Bethel’s Byrd’s Books hosts book discussion with author of new Jackie Robinson biography

Baseball great Jackie Robinson (b. 1919 - d. 1972) broke Major League Baseball’s color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Now, as one of America’s legendary sports figures, Robinson is the subject of a unique biography by author Kostya Kennedy.

Entitled True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson, this probing, the richly-detailed book will be the subject of discussion at Bethel’s Byrd’s Books’ History Book Group gathering on Thursday, June 8th at 7:30pm. The author is scheduled to participate in what is sure to be a lively conversation. 

All Book Groups at Byrd’s Books - general, history, and soon-to-be-added sci fi - are free and open to the public. The books selected for discussion are made available at the store for pre-purchase.

True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson by Kostya Kennedy is an unconventional biography, focusing on four transformative years in Robinson's athletic and public life: 1946, his first year playing in the essentially all-white minor leagues for the Montreal Royals; 1949, when he won the Most Valuable Player Award in his third season as a Brooklyn Dodger; 1956, his final season in major league baseball, when he played valiantly despite his increasing health struggles; and 1972, the year of his untimely death. Kennedy examines each of these years through details not reported in previous biographies, bringing them to life in vivid prose and through interviews with fans and players who witnessed his impact, as well as with Robinson's surviving family. True, tied to the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s passing and the 75th anniversary of his professional baseball debut, opens  a new window on a complex man — a player, a father, a husband, and a civil rights hero 

 Kostya Kennedy Is the New York Times bestselling author of  56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports (runner-up for the 2012 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing) and Pete Rose: An American Dilemma.  Both won the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year. A resident of Westchester County, Kennedy has taught at Columbia and NYU.

Byrd’s Books is located at 178 Greenwood Avenue, across from the Bethel Public Library. Author discussions and Book Group gatherings are regularly added to Byrd’s Books’ calendar of events at ByrdsBooks.com 

Hours are Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10:00am to 6:00pm, Sundays, 12:00 noon to 4:00pm, Closed Mondays.

For directions to the store or more information, call Byrd’s Books at 203-730-2973. To review the shop’s expanded catalog of new titles, go to ByrdsBooks.com