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We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball | 
 enlarge | Author: Nelson Kadir
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Category: Book
List Price: $18.99
Buy New: $11.14
You Save: $7.85 (41%)
New (34) Used (11) from $9.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 14633
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 96
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 11.3 x 11.1 x 0.4
ISBN: 0786808322
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3576408996073
EAN: 9780786808328
ASIN: 0786808322
Publication Date: January 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080725212931T
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Book Description
"We are the ship; all else the sea."--Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball. Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. The voice is so authentic, you will feel as if you are sitting on dusty bleachers listening intently to the memories of a man who has known the great ballplayers of that time and shared their experiences. But what makes this book so outstanding are the dozens of full-page and double-page oil paintings--breathtaking in their perspectives, rich in emotion, and created with understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game. We Are the Ship is a tour de force for baseball lovers of all ages.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
Outstanding History of Negro League Baseball June 27, 2008
This book is set in the time between the formation of the Negro League by Rube Foster in the 1920's and Jackie Robinson's cross over to the majors in 1947. This was the era of the Negro League's time of greatest activity and fame.
Black baseball had its own superstars. These included Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and the great Satchel Paige. This was a period when Negro players frequently couldn't find hotels that would let them stay overnight or restaurants that would serve them. Frequently, they spent nights sleeping in their buses or in tents beside the road.
Not only is this book an intriguing account of Negro League Baseball, but Kadir Nelson's illustrative paintings are outstanding works of art.
The bind black players were caught in is illustrated by baseball's great white pitcher Walter Johnson's comment about the talented catcher Josh Gibson, "He can do everything. He hits the ball a mile. And he catches so easy he might as well be in a rocking chair....too bad this Gibson is a colored fellow." Gibson was so good that some people said Babe Ruth should have been called "the white Josh Gibson."
Nelson portrays the "triumphs and defeats on and off the field," as well as adding intriguing facts. Did you know that Satchel Paige had a wonderful singing voice? That Oscar Charleston was such a mean son-of-a-gun that he once snatched the hood off a Ku Klux Klansman? Or that Louis Armstrong owned the "Secret Nine" ball club and that Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was part-owner of the New York Black Yankees?
An especially moving part of this book deals with the exhibition and barnstorming games members of the Negro League played against white major leaguers: "I guess we beat those major leaguers as often as we did because we could out-think them. Baseball is a game of intelligence. For a long time, a lot of people thought Negroes could never play major league ball because they thought we weren't smart enough. It took them a long time to realize that nothing was further from the truth. Those major leaguers learned a lot by playing us, and we learned a lot from playing them. They learned we were men just as they were, and they would shake our hands and look us in the eye after we beat them, as did we. Maybe we did help change a few minds by playing baseball, after all."
Incredible. June 27, 2008
In We Are the Ship, the story of the Negro Baseball League is told through the eyes of one who lived it. It has all the facts and figures to surely be a historical baseball book. It also has all the stories and personalities to be a very personable and emotional read. The voice of "We" tells the story from the very conception of Negro League baseball through Jackie Robinson's joining the Braves. The author takes care to describe all the important characters - building their legends with vivid language.
If this book were its story alone, it would be fascinating. But it is also filled - and I do mean filled - with paintings of the league and its players, owners, umps, and bus trips. The paintings are GORGEOUS. I don't remember any children's book that had illustrations that made me stop to study them for so long. The portraits are so intense - Nelson has most of the subjects looking right at you - THROUGH you - and I felt drawn in to look at them as hard as they were looking at me.
As a book club book, I think Negro League Baseball would be a wonderful subject to study and discuss as a club. There are many situations in this book that would be wonderful discussion - even debate - material. It would be interesting to figure out how to read it together, due to its length and the fact that it is so gripping it demands to be read straight through. It is so good I will absolutely HAVE to share it with my students.
This is sure to be at the top of the list of Newbery contenders for 2008!
Great overview and Excellent Art for all fans June 24, 2008
Although I am far beyond young, I initially purchased this book because of striking Kadir Nelson artwork I have on a jazz cd cover, "The Heavy Hitter," by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, an excellent, underrated 50s sax player. The cover features a Negro League slugger belting a long one, and that was what caught my eye. The music is fine, too.
Then, last spring, Sports Illustrated featured several more examples of Nelson's artistry, and I decided I had to have this work of art. The copy, though secondary and somewhat elementary for adults, still contains solid information on the leagues and players. Most baseball fans will still learn much they did not know about these unappreciated players and their times. For younger readers, it will be an impressive introduction to a part of baseball history they should know.
The art is superb, and the large pages make it even more impressive. I highly recommended this collection for all baseball fans and art lovers. This is one I will pick up frequently just to page through, and use as a reference for Negro League information. The price is right, too.
Overall, this is a labor of love, and the love shows clearly.
Stunning June 21, 2008
Mr. Nelson's illustrations/paintings are breathtaking. This book is absolutely gorgeous and a place I go when I need some inspiration.
Great histories illustrated beautifully May 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I heard an interview with the author on the radio a few months ago and kind of tucked this book into the back of my mind as possibly interesting. Then when I ran across it in the bookstore I had to buy it. Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball in a wonderful way that highlights both the joys the players had in playing as well as the challenges they faced - everything from lumpy ballparks and crowded team buses to the difficulties imposed by segregation and prejudice. He tells it from the "we" perspective that gives it an atmosphere of a voice speaking from the past but also makes it sound personal. He introduces us to many of the greats, men who would have been stars in any league, like Satchel Paige, "Cool Papa" Bell, "Judy" Johnson, Josh Gibson - the "black Babe Ruth" (or was Babe the "white Josh Gibson?") - and many, many others. He includes information on those who made the Negro League possible, like Rube Foster, and some of the team owners. I also thought numbering the chapters as Innings (with "Extra Innings" for the final chapter) was a clever touch.
But the text alone isn't what makes this book so great. The artwork is stunning in this oversize book, and hardly a page goes by that doesn't have a full page painting (including one fold-out). Some are simple poses of the men on the field and a few show them getting off trains or riding on the bus, but my favorites are the ones that show the action of the game. Several would be good enough to hang on the wall (as reprints, of course, not cut from the book). It has a look and style of the old depression-era artwork that was used in murals and public places.
My little-league son and I have been reading the book and have both learned a lot. Of course, segregation is a recurrent theme, and it's embarrassing to me that this is how things used to be, but I think it's important that my children understand how it affected real people. But we both enjoy reading not only of the challenges faced, but also the joys they had in playing the game we both love and their triumphs. The forward by Hank Aaron and the part about Jackie Robinson are nice in that regard. This is a beautiful book that baseball fans of any color will enjoy.
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