Joe Posnanski and Adam Lazarus

The 32nd Edition of the Book Festival of the MJCCA Presents Joe Posnanski, Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments and

Adam Lazarus, The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams

In Conversation with Chris Dimino, Host on 680TheFan

Author Talk, Q & A & Book Signing

Community Partner: Temple Sinai

Joe Posnanski, Why We Love Baseball

Why We Love Base­ball is a love let­ter to base­ball, a fresh and heart­felt look at the game’s great­est moments and how they con­tin­ue to grab at our hearts. Whether it’s Willie Mays’ over-the-shoul­der catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, Shohei Ohtani’s exploits as both a pitch­er and a hit­ter, or Josh Gib­son or Sandy Koufax’s per­fect game, these time­less and mag­i­cal moments take us to the heart of why we love base­ball after almost 150 years.

The con­nec­tion between Jews and base­ball is par­tic­u­lar­ly strong. When Joe Pos­nan­ski’s father came to the Unit­ed States from Israel just before Joe was born, his father made cer­tain to learn base­ball so that he could teach it to his old­est son. When Joe’s moth­er saw that her son was a base­ball nut, she helped him col­lect base­ball cards (while ask­ing if Boog Pow­ell was a gantse mach­er). This is a com­mon sto­ry.

Base­ball has always drawn Jew­ish atten­tion, whether it was play­ers like Hank Green­berg and Sandy Koufax, broad­cast­ers like Mel Allen, Gary Cohen, and Al Michaels, writ­ers like Roger Kahn, Lawrence Rit­ter and Don­ald Honig, exec­u­tives like Theo Epstein and Bud Selig. The Jew­ish love of base­ball is pow­er­ful and enduring.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joe Pos­nan­s­ki is the #1 New York Times best­selling author of six books, includ­ing The Base­ball 100, Pater­no, and The Secret of Golf, and has been named Nation­al Sports­writer of the Year by five dif­fer­ent orga­ni­za­tions. He writes at Joe​Pos​nan​s​ki​.com and cur­rent­ly lives in Char­lotte, North Car­oli­na, with his family.

Adam Lazarus, The Wingmen

The untold story of the unique fifty-year friendship between two American icons: John Glenn, the unassailable pioneer of space exploration and Ted Williams, indisputably the greatest hitter in baseball history.

It was 1953, the Korean War in full throttle, when two men—already experts in their fields—crossed the fabled 38th Parallel into Communist airspace aboard matching Panther jets. John Glenn was an ambitious operations officer with fifty-nine World War II combat missions under his belt. His wingman was Ted Williams, the two-time American League Triple Crown winner who, at the pinnacle of his career, had been inexplicably recalled to active service in the United States Marine Corps. Together, the affable flier and the notoriously tempestuous left fielder soared into North Korea, creating a death-defying bond. Although, over the next half century, their contrasting lives were challenged by exhilarating highs and devastating lows, that bond would endure.

Through unpublished letters, unit diaries, declassified military records, manuscripts, and new and illuminating interviews, The Wingmen reveals an epic and intimate portrait of two heroes—larger-than-life and yet ineffably human, ordinary men who accomplished the extraordinary. At its heart, this was a conflicted friendship that found commonality in mutual respect—throughout the perils of war, sports dominance, scientific innovation, cutthroat national politics, the burden of celebrity, and the meaning of bravery. Now, author Adam Lazaraus sheds light on a largely forgotten chapter in these legends’ lives—as singular individuals, inspiring patriots, and eventually, however improbable, profoundly close friends.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam Lazarus is an author specializing in non-fiction books featuring iconic and compelling figures in American history. Previous books written by Adam include Chasing Greatness, Super Bowl Monday, Best of Rivals, and Hail to the Redskins: Gibbs, the Diesel, the Hogs, and the Glory Days of D.C.’s Football Dynasty. His writing has also appeared in USA Today, ESPN the Magazine, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, among other publications. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Kenyon College and a master’s degree in professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, twin boys, and a variety of four-legged children (dogs). 

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Chris Dimino is about to embark on his 23rd year on the air in Atlanta. Chris has won multiple awards and was the recipient of the Furman Bisher Award. 

Books will be available for purchase on the evening of the event from our partner bookseller, A Cappella Books!