WHO INVENTED THE GAME?

Written with Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
Alfred A. Knopf • 1994 • (OP)
ISBN 0-679-86750-3 • 80 pages • Ages 8 and up

• Based on the Public Television Series
BASEBALL: The American Epic

• NCSS-CBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies.


. . . a small masterpiece . . . condenses the history of the national pastime into 80 pages, dispensing of the title question in the first two.

A graceful writer, Walker moves seamlessly from the 1845 Knickerbockers to the Black Sox scandal to the new Dodgers stadium in Los Angeles; from Candy Cummings to Ty Cobb to Babe Ruth to Satchel Paige to Roger Maris. The book tracks Burns’ documentary inning by inning, providing a look at baseball without whitewash or excess glorification. Yes, it was grand, but it was also sordid and racist and sometimes corrupt.
—San Diego Union-Tribune

Selected Works

American History / Photography
REMEMBER LITTLE ROCK: The Time, the People, the Stories
The 1957 desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High School, told through eyewitness accounts and contemporary photographs.
REMEMBER THE ALAMO: Texians, Tejanos, and Mexicans Tell Their Stories
The story of the battle in the context of the Texas Revolution, told through eyewitness accounts and powerful historical images. Ages 10 and up.
REMEMBER LITTLE BIGHORN: Indians, Soldiers, and Scouts Tell Their Stories
The compelling story of the battle told though eyewitness accounts and striking historical images. Ages 10 and up.
TRUE TALES OF THE WILD WEST
Ten true stories of the American western experience written in an appealing narrative style. Ages 10-14.
THE SOUTHWEST: Gold, God, & Grandeur
Eleven thousand years of human history among the sun-baked deserts, canyons, rivers, and mountains of what is now the American Southwest.
*Narrative Nonfiction
THE FEUD THAT SPARKED THE RENAISSANCE: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World
The story of two brilliant artists whose lifelong conflict jumpstarted the Renaissance in Quattrocento Florence.
Educational Publishing
AMERICAN FOLKTALES series
Five folktale collections representing five regions of the United States
Biography
PRIDE OF PUERTO RICO The Life of Roberto Clemente
The inspiring story of a Hall of Famer who rose from poverty in Puerto Rico to set new standards of excellence and integrity on and off the field. Ages 8-12.

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