Days before his 19th birthday, Grid awakes in the middle of the night screaming, “THE ELEVATOR! NO HANK!” He had just endured his first nightmare – his first of two. His dreams had been unusually pleasant to date – all of them. And until days before Grid’s 19th Birthday the protagonists were people he didn’t know, or so he thought. Every night since his second birthday, Grid would dream about Mike and Hank, The Brothers who weren’t really Brothers, the main characters of what played out like a series of movies in Grid’s head every night as he slept. He had wondered as a child what it was all about. When he asked his mother, Dolly, she became inexplicably cross and lashed out at her son. She convinced Grid that Hank and Mike weren’t real. And then Dolly warned her son sternly to never speak of it for fear that people would think Grid was crazy like his Grandfather. He had died the day Grid was born. She didn’t tell him Mike was that grandfather and Hank was his uncle, but not his real uncle. Grid only began to wonder anew what it was all about after his first nightmare, days before his 19th birthday on a Kibbutz in Israel. He decided to share his dreams for the first time with his roommate after waking from his second nightmare screaming, “NO HANK! DON’T LEAVE ME!”

Is the face of American baseball throughout the world that of goodwill ambassador or ugly American? Has baseball crafted its own image or instead been at the mercy of broader forces shaping our society and the globe? The Empire Strikes Out gives us the sweeping story of how baseball and America are intertwined in the export of “the American way.” From the Civil War to George W. Bush and the Iraq War, we see baseball's role in developing the American empire, first at home and then beyond our shores. And from Albert Spalding and baseball's first World Tour to Bud Selig and the World Baseball Classic, we witness the globalization of America's national pastime and baseball's role in spreading the American dream. Besides describing baseball's frequent and often surprising connections to America's presence around the world, Elias assesses the effects of this relationship both on our foreign policies and on the sport itself and asks whether baseball can play a positive role or rather only reinforce America's dominance around the globe. Like Franklin Foer in How Soccer Explains the World, Elias is driven by compelling stories, unusual events, and unique individuals. His seamless integration of original research and compelling analysis makes this a baseball book that's about more than just sports.

This book consists three sections: first, feature stories about various local area people and events taken from old issues of the Keowee Courier; second, items from an editorial-page column written by the book’s author, Ashton Hester, during a forty-four-year period from 1974 to 2017; and third, week-to-week highlights from the years 1966–1968. It is the author’s hope that these stories and commentaries will bring back some nostalgic memories for longtime residents and provide some historical insight for younger people and newcomers to the area. The Keowee Courier, founded in 1849, is upstate South Carolina’s second oldest newspaper—second only to the Abbeville County Press and Banner / Abbeville Medium, which was founded in 1844.

Baseball Beyond Our Borders celebrates the globalization of the game while highlighting the different histories and cultures of the nations in which the sport is played. This collection of essays tells the story of America’s national pastime as it has spread across the world and undergone instructive, entertaining, and sometimes quirky changes in the process. Covering nineteen countries and a U.S. territory, the contributors show how each country imported baseball, how baseball took hold and developed, how it is organized, played, and followed, and what local and regional traits tell us about the sport’s place in each culture. But what lies in store as baseball’s passport fills up with far-flung stamps? Will the international migration of players homogenize baseball? What role will the World Baseball Classic play? These are just a few of the questions the authors pose.

Smart Ball follows Major League Baseball's history as a sport, a domestic monopoly, a neocolonial power, and an international business. MLB's challenge has been to market its popular mythology as the national pastime with pastoral, populist roots while addressing the management challenges of competing with other sports and diversions in a burgeoning global economy. Baseball researcher Robert F. Lewis II argues that MLB for years abused its legal insulation and monopoly status through arrogant treatment of its fans and players and static management of its business. As its privileged position eroded eroded in the face of increased competition from other sports and union resistance, it awakened to its perilous predicament and began aggressively courting athletes and fans at home and abroad. Using a detailed marketing analysis and applying the principles of a "smart power" model, the author assesses MLB's progression as a global business brand that continues to appeal to a consumer's sense of an idyllic past in the midst of a fast-paced, and often violent, present.

Paul Bouchard's books includeEnlistment, A Package at Gitmo, The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Man, and the nonfiction workA Catholic Marries a Hindu. Note: The views expressed in Paul Bouchard's books are solely his own and are not affiliated with the United States Army.

The United States has been epitomized as a land of opportunity, where hard work and skill can bring personal success and economic well-being. The American Dream has captured the imagination of people from all walks of life, and to many, it represents the heart and soul of the country. But there is another, darker side to the bargain that America strikes with its people -- it is the price we pay for our individual pursuit of the American Dream. That price can be found in the economic hardship present in the lives of millions of Americans. In Chasing the American Dream, leading social scientists Mark Robert Rank, Thomas A. Hirschl, and Kirk A. Foster provide a new and innovative look into a curious dynamic -- the tension between the promise of economic opportunities and rewards and the amount of turmoil that Americans encounter in their quest for those rewards. The authors explore questions such as: -What percentage of Americans achieve affluence, and how much income mobility do we actually have? -Are most Americans able to own a home, and at what age? -How is it that nearly 80 percent of us will experience significant economic insecurity at some point between ages 25 and 60? -How can access to the American Dream be increased? Combining personal interviews with dozens of Americans and a longitudinal study covering 40 years of income data, the authors tell the story of the American Dream and reveal a number of surprises. The risk of economic vulnerability has increased substantially over the past four decades, and the American Dream is becoming harder to reach and harder to keep. Yet for most Americans, the Dream lies not in wealth, but in economic security, pursuing one's passions, and looking toward the future. Chasing the American Dream provides us with a new understanding into the dynamics that shape our fortunes and a deeper insight into the importance of the American Dream for the future of the country.

The author and his wife travel America in their RV, reporting on earthquakes and tornados, 23 national parks, and many big cities.

Explore 50 of America's remaining iconic roadside motels. Admire the magical allure of their neon signs, unique architecture and their beautiful design that beckon you off the highway through a collection of astonishing photographs. Meet the moteliers creating the experience for a new generation to enjoy. The stories and photographs in Sleeping Around in America give readers an opportunity to rekindle fond memories of family vacations, road trips and childhood experiences while providing a roadmap of motels where they can travel to today. A book to satisfy armchair travellers, American pop-culture enthusiasts and nostalgia seeking adventure romantic explorers.

From 1865 - 1887, few blacks played professional baseball. By mid 1887, blacks were banned altogether. But this didn't stop these baseball lovers from playing. What did they do? They formed their own teams and barnstormed the nation; they also formed their own leagues and played against all-white teams. It was not unusual for players to suit up for 2-3 teams in 1 season, nor for them to travel west or south to warmer climates (including Cuba and Puerto Rico) during the winter months. Many made a name for themselves,and several are currently enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame.