Published: March 12, 2012
Words: 104,032 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781476433691

Short description

The Mighty Roman is a fast, funny, thought-provoking novel about baseball and the modern American man.

Extended description

The Mighty Roman is a fast, funny, thought-provoking novel about baseball and the modern American man. A contemporary Mutiny On The Bounty – with baseball bats and pranks -- the story centers on the relationship between old-school minor-league manager Roman Meister, a macho behemoth appalled by the changes in “his country,” and the team captain, an elfin free spirit who flows easily among his multicultural teammates – and takes Roman on when push comes to shove. Is Roman mighty? Was Gatsby great?

Tags

baseball, immigration, vegetarian, hippie, animal rights, mexican immigrant, manhood, baseball player, sports and life, baseball story, rightwing, baseball coaching, age 15 to adult, mexican border, baseball nicknames, baseball fiction, male adventure, baseball novel, sports action, mexican illegal immigration, baseball humor, american male

Available ebook reading formats

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Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Videos

Hack Attack!
In this scene from The Mighty Roman, pitcher Matt Marola and his teammates with the San Carlos Coyotes of the indie "Cal Hairy" League learn a valuable lesson: never underestimate nerds.

Reviews

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Review by: Steven Kacsmar on May 24, 2012 :
Jon Sindell’s “The Mighty Roman” is a great baseball yarn. It tells the story of a young man’s pursuit of the all-American dream of putting your foot on the lowest rung of the professional baseball ladder and trying to find a way to ascend that magical stairway to The Show. And it lovingly tells the bitter-sweet story of what it feels like to slowly wake up from that dream as the reality of the odds stacked against you becomes clear. There is plenty of baseball action packed into this lyrical ode to our national pastime, and any lover of the game will be enthralled with the insider’s view of both the individual competition and the intricate machinations of minor league baseball.

But like many great works of fiction, this tale works on more than one level. It also illustrates the cultural divide that has polarized our country as our hero takes us on a humorous and personal journey of discovery. What our hero discovers is his relationship to his coach, The Mighty Roman, who is an intriguing mixture of Captain Ahab and Archie Bunker, who is not so much a villain as he is a metaphor. The conflict between this hard-nosed manager and his multi-cultural ball club personalizes the story of the ethnic and generational conflicts going on beneath the surface of our every day lives as 21st-century Americans. It’s a really enjoyable read, whichever level you care to focus on.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Tony Press on April 30, 2012 :
This was one fun ride, a season in the sun, but a season (and novel) that caused this reader to worry deeply about the characters, and what their tomorrows might bring, even as I was enthralled with the language. Fun, fear-inducing, poignant, it's a book that seamlessly merges the often disparate worlds of parents (especially fathers) and sons, masculinity, race and racism, life in all its glory and misery, both on and off the sports pages. Highly recommended.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Edward Blackman on April 24, 2012 :
On occasion, usually while watching a high school game, you’ll see a batter so completely fooled, that he turns after striking out and asks the umpire- what was that pitch? And you can’t help but smile at the pitcher’s mastery of his craft.
You get that same feeling when reading The Mighty Roman, as you’re enjoying the exuberant fun of a great sports story, and suddenly it hits you, that this book has been setting you up on more levels than you can imagine, and you can’t begin to guess where you’re headed.
The story begins with a rickety busload of quirky characters, a barely professional minor league team so far removed from the familiar world of major league baseball, that you see it all with the same fresh eyes as the nineteen-year-old players. The season unfolds in vivid detail, as the hardness of the infield dirt, the mascots, the maniacs, the injuries and anxieties permeate the action, and the tension builds with the accelerating rhythm of a pennant race.
And always there’s the sheer joy of sport, even as the world of Cal Heritage baseball is reshaped by social, political, and personal conflict. Shame and triumph, bigotry and grace, compete for supremacy, as the young men struggle with the looming influences of tradition, expectation, and history, as visited upon them by the many fathers and father figures that populate the book, from the dreamers and dropouts to the braggarts, the bullies, and the totally unhinged.
As the season goes on, the stakes are continuously raised, as courage and personal morality become more critical than speed and power, and the young men strive for more than a championship.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Lauren Kasmer on April 19, 2012 :
A baseball novel for the ages. If you liked the Natural, you will love this.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Benjamin Chapman on April 12, 2012 :
Ostensibly this book is like "Mutiny on the Bounty with baseball bats." But it's so much more than just that. It's part slice-of-life Americana and part political and cultural dialogue along with a good sports story.

Jon Sindell's voice is what makes this book. It takes place in California, between SF and LA, and deals with contemporary issues like how homosexuals and Hispanic Americans are treated, and it's a youthful book with young characters, and yet the tone is nostalgic.

Most of all, it's written with an obvious love for baseball, it's history, the Giants and Dodgers franchises, and the state of California.

Beyond just baseball, "The Mighty Roman" deals with issues of race and homosexuality within the team, and how to deal with a nasty coach with a lack of modern sensitivities. The mutiny takes place for the right reasons: to defend teammates who are a little different.

And yet the story, while moral, does not moralize, and in fact shows empathy for all the characters involved.

It's a fun and thoughtful book which is a great combination. I highly recommend it.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

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