Rating: 
Summary: Tim Wendel's Knuckleball
Review: I had high hopes for this book. The book describes itself as a fictionalized account of Fidel Castro's baseball career. I thought maybe the book might be bold enough to go as far as exploring what could have been if Castro made the major leagues. The book stops well short of these possibilities. Tim Wedel sticks close to events that could have actually happened in Cuba's last revolution.The only part of this book that maintained my interest was the story of the winter ball league in Cuba before the communist revolution. It was an interesting perspective of baseball. The image of Fidel Castro portrayed by Wendel, at times a combination of Sammy Sosa and Machiavelli, is hard to swallow. While the Castro begins to show dishonest tendancies toward the end of the book, he never seems care-free. It seems even harder to picture Castro in love. The bulk of the story does not even focus on baseball but on the competition between the main character and Castro for a women. This plot is set to the background of the beginning of Castro's revolution. The love story, which fails to maintain the reader's interest, is hard to image because we can't think of Castro as a man interested in love. The only way I would recommend this book to somebody is if they thought a story with Castro as part of a love triangle sounds interesting or palatable. Even for somebody who has been interested in the life of Castro I only finished the book because I was curious as to how it would end.
Rating:
Summary: Tim Wendel's Knuckleball
Review: I had high hopes for this book. The book describes itself as a fictionalized account of Fidel Castro's baseball career. I thought maybe the book might be bold enough to go as far as exploring what could have been if Castro made the major leagues. The book stops well short of these possibilities. Tim Wedel sticks close to events that could have actually happened in Cuba's last revolution. The only part of this book that maintained my interest was the story of the winter ball league in Cuba before the communist revolution. It was an interesting perspective of baseball. The image of Fidel Castro portrayed by Wendel, at times a combination of Sammy Sosa and Machiavelli, is hard to swallow. While the Castro begins to show dishonest tendancies toward the end of the book, he never seems care-free. It seems even harder to picture Castro in love. The bulk of the story does not even focus on baseball but on the competition between the main character and Castro for a women. This plot is set to the background of the beginning of Castro's revolution. The love story, which fails to maintain the reader's interest, is hard to image because we can't think of Castro as a man interested in love. The only way I would recommend this book to somebody is if they thought a story with Castro as part of a love triangle sounds interesting or palatable. Even for somebody who has been interested in the life of Castro I only finished the book because I was curious as to how it would end.
Rating: 
Summary: When's the movie coming out?
Review: I had read Mr. Wendel's first book, Going For The Gold, and was curious to see how he tackled fiction. I was quite pleased with his effort. The characters and the locale were brought to life by capturing the flavor of baseball, the taste of romance and the feel of political revolution. The characters and the story could easily lend themselves to the big screen, as Tim brought this period of time back to life for those of us who did not live through it. I await the film. Great Job, Tim!!!
Rating: 
Summary: a good read
Review: I loved the descriptions of the characters, which rang true, and felt the heat, history and mystery of Havana in this book. The story flowed easily, with just enough romance and atmosphere. Before I read the book, I didn't know (or care) anything about baseball, and especially Cuban baseball, so found it surprisingly interesting from that aspect. After I met someone who knew someone who played against ball against Castro, the main premise didn't seem so incredible!
Rating:
Summary: a good read
Review: I loved the descriptions of the characters, which rang true, and felt the heat, history and mystery of Havana in this book. The story flowed easily, with just enough romance and atmosphere. Before I read the book, I didn't know (or care) anything about baseball, and especially Cuban baseball, so found it surprisingly interesting from that aspect. After I met someone who knew someone who played against ball against Castro, the main premise didn't seem so incredible!
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: I loved this book. I don't usually read much fiction, but the combination of baseball and history caught my eye. It's a quick read, and the writing is very crisp.
Rating:
Summary: A Diamond in the Rough
Review: I originally thought this was another baseball book, but as pleasantly surprised when the story unfolded with plenty of romance, history and genuine lessons of life. The book's narrator, Billy Bryan tells a story of his encounter with a flambouyant young student protestester named Fidel, who happens to throw a nasty curveball. Bryan's quest to sign Fidel to a big league contract turns into a grand adventure full of humor and great descriptions of a down to the wire Winter League pennant race. Throughout the novel, Bryan eloquantly explains himself as a man who questions what life has thrown at him. I stumbled upon this book at my local bookstore and was thoughly entertained! I read a lot during the winter months, and believe that even those who don't know much about baseball would enjoy Mr. Wendel's book.
Rating:
Summary: An evocative,imaginative mix of youth and mature wisdom.
Review: I really liked Tim Wendel's book for the nice balance between his baseball lore and the life lessons he writes elegantly and honestly about. This isn't just a book about baseball. It's in the tradition of other sports books that transcend sports because it's about growing old and giving up dreams and putting to rest old ghosts and the parallel universes we sometimes occupy in our rich, and long-lasting lives. If we're lucky, that is. It's a fast but substantial read that stays with you long after you finish the book. I'd recommend it. And there was a story in The Buffalo News about Wendel, since he's a hometown boy. Made him seem like he really cared and loved his craft. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Hits it out of the Park!
Review: in castro's curveball wendel combines the unlikely mix of baseball, love, politics, corruption and revolution. this memory driven tale of a american playing winter ball in cuba is astounding. billy bryan managed to overcome enormous obstacles even though he was never prepared to confront the consequences. in the end, he is finally able to find himself, acknowledge his his true love and come to terms with his past.
Rating:
Summary: great read!
Review: in castro's curveball wendel combines the unlikely mix of baseball, love, politics, corruption and revolution. this memory driven tale of a american playing winter ball in cuba is astounding. billy bryan managed to overcome enormous obstacles even though he was never prepared to confront the consequences. in the end, he is finally able to find himself, acknowledge his his true love and come to terms with his past.
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