Castro's Curveball - Tapa blanda

"Engrossing . . . Wendel's characters are complex and passionate. The unfolding of their lives is fascinating."
--The Washington Post
"Irresistible . . . Castro's Curveball has all the excitement of a tie-breaking home run."
--The Baltimore Sun
"Tim Wendel's love and impressive knowledge of baseball suffuses every page of this passionate novel of love, loss, and the real freedom that wisdom and time sometimes bring."
--KEN BURNS
Coauthor of Baseball: An Illustrated History
"A cleverly imaginative, spirited and engaging novel . . . The author brilliantly depicts life in Havana both pre- and post-Castro, and his baseball lingo is lively and authentic."
--PARADE magazine
"Superbly crafted."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A beguiling mix of thriller and love story . . . capturing the Bull Durham-like camaraderie of has-beens and wanna-bes struggling to keep their dreams alive."
--Booklist
"Outstanding . . . Some of the best game-action sequences in fiction. . . . Multifaceted and intriguing."
--Publishers Weekly

"A superbly crafted meditation on heroism, duty, and the irony derived from recognizing everyone''s imperfections but your own."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In this first novel, well-known sportswriter and radio commentator Wendel explores the legend that Fidel Castro could''ve been a contender in America''s major leagues. . . . Beautifully written, and with a ring of truth to it."-Library Journal

"A Cuba libre mixed with baseball, revolution, and moonlight, wonderfully evocative of a time that was and a pitcher that might have been."--Frank Deford, author of "Everybody's All-American"--Frank Deford

"Tim Wendel''s love and impressive knowledge of baseball suffuses every page of this passionate novel of love, loss, and the real freedom that wisdom and time sometimes bring."--Ken Burns, coauthor of "Baseball: An Illustrated History"--Ken Burns

"Tim Wendel's love and impressive knowledge of baseball suffuses every page of this passionate novel of love, loss, and the real freedom that wisdom and time sometimes bring."--Ken Burns, coauthor of "Baseball: An Illustrated History"--Ken Burns

The story of a young Fidel Castro choosing between politics and a promising baseball future. Recently widowed and now retired, Billy Bryan is "coming to the end of many things." Then a long-forgotten scrapbook stirs memories of a distant past-and beckons him and his grown daughter on a reluctant journey to relive his role in history. In 1947 Bryan was playing winter ball in Cuba, his future as uncertain as the island country's. Then one fateful night Bryan witnessed a young student radical named Fidel unleash an amazing curveball. So begins Bryan's tug-of-war with destiny.