Making the team
Book Description
Timothy Morris invites readers on a profound exploration of how America's most beloved pastime has shaped our collective understanding of identity, belonging, and personal transformation. Through careful examination of baseball literature spanning from classic works like The Natural to lesser-known juvenile novels, this thoughtful analysis reveals how fictional diamond heroes have long served as mirrors reflecting our deepest cultural values and aspirations.
At its heart, this work examines four pivotal themes that resonate far beyond the ballpark: the journey of assimilation into community, the complexities of identity formation, the power of language to include or exclude, and our enduring faith in merit-based achievement. Morris demonstrates how these narratives have consistently embodied ideals of courage, competitiveness, and character development across different generations of readers.
What emerges is a compelling meditation on how we define ourselves as individuals and as a society. The author traces how fictional characters have modeled pathways to acceptance and success, while simultaneously questioning which stories we elevate as "literary" and worthy of serious consideration. This examination challenges readers to consider how cultural narratives shape personal growth and collective consciousness.
For those interested in understanding how literature influences spiritual and social development, this work offers valuable insights into the stories that have quietly guided American self-understanding for decades.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Short (< 200 pages) (~5 hours)
📄 Length: 190 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore American Baseball stories
- ✓ Explore Children's literature, history and criticism
- ✓ Explore National characteristics in literature
- ✓ Explore Assimilation (Sociology) in literature
- ✓ Explore American Bildungsromans
- ✓ Explore Bildungsromans
- ✓ Explore Elite (Social sciences) in literature
- ✓ Explore Psychological fiction, American
