Okay, let's start with my admission that I'm not a baseball fan. I knew the game from childhood but the big money and greed have alienated many of us who enjoyed baseball as kids. That being said, I found that The New Face of Baseball refreshing enough to evoke some of those feelings that made me appreciate baseball in the first place. The book has to do with talented Latino baseball players like Clemente, Cepeda, and Sosa. The common element is that these players played the game elsewhere before coming the United States, places where the game is more sacred and believe it or not more important than here in America.

The books consists of short stories about many of today's heroes that have quickly become baseball superstars, and those older stars who paved the way for the younger Latino players much the way Robinson and Dobry did for African American players. The author uses player interviews and past experiences of his own to give the reader a greater appreciation for what players Latin America have done for today's game.

Maybe the most interesting part is the all-time all-star Latino team listed at the end of the book. It's a lineup that would challenge any other all-star team past or present.

Tim Wendel's "Castro's Curveball" scores one for originality.

Taking either a common myth or a known fact about Fidel Castro's prospect as a baseball player, Mr. Wendel puts his readers into the heart felt journey of an old man's past; a past full of regret, remorse and lost love. A past, that with the help of his daughter Cassy, Billy Bryan may finally be able to put to rest.

As a old man, Billy Bryan will regret ever meeting the famed revolutionary Fidel. Especially when he has to revisit his memories of a lost love named Malena, and his glory days of playing "America's favorite pastime" in a country that is the antithesis of all that is pure, and free. But soon a change occurs. It is a change, much like real life, that comes with the help of others. Mr. Wendel makes us see that the things we most often dislike and oversee in life awake us to the good times we failed to enjoy and observe.

Mr. Wendel's goal for writing this book was, "What if?" What if Castro did try and go on to become a major league baseball player in the United States? Given that we have little or no information about him doing so, I think Mr. Wendel does a good job of offering us a possible outcome.

With lucid prose, a strong plot and intriguing characters, Tim Wendel makes "Castro's Curveball" a good catch!

Mr. Wendel has certainly driven one deep. This book is a great read, both in its storyline and also in Mr. Wendel's depiction of the Cuba that was, a delicious mix of beauty, deception, and unrest that would soon boil over and destroy the nation. Mr. Wendel does a great job in giving us Billy Bryan's perspective- a seventy-plus year old man, educated by the world and its cruel lessons. His narrative is simple, yet very insightful, and it struck a nerve. The baseball scenes are on the money, and Billy's true love, Malena, shows just enough of herself to make the reader want to know more. Castro,despite what others have said, gets about as much character analysis and development as he needs. Can anyone say "opportunist"? We see his type every day in the news. Again, Mr. Wendel has done a great job.

Tim Wendel is an excellent writer. I am not a baseball fanatic, but I certainly had more of an appreciation for the game after reading this well written, intriguing book. The writer's passion for baseball oozes out of every page. He also gives the reader an interesting tour of Cuba --its culture, history, politics, landscape and love of baseball. The whole premise of the book is creative and imaginative. Wendel is successful in making the reader believe that Fidel Castro really did had a wicked curveball that could have landed him in a major league baseball career if he hadn't been such a die-hard revolutionary. It was interesting to see an author tackle the challenge of writing a book of fiction about a current political figure like Fidel Castro. I will closely follow Tim Wendel's writing career and will be eager to read his next book.