2024 the best nonfiction books review

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In 1943, while the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals were winning pennants and meeting in that year and apos;s World Series, one of the nation and apos;s strongest baseball teams practiced on a skinned-out college field in the heart of North Carolina. Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, and Johnny Sain were among a cadre of fighter-pilot cadets who wore the Cloudbuster Nine baseball jersey at an elite Navy training school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In this spirited Field of Dreams-like father-daughter account, author Anne R. Keene opens with a story about her father, Jim Raugh, who suited up as the team batboy and mascot. He got to know his baseball heroes personally, watching players hit the road on cramped, tin-can buses, dazzling factory workers, kids, and service members at dozens of games, including a war-bond exhibition against Babe Ruth and apos;s team at Yankee Stadium.

Jimmy followed his baseball dreams as a college All-American, but was crushed later in life by a failed major-league bid with the Detroit Tigers. He would have carried this story to his grave had Anne not discovered his scrapbook from a Navy school that shaped America and apos;s greatest heroes including George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, John Glenn, Paul and quot;Bear and quot; Bryant, and John Wooden.

With the help of rare images and insights from World War II MLB baseball veterans such as Dr. Bobby Brown and Eddie Robinson, the story of this remarkable team is brought to life for the first time in The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sports Publishing; 1st edition (April 21, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 408 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1683583620
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1683583622
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
Reviewer: Thomas Wolf
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Engaging and well-researched story that captures a vital era in American history
Review: Anne Keene's THE CLOUDBUSTER NINE is a fascinating and engaging story. Keene tells the tale of the naval aviation training program that took place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (and four other sites) during World War II. On one level, the book provides a powerful and revealing look at some of the men of the Greatest Generation as they prepared to fight for America's freedom--men like George H. W. Bush and John Glenn. But the book is also a delightful and impressively researched story about some of the major league baseball players--Ted Williams and Johnny Pesky, for example--who trained as pilots and played ball for a team called the Cloudbuster Nine, a squad that played several exhibitions against other major leaguers (Babe Ruth appears in the book as another individual who contributed to the war effort in his own way). Finally, the book is a touching and emotional memoir that relates the experiences of Keene's father, the team's bat boy and later an aspiring minor league pitcher. The book is filled with memorable anecdotes and photographs. I would recommend it to any reader who enjoys World War II history or little-known facts about some of America's great heroes.

Reviewer: Sandy Gallagher
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good read
Review: gave it to my future son-in-law for Christmas and he said it is a good book

Reviewer: Bob Harley
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting read; well researched
Review: this was an interesting book about WWII era naval pilot training and its interaction with college and professional sports. Will be very interesting to baseball buffs.

Reviewer: Rusty Jones, USMC Ret
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Readable and a very personal WWII era history
Review: As a retired Marine Aviator, I thoroughly enjoyed and deeply appreciated “The Cloudbuster Nine". Ms Keene’s personal connections with many of that era and her thorough research opened insights into the Navy’s WWII V5 program I had never known. She bravely shares her family’s challenges while simultaneously and meticulously explaining the creation of the V5 program; the two are tightly woven together in this tale of citizens gearing up for war, military as well as home front families. Her description of the intenseness of the cadets' physical training is eye-opening. On top of the daily challenges and competitions as V5 Cadets, they played intense ballgames to raise funds for War Bonds and other charities; and, of course, they played to win against the other teams.This book is not a usual “inside baseball” account. Rather it gives a detailed story of young men who were determined to become Navy and Marine pilots: Naval Aviators. The memories of Ted Williams are particularly noteworthy, be they news clippings or anecdotal remembrances. Red Sox fans and Marines have a predisposed fondness for stories about him and his peers. This book contains a valuable history that was nearly lost forever. Ms Keene has blessed us with a treasure. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Reviewer: BCM
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good read
Review: Bought this for my 14yr old son and he really enjoyed the book

Reviewer: benhat
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A little less baseball than I expected
Review: I bought this book on somewhat of a whim one day, because it seemed like it would be pretty interesting. And don't get me wrong, it was pretty interesting, it just wasn't exactly what I expected. The author obviously did a great deal of research, and I cannot fault her for that. The book was very thorough. She gave the reader a great sense of how sports played a very big role in military training during World War II. For me, personally, I just was hoping to read a little more about baseball than was included.I guess that was my fault in buying the book to expect that without fully reading summaries of it before I purchased it though.No matter what I felt though, the author did a very good job here, and I cannot fault her for writing a well-researched book that simply didn't match up exactly with my specific tastes.If you have a military background and are a baseball fan, I would absolutely recommend this book.

Reviewer: edward temple
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: THESE GUYS ANSWERED THE CALL AND CAME BACK TO A GAME THAT BYPASSED THEM.
Review: I WAS SHOCKED TO WATCH A VIDEO OF AN OUTFIELDER WHO NONCHALANTLY FAILED TO CATCH A FLY BALL WHILE THE GAME COMMENTATOR WAS TELLING HIS AUDIENCE THAT THAT PLAYER, A ROOKIE, HAD JUST BEEN SIGNED FOR $90MILLION BUCKS. I REMEMBER A FAMOUS FULLBACK FOR THE 49ERSTELLING A BUNCH OF US THAT HE MADE $9,000 A YEAR PLAYING FOOTBALL AND HE WAS MAKING $17,000 A YEAR AT HIS BUSINESS. HE OWNED THE GAS STATION I WAS THEN WORKING AT IN 1959.THE CLOUDBUSTERS OF THE BOOK CAME TO SERVE THEIR COUNTRY, HAD TO LEARN TO FLY, FIGHT, AND NAVIGATE AND MAKE THEMSELVES A LIVING AFTERWARDS. IT IS A GREAT BOOK BUT HEARTBREAKING.

Reviewer: Bob V
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wonderful
Review: Terrific book about our Greatest Generation. Baseball used to be called the National Pastime and was, for many, their only diversion and a top passion. Young men lied about their ages or physical condition to get INTO the military to fight the deadliest war ever.Author Anne R. Keene has obviously put a lot of herself into this great story. Wonderful job.