Nobody Turn Me Around (Beacon Press, 2010), by Charles Euchner.
(For more reviews, go here)
“A short but dynamic account of the landmark 1963 protest march that ended with Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. Charles Euchner masterfully paints a ‘pointillist portrait’ of the March on Washington. Drawing from interviews and diligent research, the author not only provides humanizing portraits of the major figures—including King, activist Bayard Rustin and march organizer A. Philip Randolph—he also effectively portrays ordinary marchers, both black and white. He accomplishes this through a kaleidoscopic collection of telling details, many of which serve to bring the often overly idealized March on Washington into focus. … Most impressive is Euchner’s amazing economy in telling this story; in just over 200 pages, he provides a wholly satisfying, comprehensive view of the March. A sharp, riveting depiction of what Martin Luther King called ‘the greatest demonstration for freedom in the nation’s history.’”
—Kirkus Reviews, “Star Review”
“As Charles Euchner’s riveting account makes clear, the American public, and most of the participants themselves, had only the barest grasp of the days, weeks and months of meticulous planning, the sacrifices, the triumphs and the internecine squabbles that went into the March on Washington that hot afternoon of August 28, 1963. … All the key figures of the civil rights movement of the 1960s are here in Nobody Turn Me Around. To Euchner’s great credit, they are presented as flesh and blood, not as cardboard cutouts for some Black History Month display.” (Full review)
—Jack Shakely, senior fellow, Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, University of Southern California
“As was true of the historic March on Washington in 1963, so it is true of Charles Euchner’s riveting new chronicle of the event: The massive human train of proud and determined Americans—ordinary, salt-of-the-earth citizens—is the heart and soul of this dramatic and inspiring story. … The pages crackle and vibrate with the voices of unsung heroes who drove, flew, rode buses and trains, hitchhiked, even walked long distances to be there in the Great Emancipator’s stone shadow as Dr. King spun out his immortal ‘Dream.’”
—John Egerton, author, Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South
The Last Nine Innings (Sourcebooks, 2006), by Charles Euchner.
“The Last Nine Innings is the last word on the inside game of baseball. It’s full of wonderful revelations and perceptions that help us understand the game in ways that we might never have imagined. Charlie Euchner has done a marvelous job in getting players to talk, simply, about how they play, and we’re the wiser for it.”
–Frank Deford, National Public Radio, HBO “Real Sports,” and Sports Illustrated
“Euchner’s examination of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees, makes for the rare book which covers familiar ground while managing to continually surprise the reader. … This is a terrific read for new and old fans alike.”
–Alex Belth, “Best Baseball Books of 2006,” Sports Illustrated
“The Last Nine Innings is entertaining, engaging, and enlightening. You’ll never watch a baseball game the same way.
–Andrew Zimbalist, author of Baseball and Billions and professor of economics at Smith College
“Call this book ‘CSI: Baseball,’ as the author introduces us to the host of arcane statistics used by today’s baseball executives, managers, players, analysts, and fans. … [Euchner] offers something for everyone, from stat geek to Joe Fan, and has produced a book that is recommended for all medium to large public libraries.
—Library Journal
“An interesting read, rich in thought-provoking detail and context, in the manner of Malcolm Gladwell. Euchner deftly pulls off a difficult double play: Educating the serious fan while entertaining the casual one.”
–Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated
“Memo to ESPN analysts, Fox color commentators, and daily baseball scribes: Stop telling us about who had a haircut, who didn’t have a haircut, and who collects stamps. Rip out the red thread on the baseball, peel back the cowhide, and talk about the stuff that’s wound up inside the game. That’s what Charles Euchner does in The Last Nine Innings, and it’s fascinating.”
–Leigh Montville, author of Ted Williams: A Biography
(For more reviews, click here.)
Little League, Big Dreams (Sourcebooks, 2006), by Charles Euchner
“Even those with only a passing interest in baseball will be intrigued by this fascinating look at Little League, “the largest amateur sports organization in the world.” The book and its unsparing look at the harsh reality of youth sports just might pique the interest of parents whose kids play in the more than 8,000 officially sanctioned League teams. … Euchner succeeds at presenting the impressive intensity of 12-year-old athletes while also showing the sad fact that young pitchers who could be Major League stars “never make it because they blow their arms out in Little League.”
— Publishers Weekly, June 12, 2006
“Since the inception of Little League baseball in 1939, 40 million kids from all 50 states and more than 100 countries have participated in the game. Euchner (The Last Nine Innings) provides an engaging description of the realities of Little League baseball, including coaches who are jerks, kids who play for the fun of the game, and both overbearing and properly supportive parents. … This well-written book will inform and entertain; recommended for large libraries and collections in youth sports.”
— Tim Delaney, State University of New York at Oswego, review in Library Journal (For more reviews, click here.)
Urban Policy Reconsidered: Dialogues on the Problems and Prospects of American Cities (Routledge, 2003), by Charles C. Euchner and Stephen J. McGovern
“For those of us who believe that American cities have a bright future ahead of them, this is a timely, thoughtful and invaluable road map to that future. You may or may not agree with all of their policy prescriptions, but if you care about our urban communities, this is a must read book.”
– Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts and 1988
Democratic presidential nominee
“The health of cities remains a critical issue for the country. Charles Euchner and Stephen McGovern comprehensively capture both liberal and conservative views in their thoughtful descriptions of these important subjects.”
— Stephen Goldsmith, former mayor of Indianapolis and domestic policy advisor to George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential campaign
This immensely appealing and innovative book fills a yawning gap in the literature on cities by systematically treating the important policy issues of our time. Through a dialogue format, the authors succeed in making complex issues accessible.
— Dennis Judd, Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Chicago
Urban Policy Reconsidered is a unique and long-awaited work that compels the attention of students, academics, officials and just about anyone who seeks to understand the dilemmas of policy and governance facing urban America. … A beautifully crafted and perceptive volume, it will invigorate the study of urban policy and politics.
–Paul Kantor, Professor and Graduate Director, Department of Political Science, Fordham University
Extraordinary Politics: How Protest and Dissent Are Changing American Democracy , by Charles C. Euchner (Westview Press, 1996)
“In every way, Charles Euchner has tackled an enormously complex topic with grace, intelligence, and an impressive ability to integrate a wide array of literature to support and enhance the overall arguments. Thoughtfully conceived, beautifully written, and well organized, Extraordinary Poliutica is a valuable contribution to the political and social movements literature.”
— Craig A. Rimmerman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
“In this excellent study, Charles Euchner describes how protest has become a fixture in American politics. Central to his analysis is Euchner’s effort to identify patterns and methods common to all contemporary protest movements. … Extraordinary Politics should spark considerable discussion and thought about the current state of American politics, and where those policies may be heading in the future.”
— Richard Mulcahy, Peace and Change
“Our discipline has fallen down on the job of understanding the causes and effects of political protest movements in the United States. Political scientists have produced several important case studies of particular movements, but for the most part they have left the study of protest in American to others. Euchner leaves readers with a number of critical questions. First, if protest has become a more common form of expressing claims, then we need to know why. Second, we need to understand why those who engage in protest are actually more likely to ebngage in conventional politics as well. These questions should animate research in American politics, and we can thank Charles Euchner for posing them.”
— American Political Science Review
Playing the Field: Why Sports Teams Move and Cities Fight to Keep Them (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993)
“Playing the Field is not really a book about sports. It is instead a book about American cities: how they are governed, how they set priorities . . . Sports franchises do not relocate — or, more to the point, threaten to relocate — in a vacuum; the pressures they bring to bear on cities and states are made possible by the overall condition of urban America as well as by the discrete nature of professional sports. As Euchner shows in persuasive detail, individual sports owners as well as the leagues in whose interests they ultimately act are in position to control the terms of debate. There are fewer teams than there are cities that want them, so the teams call the tune.”
— Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
This landmark work should anger taxpayers and inspire them to stand up to the millionaires pulling the strings behind teams and governments, entities citizens still naively consider their own.”
— Eliot Cohen, Cooperstown Review
“Insightful. … In Playing the Field, Charles C. Euchner details how owners have shamelessly played cities against one another to get sweetheart stadium deals for their teams. Euchner shoots down the notion, seldom questioned by politicians who accede to the owners’ blackmail, that stadiums are a catalyst for redevelopment and the creation of jobs. Sports facilities actually may impede economic growth by diminishing spending on other urban activities.”
— Sports Illustrated
“Charles C. Euchner’s Playing the Field presents the most thorough analysis of the professional sports franchise/urban community relationship. Euchner provides an in-depth empirical analysis of actual and threatened franchise relocation in Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Chicago. … Euchner grapples with the complexity of urban affairs by drawing upon a wide range of academic literature and supporting data. The result is a richly textured discourse about the local political economy and the professional sports industry.”
— Kimberly Schimmel, Sporting Traditions