We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
by Kadir Nelson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kadir NelsonIllustrator: Kadir Nelson
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2008-01-08
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Jump At The Sun
Book Reviews of We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Book Review: Fabulous book!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a big, beautiful tome that lovers of the game of baseball should add to their collection. It's an important book that captures the history of the Negro League, and leaves you wanting more. Our family owns Ken Burn's 18-hour documentary on baseball, and while I have seen it in its entirety twice, I am going to watch the section on the Negro Leagues again, just because it's such an important chapter in the history of America's game. Nelson has added his unique voice to the mix.
We are the Ship tells the story of the Negro Leagues' inception in the 1920's, through its end when Jackie Robinson went over to the Majors in 1947. It has a foreword by Hank Aaron, which serves as a reminder that it really wasn't that long ago that black players weren't allowed to play in the Majors. While many of us remember when Aaron finally broke Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974, we may not know that he started off in the Negro Leagues playing for the Indianapolis Clowns. Aaron gives a moving tribute to the men in the Negro Leagues who paved the way for him and others.
We are the Ship is divided into nine innings (chapters) and is written in a breezy, narrative voice that begs to be read out loud. It's full of facts and personalities that leap out of the page at you. The first inning tells the story of Andrew "Rube" Foster who is credited with organizing the many Negro baseball teams that were already playing, into one league. He was determined to create a league that would be as good as, or better, than the Majors "so that when it came time to integrate professional baseball, Negroes would be ready." This was in the beginning of the 1920's.
Each chapter goes on like this, introducing us to the men who made up this amazing league. Yes, there are stories about players you have heard of (Satchel Page, Josh Gibson and Buck O'Neil), but there were so many more players that fill the pages of this book. The way they barnstormed around the country in old buses, showing up in small towns and playing in pastures, all for the love of the game.
Now a word about the pictures. This is the part where I'm not sure I can adequately convey the absolute beauty of the artwork. Nelson has managed to capture both the time and personalities of the period, in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of Norman Rockwell. What Nelson manages to do with his book is sweep you back into history so that you are right there with the players. You feel their hardships, the segregation and bigotry that surrounded them, and most of all their love for the game. It is his tribute to these outstanding men who played baseball their way, and it works. While this is children's book, I believe it's a book for anyone who has a love of baseball.
Summary of We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
?We are the ship; all else the sea.??Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League
The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
Using an ?Everyman? player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. The voice is so authentic, you will feel as if you are sitting on dusty bleachers listening intently to the memories of a man who has known the great ballplayers of that time and shared their experiences. But what makes this book so outstanding are the dozens of full-page and double-page oil paintings?breathtaking in their perspectives, rich in emotion, and created with understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game.
We Are the Ship is a tour de force for baseball lovers of all ages.
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