For more than half a century, Black baseball players, barred from the Major Leagues by systemic racism, competed in leagues of their own. This book re-interprets the history of race in baseball from the ground up, telling the story of how the Major Leagues became the 'Caucasian Leagues,' and naming the person most responsible for their segregation; showing how Major League owners and executives tried to delay and even prevent integration; and proving, using a broad range of methods, that Negro League players were every inch the equals of their Major League counterparts. Cherished records held by white players since the days of segregation are shown to belong rightfully to Negro League superstars. This book takes a fresh look at a subject that's both straight from today's headlines and as old as baseball itself.

Sometimes the life we have constructed needs to fall apart before we can begin the process of making something better. After his first marriage ended, Philip Lee found himself living with his younger brother in an old fisherman's house by the sea, trying to restore some order to the wreckage of his life. It was a dark year of rain-bucket showers, blowtorch espresso, and abandoned renovation projects. They were bachelors in every sense of the word. With wit, warmth, and sensitivity, Philip Lee writes about this dark year, the struggle to rebuild his life and family and his rediscovery of love's possibilities. Lee's journey takes him from the coastlines of Eastern Canada to the cities of China and the Greek island of Naxos. Cutting to the heart of the matter, he explores how it is that we might lift ourselves up through the great work of love.

Winner, 2021 WFNB Nonfiction AwardLonglisted, Miramichi Reader's "The Very Best!" Book Awards (Non-Fiction)A CBC New Brunswick Book List SelectionAn Atlantic Books Today Must-Have New Brunswick Books of 2020 SelectionThe Restigouche River flows through the remote border region between the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, its magically transparent waters, soaring forest hillsides, and population of Atlantic salmon creating one of the most storied wild spaces on the continent. In Restigouche, writer Philip Lee follows ancient portage routes into the headwaters of the river, travelling by canoe to explore the extraordinary history of the river and the people of the valley. They include the Mi'gmaq, who have lived in the Restigouche valley for thousands of years; the descendants of French Acadian, Irish, and Scottish settlers; and some of the wealthiest people in the world who for more than a century have used the river as an exclusive wilderness retreat.The people of the Restigouche have long been both divided and united by a remarkable river that each day continues to assert itself, despite local and global industrial forces that now threaten its natural systems and the survival of the salmon. In the deep pools and rushing waters of the Restigouche, in this place apart in a rapidly changing natural world, Lee finds a story of hope about how to safeguard wild spaces and why doing so is the most urgent question of our time.