heyday of Latino baseball converged with one of the most socially meaningful events in U.S. history,"--Amazon.com.

"A religious biography of Jackie Robinson that describes how his faith sustained him during his struggle to integrate Major League Baseball and later throughout his civil rights activism"-- "How faith sustained Jackie Robinson-both as an athlete and as an activist. The integration of Major League Baseball in 1947 was a triumph. But it was also a fight. As the first Black major leaguer since the 1880s, Jackie Robinson knew he was not going to be welcomed...

"In January of 1963, Sharon Robinson turned thirteen the night before George Wallace declared on national television 'segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever' in his inauguration for governor of Alabama. That was the start of a year that would become one of the most pivotal years in the history of America. As the daughter of Jackie Robinson, Sharon had incredible access to some of the most important events of the era, including...

"An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights"--

Jackie Robinson's story is not only a compelling drama of heroism, but also as a template of the African American freedom struggle. A towering athletic talent, Robinson's greater impact was on preparing the way for the civil rights reform wave following WWII. But Robinson's story has always been far more complex than the public perception has allowed. Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey famously told the young Robinson that he was "looking for...

"Eleven years before Rosa Parks resisted going to the back of the bus, a young black second lieutenant, hungry to fight Nazis in Europe, refused to move to the back of a U.S. Army bus in Texas and found himself court-martialed. The defiant soldier was Jack Roosevelt Robinson, already in 1944 a celebrated athlete in track and football and in a few years the man who would break Major League Baseball's color barrier. This was the pivotal moment in Jackie...