by John Hoberman (1997)
Darwin's Athletes zeroes in on our society's fixation on black athletic achievement. John Hoberman compellingly argues that this obsession - one shared by both blacks and whites in the media, in corporate America, and even by athletes themselves - has come to play a disastrous role in African-American life and a troubling role in our country's race relations. The sports fixation originates in the painful century-long exclusion of blacks from every other path to high achievement. The scarcity of other kinds of "race heroes" has conferred messianic status on the most popular black athletes, fostering a delusion of integration while contributing to deep social divisions. Ironically, Hoberman argues, the decline of European empires and the rise of the black athlete helped to preserve rather than undermine the inferior status of nonwhites.
John Ed Bradley
Growing up in Louisiana in the late 1960s, where segregation and prejudice still thrive, two high school football players, one white, one black, become friends, but some changes are too difficult to accept. Louisiana in the late 1960s where segregation and prejudice still thrive, two high-school football players, one white, one black, become friends but find that some changes are too difficult to accept. The plot contains violence and racial slurs.
Jerry Craft with Kathleen Sullivan
"Tells the story of Jerry Craft, rancher and former mayor of Jacksboro, Texas, who was the first white man to play in the West Texas Colored League during the summers of 1959 and 1960. Craft was pitcher for the Wichita Falls/Graham Stars, a small, semi-professional, all-black team"--Provided by publisher.
par Vicki Steggall
Roman s'insérant dans une série de récits réalistes mettant en scène les petites inquiétudes d'une fillette d'aujourd'hui. Sous ce titre, parce qu'elle est petite, Mimi n'est plus choisie par ses camarades pour jouer au soccer sur l'heure du midi. Réfugiée à la bibliothèque, l'employée soupçonne que l'enfant n'est pas vraiment là pour lire et lui propose un outil qui pourrait peut-être l'amener à résoudre ses problèmes. Mimi découvre, au cours de sa lecture, que Maurice Richard avait aussi dû tirer profit de sa petite taille en s'entraînant pour devenir le plus rapide de sa ligue. De la littérature commerciale tissant un brin de suspens sur une problématique psychologique souvent propre aux petites filles. [SDM].
Alfred C. Martino
After scoring the winning goal in the county soccer championship, New Jersey high school senior Jonny finally attains some of the popularity enjoyed by his best friend Kyle, until a devastating event changes everything.