Bøger af Austin Gisriel

Despite the distance between them, Veronica Marsh has fallen in love with Johnny Hall who has been fighting in the Pacific. After receiving an early discharge, he comes walking up her farm lane one warm July evening in 1944, and her future is set.For Veronica's best friend, Elizabeth Bittner, however, the future is about to become quite unsettled. Dissatisfied with her contributions to the war effort at home, she intends to join the Women's Army Corps, much to her parents' dismay.The invasion of Fortress Europe is well underway, but the campaign in the Pacific remains uncertain. Veronica's brother, Buck, however, will not be part of the fighting. Used up as a combat Marine, Buck will be transferred to duty in Hawaii, where his path will cross Elizabeth's ever so briefly.In May of 1945, victory in Europe is declared, but there is not a great deal of celebration as the end of the war in the Pacific is nowhere in sight. In fact, one week after VE Day, the 7th War Bond Drive is launched. Victory over Japan finally occurs in August, however, and now Marsh Point and all of America celebrate long into the night.For the young men and women of Marsh Point, who have spent virtually their entire youth contributing to the war effort, it is now time to get on with their lives.The years march by like soldiers on parade until only one member of Marsh Point's greatest generation is left.

No other sport, and indeed few other activities evoke as much passion as does baseball. It is a passion that unites generations and genders, laborers and lawyers, Republicans and Democrats. Baseball serves as a common language, a unified way of perceiving the world, a means to greater understanding. Baseball's shrines, rituals, myths, and heroes certainly give it a religious aura, but many activities may be pursued "religiously." Baseball is beyond religion. It is a living myth that puts us in touch with Eternity, with the Infinite. Its Miracle is not some long-ago act that contradicts the laws of physics. Its Miracle is the scrubbing away of cynicism to reveal the fresh-faced child within who is ready to believe, eager to believe, who does believe. Fathers, Sons, & Holy Ghosts: Baseball as a Spiritual Experience is an examination in memoir form of how baseball nourishes the spiritual side of those who are part of the game.

Three young men, two young women, one world war.Elizabeth Bittner is in love with Bill Hall whose smooth singing voice enthralls her. She can't imagine a more exciting place than her home town of Marsh Point, but Pearl Harbor will bring a very adult world to her doorstep. For Veronica Marsh, Pearl Harbor is just the national catastrophe that follows her personal catastrophe. For Veronica's brother Buck, and the Hall boys, Johnny and Bill, the war will mean the end of their carefree days of baseball and summer evenings in the town's amusement park. First Johnny, and then Buck join the Marine Corps, but Bill is unable to serve.Johnny and Buck know their enemy on Guadalcanal and can seek him out in the shadows of the jungle. Back home in Marsh Point, however, the enemy of uncertainty is also in the shadows, but it cannot be subdued as easily. It will be difficult to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day, 1942.What was it like to be young in that fateful summer of 1941? Order now to return in time and take this moving journey.

Boots Poffenberger spent only parts of three seasons in the major leagues, but is unquestionably among the wildest figures of his era--one that included Dizzy Dean, Bobo Newsom, and Van Lingle Mungo. Boots was every bit as much an all-star character as the others. He enraged management by playing by his own set of rules; delighted sport writers with an endless stream of crazy missteps and one-liners; and frustrated teammates who in the end always forgave him because of his warmth and genuine character. To the ballplayers and the many fans who adored him, it was just "Boots being Boots." This carefully researched and affectionately written biography captures the essence of a true baseball original. Follow Boots' rise and fall in the big leagues, where his fondness for beer earned him the nickname "The Prince of Pilsner." Enjoy his resurrection in the minor leagues, including a 29-win season that amazingly did not earn him a return to The Show, due to Boots' nonconformity. Read about him during World War II, and his perilous assignment as a Marine Corps pitcher based in Hawaii. Finally, get to know Boots in his later life, as a small town local hero, whose outsized personality and heart resonate with the locals still today.Boots' story is one of a time gone by, an antidote to today's game, of baseball and America before big money and big media became so dominant.

As 1943 dawns, the citizens of Marsh Point are contributing what they can to help America defeat the Axis Powers. Elizabeth Bittner is the town's telegrapher, an important job, which has also made her the bearer of terrible news to some of the town's families. Her closest friend, Veronica Marsh is helping her father manage a group of young Victory Farm Volunteers. The two girls contribute to the war effort by organizing War Bond drives and contributing to the scrap drives and writing letters to Veronica's brother, Buck, and their friend, Johnny, who are in the Pacific. Elizabeth is also writing to Jimmy, a soldier in the 4th Infantry Division. Ever concerned for the welfare of "their boys," Elizabeth and Veronica are anxious for their return, but as the girls become conscious of how the war is changing them, they begin to wonder: Will the boys who come home to us-if they do come home-be the boys we knew?