Description
Book SynopsisFrom the first amateur leagues of the 1860s to the exploits of Livan and Orlando El Duque Hernandez, here is the definitive history of baseball in Cuba. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria expertly traces the arc of the game, intertwining its heroes and their stories with the politics, music, dance, and literature of the Cuban people. What emerges is more than a story of balls and strikes, but a richly detailed history of Cuba told from the unique cultural perch of the baseball diamond. Filling a void created by Cuba''s rejection of bullfighting and Spanish hegemony, baseball quickly became a crucial stitch in the complex social fabric of the island. By the early 1940s Cuba had become major conduit in spreading the game throughout Latin America, and a proving ground for some of the greatest talent in all of baseball, where white major leaguers and Negro League players from the U.S. all competed on the same fields with the cream of Latin talent. Indeed, readers will be introduced to several bl
Trade ReviewCuba's love affair with the American bat and ball is given encyclopedic treatment in The Pride of Havana ... the prose is as smooth and powerful as a good pitch delivery ... Best of all is the backdrop of history - political, social and popular - against which the baseball stars perform ... For students of old Cuba, Echevarría's book hits a home run. * John Lantigua, Times Literary Supplement *
The Pride of Havana is an absorbing history of Cuban baseball and the impact so many Cuban players have had on the game in the United States. It sparkles like El Duque in October. * Bob Costas, NBC Sports *
