This is a book about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the colour barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a book by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is a book about what happened to Jackie, Carl Erskine, Pee Wee Reese, and the others when their glory days were behind them. In short, it is a book fathers and sons and about the making of modern America. 'At a point in life when one is through with boyhood, but has not yet discovered how to be a man, it was my fortune to travel with the most marvelously appealing of teams.' Sentimental because it holds such promise, and bittersweet because that promise is past, the first sentence of this masterpiece of sporting literature, first published in the early '70s, sets its tone. The team is the mid-20th-century Brooklyn Dodgers, the team of Robinson and Snyder and Hodges and Reese, a team of great triumph and historical import composed of men whose fragile lives were filled with dignity and pathos. Roger Kahn, who covered that team for the New York Herald Tribune, makes understandable humans of his heroes as he chronicles the dreams and exploits of their young lives, beautifully intertwining them with his own, then recounts how so many of those sweet dreams curdled as the body of these once shining stars grew rusty with age and battered by experience.

In the Darkness, Mike slid over the side of the ship and in to the water, without knowing direction swam away from the ship into the darkness hoping not to hear the sound of a rifle or the pain of its report. Without knowing where he was Mike hoped he was swimming for shore, hoping he would not end up as fish food. He had escaped the Yankees. This is a story of how our Country grew and how we grow. A story of hard work, hard thinking and true love. Some time before the Civil War two families grow together and become part the that eras American dream. The book will show them loving living and celebrating. It will also show the sadness of separation and death. The unforgettable pain of not knowing where someone is or what happened to them. But worst the wrenching pain of not being able to help someone you love. Witness the lives of two families become one. Witness the boys of summer, sun and youth enter the turbulence of lives winter. No not that they should grow old in years. Life has a winter for all and for some it comes early and is brutal. Hope is down the road we know or least wise believe there will be spring. The sun will warm us and all will be well.

TWO HOT TO HANDLE Thanks to the explosive popularity of Fox’s hit television show The O.C., actors Benjamin McKenzie and Adam Brody are men on the move. Their jaw-dropping good looks and impressive talent have catapulted them to the top of the It-list, making them two of Hollywood’s hottest hunks. If you want to know how these gorgeous guys arrived in Orange County, look no further. The Boys of Summer gives you the complete 411 on Benjamin McKenzie and Adam Brody–hometown histories, dating dilemmas, and favorite pastimes. Find out about Ben’s adventures in New York City as he pursued his passion for acting. Discover the other projects Adam has tackled, including Gilmore Girls and the horror flick The Ring. And, of course, get all the behind-the-scenes gossip from the set of The O.C. Ben and Adam have just begun to unleash their talent–stay tuned and see what lies ahead!

"Welcome to Winlock Harbor. Where the weather is always sunny, the water is the perfect temperature, and the boardwalk boasts the best food around. Where best friends Grayson, Mike, and Ian first met as kids, building a sand castle on a cloudless beach day. And where this summer, the loyalties of a lifelong friendship will begin to unravel."--Dust jacket.

Walt Whitman referred to a "Mad, naked, Summer Night!" In the pages of Boys of Summer, acclaimed editor Steve Berman's latest anthology, talented authors and fresh voices reveal the allure and excitement of the season for gay teens. June always promises romance. July entices with its raw heat, and August offers a languid fire that will burn out before autumn's approach. These are stories of young love and adventure, when the sky's ceiling is a bright blue marvel, when another boy's laughter at the beach can distract from dull summer jobs.

Get swept away in this breezy beach read about love, family, and the true meaning of friendship. Meet the Boys of Winlock Harbor… Grayson Cartwright: Golden Boy. Football Prodigy. Troublemaker. Mike Metzler: Local Heartthrob. Surfer Boy. Hopeless Romantic. Ian Handler: Army Brat. Musician. King of Sarcasm. Best friends since they were kids, Grayson, Mike, and Ian were hoping for another epic summer on “The Locks”, filled with clambakes, bonfires, and late-night swims in the ocean. But that was before Ian’s dad never returned home from his last deployment. Before Mike had to take on more responsibility in order to help provide for his family. Before Grayson’s accident left him with an injured throwing arm and an uncertain future. It’s clear this summer on the island is shaping up to be very different from those Grayson, Mike, and Ian had come to rely on. And when the sacred code of dating a friend’s sister or ex is broken, it will push their friendship to the absolute limit, testing their loyalties in a way that could either break them—or save them.

Both a haunting coming-of-age story set in North Texas against the backdrop of a deadly tornado, and a character-driven, deeply-affecting supernatural thriller. In 1979, a massive tornado devastates the city of Wichita Falls, Texas, leaving scores dead, thousands homeless, and nine-year-old Todd Willis in a coma, fighting for his life. Four years later, Todd awakens to a world that looks the same but feels different in a way he can't quite grasp. For Todd, it's a struggle to separate fact from fiction as he battles lingering hallucinations from his long sleep. The new friends Todd makes in 1983 are fascinated with his experience and become mesmerized by his strange relationship with the world. Together the five boys come of age during a dark, fiery summer where they find first love, betrayal, and a secret so terrible they agree to never speak of it again. But darkness returns to Wichita Falls twenty-five years later, and the boys--now men--are forced to reunite and confront the wounds from their past. When their memories of that childhood summer refuse to align with reality, the friends embark upon a search for truth that will threaten their lives, and transform their understanding of each other--and the world itself--forever.