LEAGUES APART: The Men and Times of the Negro Baseball Leagues by RITTER, Lawrence - 1995

Morrow Junior Books, 1995. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. New/No Jacket. Richard Merkin color illus.. UNREAD, but not quite perfect, 1995 Morrow Junior Books hardcover (pictorial boards) BUT NO DUST JACKET, first edition, first printing. The color illustrations by Richard Merkin are colorful and bold portraits of baseball legends. Belongs in school libraries. CONTENT: This appealingly illustrated offering presents a brief history of the Negro Leagues, basically through the introduction of some of their stellar performers. Along with the player profiles, Ritter brings to light the trauma and tribulations these men had to go through in order to play. He invites readers to draw their own conclusions on how these individuals would have fared in the Major Leagues, if the teams had been integrated at the time. He fittingly concludes: "It may be too late to compensate these fine athletes for what they lost through no fault of their own, but the least we can do is remember their names and honor their memories." Merkin makes a very successful picture-book debut. His oil pastels, many of which are full-page portraits, are rich and vibrant, helping bring to life the people and the era. Leagues Apart is a fine melding of text and illustration that makes accessible an important part of baseball history. Michael Cooper's Playing America's Game and Robert Gardner and Dennis Shortelle's Forgotten Players are quality titles about the Negro Leagues for older audiences. A celebration of the Negro Leagues and their most notable players explains the segregation laws that resulted in their formation while presenting the stories of such individuals as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and James Bell.