Stealing Home - by Eric Nusbaum (Paperback)

About the Book

"Dodger Stadium is an American icon. The oldest ballpark west of the Mississippi--and the third oldest overall--it is a shrine to baseball and an essential feature of the Los Angeles cityscape. Yet the story of how it was built has a dark side. To clear space for the stadium, the city tore down low-income, Hispanic-friendly housing, resulting in a dramatic confrontation between the County Sheriff and the one family--the Arâechigas--who refused to yield their home. In Stealing Home, Eric Nusbaum--a fluent Spanish-speaker, Dodgers fan, and lifelong Angeleno--tells the stories of the people whose homes were destroyed, their conflict with the bureaucrats and money men of Los Angeles--notably Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, and a well-intentioned activist named Frank Wilkinson--and shows how their lives were overrun by the wheel of history. Stealing Home is a vibrant work of baseball and urban history, a story about how our ideals can betray us, and the people who pay the price when they do"--

Book Synopsis

A story about baseball, family, the American Dream, and the fight to turn Los Angeles into a big league city. Dodger Stadium is an American icon. But the story of how it came to be goes far beyond baseball. The hills that cradle the stadium were once home to three vibrant Mexican American communities. In the early 1950s, those communities were condemned to make way for a utopian public housing project. Then, in a remarkable turn, public housing in the city was defeated amidst a Red Scare conspiracy.

Instead of getting their homes back, the remaining residents saw the city sell their land to Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Now LA would be getting a different sort of utopian fantasy--a glittering, ultramodern stadium.

But before Dodger Stadium could be built, the city would have to face down the neighborhood's families--including one, the Aréchigas, who refused to yield their home. The ensuing confrontation captivated the nation--and the divisive outcome still reverberates through Los Angeles today.

Review Quotes

"Stealing Home is one of the best sports books I've ever read."--Dave Zirin, sports editor, The Nation

"A scrupulously detailed account, written in novelistic, economical prose."--Los Angeles Times

"A story perfectly told, riveting, moving, and deeply human."--Will Leitch, author of God Save the Fan

"A well-known tale of racial injustice given a fresh look... Provocative, essential reading."--Kirkus

"In Stealing Home, this visceral capsule on the working class originals of Palo Verde, Eric Nusbaum combines the scope of a historian, the diligence of an investigative reporter, and the grace and love-of-game of a seasoned sports writer. A rich and satisfying read from start-to-finish."--Daniel Hernandez, author of Down and Delirious in Mexico City

"In my family, the Dodgers caused pain and disillusionment when they left Brooklyn. But what happened in Los Angeles is a second drama with its own measure of financial manipulation, political intrigue, and working-class heartache. Stealing Home takes on a whole new meaning in Eric Nusbaum's marvelous book."--David Maraniss, New York Times-bestselling author of Path Lit by Lightning

"Nusbaum's reporting and research are impressively deep, and his empathic writing brings his subjects to life. Stealing Home is a baseball book, but it's only glancingly about baseball. Really, it's about how you can't fight city hall, how one person's American Dream often tramples another's and how myth-making can be used to gloss over injustice and trauma."--People

"Stealing Home has a driving plot, a humane heart, and a proud conscience. Read it and enjoy the story, or read it and get mad, or read it and change your mind. Most importantly, read it."--Chuck D, founding member of Public Enemy

"A detailed, compelling history that goes well beyond Los Angeles. Eric Nusbaum asks an urgent modern question: What do the things we love actually cost? And who pays the price?"--Jay Caspian Kang, writer-at-large, New York Times Magazine

"As a sports book, Stealing Home is astonishingly good-but it's more than just a sports book. The human experience it depicts resonates far beyond Los Angeles. The writing is lean, hard, and urgent. You'll read it quickly and think about it for a long time."--Brian Phillips, New York Times-bestselling author of Impossible Owls

"Eric Nusbaum takes several overlooked threads of history and weaves them into a vivid tapestry of twentieth-century America that is at once sprawling and intimate, raw and poignant. Stealing Home is a relevant and important book--and a fantastic read."--Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Figures

About the Author

Eric Nusbaum is the editor in chief of Seattle Met. His writing has appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and the Best American Sports Writing anthology. He lives in Tacoma, Washington with his family.