"In 1954, many of baseball's changing dynamics and prominent personalities converged. In his revealing and carefully researched look at that pivotal season, Hall of Fame baseball writer Bill Madden makes it clear why 1954 should be regarded as one of the most significant years in the game's history." --Bob Costas "1954 is a book that illustrates why my friend Bill Madden is enshrined in the writers' wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and one that should be read by all who love the game and its history. This is the year when baseball and the country truly found out, against the backdrop of Brown vs. Board of Education, the true and lasting significance of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line seven years before. This is about Jackie, and Willie Mays, and Henry Aaron, and about Willie's '54 Giants team, a civil rights experiment all by itself. It is an important book Madden was supposed to write, and one you will want to read." --Mike Lupica
