About this item
An unforgettable chronicle of a year of minor-league baseball in a small Iowa town that follows not only the travails of the players of the Clinton LumberKings but alsothe lives of their dedicated fans and of the town itselfAward-winning essayist Lucas Mann delivers a powerful debut in his telling of the story of the season of the Clinton LumberKings Along the Mississippi River in a Depression-era stadium young prospects from all over the world compete for a chance to move up through the baseball ranks to the major leagues Their coaches some of whom have spent nearly half a century in the game watch from the dugout In the bleachers local fans call out from the same seats theyrsquove occupied year after year And in the distance smoke rises from the largest remaining factory in a town that once had more millionaires per capita than any other in AmericaMann turns his eye on the players the coaches the fans the radio announcer the town and finally on himself a young man raised on baseball driven to know what still draws him to the stadium His voice is as fresh and funny as it is poignant illuminating both the small triumphs and the harsh realities of minor-league ball Part sports story part cultural exploration part memoir Class A is a moving and unique study of why we play why we watch and why we remember.
About the Author
Lucas Mann is the author of Lord Fear: A Memoir, which was named one of the best books of 2015 by The Miami Herald, Kirkus Reviews, Paper Magazine, and Oprah.com, as well as Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere, a 2013 Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. His essays and stories have appeared in Guernica, The Kenyon Review, BuzzFeed, Slate, and TriQuarterly, among others. He earned his M.F.A. from The University of Iowa, and currently lives in Providence, RI, with his wife.
