{"product_id":"the-wax-pack-9781496229823","title":"The Wax Pack","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePart baseball nostalgia and part road trip travelogue, \u003ci\u003eThe Wax Pack\u003c\/i\u003e follows Brad Balukjian as he tracks down players from a single pack of baseball cards from 1986 that had remained sealed for almost thirty years.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A wonderful journey that opens into an exploration of sports, nostalgia, American culture, and memory, \u003ci\u003eThe Wax Pack\u003c\/i\u003e will surprise and engage you. It’s a delight to read and a tribute to the power of curiosity.”—Susan Orlean, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Library Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“What if a pack of baseball cards could come to life? It sounds like a Spielberg movie plot, except it happened. It happened because Brad Balukjian made it happen, in real life, with the most eclectic cast of baseball characters ever assembled. And the result is one of the most fun, honest, funny, human, and uniquely creative baseball books of the year. I’ll admit it. I loved \u003ci\u003eThe Wax Pack\u003c\/i\u003e!”—Jayson Stark, senior baseball writer for \u003ci\u003eThe Athletic \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Wax Pack\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the most interesting and pleasing baseball-themed books I have read in quite some time. An original idea, brought to fruition with graceful prose, a sense of humor, empathy, and insight.”—Bob Costas\u003cbr\u003e\"Baseball cards were a wonderful and memorable part of my childhood. Balukjian brought a random pack of cards to life. Such a unique way to tell a fascinating story.\"—Tim Kurkjian\u003cbr\u003e“Poignant and powerful. . . . Balukjian covers more than ten thousand miles to track down the stories of fourteen men from a single pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, learning a lot about their lives—and his own. Hop in the backseat and join him for the journey.”—Tyler Kepner, national baseball writer for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eK: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As pleasing as the pink slab of bubble gum that, long ago, came with baseball cards inside five cent packets, this slender volume gives fresh flavor to the familiar phrase ‘inside baseball.’”—George F. Will\u003cbr\u003e“What a weird, quirky, fun read. There have been 50,000 books written on Major League Baseball, but Brad Balukjian’s \u003ci\u003eThe Wax Pack\u003c\/i\u003e is a uniquely romantic love letter to a game, a time period, and its random soldiers. Well done.”—Jeff Pearlman, author of \u003ci\u003eFootball for a Buck\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Wax Pack\u003c\/i\u003e is the perfect synthesis of what makes baseball (and baseball cards) compelling, combining the thrill of discovery, the reassurance of shared memory, and poignant metaphors for life. Balukjian’s cross-country, cardboard-based bildungsroman reminds us that baseball’s best stories are sometimes told by and about players who’ve long since left the league.”—Ben Lindbergh, best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eThe MVP Machine\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e The Only Rule Is It Has to Work\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Brad Balukjian’s book is for all those little kids with cardboard heroes who turned into big kids and started wondering, ‘Hey, what if there’s more to life than just the cardboard?’ Turns out, there is.”—Rob Neyer, author of \u003ci\u003ePower Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A journey of self-discovery by way of a pack of 1986 baseball cards. In Brad’s emotional quest, he not only finds answers but shares a snapshot of ballplayers who, like him, are trying to make it through life’s many twists and turns.”—Shane Rawley, former MLB pitcher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAuthor’s Note\u003cbr\u003e Prologue\u003cbr\u003e 1. Warming Up\u003cbr\u003e 2. Happy Meals\u003cbr\u003e 3. Yeager Bombs\u003cbr\u003e 4. Camp Templeton\u003cbr\u003e 5. Houston, We Have a Problem\u003cbr\u003e 6. Ready Is Ready\u003cbr\u003e 7. Carman’s Cradle\u003cbr\u003e 8. The Battery\u003cbr\u003e 9. Chasing Carlton\u003cbr\u003e 10. Leader of the Pack\u003cbr\u003e 11. Vincent van Gone\u003cbr\u003e 12. Is It September Yet?\u003cbr\u003e 13. Nobody Home\u003cbr\u003e 14. Gone Fishing\u003cbr\u003e 15. Catching Carlton\u003cbr\u003e 16. Captain Comeback\u003cbr\u003e 17. Straight Outta Compton\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Notes","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409238958423,"sku":"9781496229823","price":15.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781496229823.jpg?v=1730506096","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-wax-pack-9781496229823","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}