[.ca] Brushing Back Jim Crow: The Integration of Minor-League ... (ISBN 0813926459)

Terrific Book!:
The author does a great job of capturing both sides of the integration battlefields (ballparks) of the South. He effectively uses narratives of former players, both the famous (Felipe Alou, Billy Williams, etc.)and the not so famous (Joe Durham, Percy Miller Jr., etc.) to detail exactly what those pioneers had to endure. Those narratives are interwoven with clippings from various newspapers of the day to tie the intergration of minor league baseball in the South with the overall racial climate of those cities. This book, I believe, would prove to be an interesting and informative read, even for those who are not baseball fans. Adelson obviously did a lot of research and successfully shows how baseball "broke down the walls" for total integration in the South. Spend the money and the time on this book - it's worth it!

It's about time!!:
This is a wonderful book, recounting a largely unknown story of American and baseball history - how the southern minors' integration was part of the larger civil rights movement. 20th century baseball integration began but did not end with Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. Unitl now, no one had taken their legacy to the next step. Bruce Adelson now has in a powerful account of what it was like being on the front lines of baseball and civil rights in the Dixie of the 1950s and early 1960s.

A phenomenal account of the integration of Dixie's minors.:
The author has done an excellent job documenting the experiences of Hank Aaron, Billy Williams, Felipe Alou and others who broke minor league baseball color lines down south in the years after Jackie Robinson opened up the major leagues. His book includes poignant and compelling interviews with these and other ballplayers who relate their painful experiences of enduring Jim Crow racial restrictions while playing baseball. The author also places their achievements within the historical context of the times, the 1950s and 1960s. These players were truly civil rights pioneers, helping to integrate a closed society. This is a must read!

A compelling book, obviously very well researched.:
A compelling and very well-written account of Jim Crow and minor league baseball in the American South. The book is a fascinating cultural and historical study. The author clearly devoted a great deal of time in researching this book. His presentation of the oral histories is fantastic.