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Photographer Jean Fruth’s images in Grassroots Baseball: Route 66 celebrate and illuminate America’s pastime in the small towns and large cities that connect the historic highway.

The book includes over 250 photographs of the amateur game intertwined with poignant imagery of the Americana that has come to define the Mother Road since opening nearly 100 years ago. Thanks to her uncanny eye and enterprising spirit, these pages beautifully capture children playing T-ball in rural towns, minor leaguers testing themselves in Midwestern cities, girls challenging stereotypes, history buffs recreating 19^th century baseball, games on Native American pueblos, and sparkling diamonds by the ocean. Hall of Famer George Brett, current Astros star Alex Bregman, and retired veteran outfielder Billy Hatcher — all of whom got their starts along Route 66 — highlight a list of baseball legends who contributed first-person essays.

With a foreword by maverick minor league owner Mike Veeck, an introduction by the legendary Johnny Bench and an afterword by fellow Hall of Famer Jim Thome, this book is the perfect gift for fans of baseball and the culture of America.