Strength for the Fight

The Life and Faith of Jackie Robinson (Library of Religious Biography (LRB))

By: Gary Scott Smith

Narrated by: Shamaan Casey

How faith sustained Jackie Robinson—both as an athlete and as an activist

The integration of Major League Baseball in 1947 was a triumph. But it was also a fight. As the first Black major leaguer since the 1880s, Jackie Robinson knew he was not going to be welcomed into America’s pastime with open arms. Anticipating hostility, he promised Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey that he would “turn the other cheek” during his first years in the league, despite his fiercely competitive disposition. Robinson later said that his faith in God had sustained him—giving him the strength he needed to play the game he loved at the highest level without retaliating against the abuse inflicted upon him by opposing players and fans.

Faith was a key component of Robinson’s life, but not in the way we see it with many prominent Christian athletes today. Whereas the Tim Tebows and Clayton Kershaws of the sports world emphasize personal spirituality, Robinson found inspiration in the Bible’s teachings on human dignity and social justice. He grew up a devout Methodist (a heritage he shared with Branch Rickey) and identified with the theological convictions and social concerns of many of his fellow mainline Protestants—especially those of the Black church. While he humbly stated that he could not claim to be a deeply religious man, he spoke frequently in African American congregations and described a special affinity he and other Black Christians felt for the biblical character Job, who had also kept faith despite suffering and injustice. In his eulogy for Robinson, Jesse Jackson described Robinson as a “co-partner of God,” who lived out his faith in his civil rights activism, both during and after his baseball career.

Robinson’s faith will resonate with many Christians who believe, as he did, that “a person can be quite religious and at the same time militant in the defense of his ideals.” This religious biography of Robinson chronicles the important role of faith in his life, from his childhood to his groundbreaking baseball career through his transformative civil rights work, and, in the process, helps to humanize the man who has become a mythic figure in both sports history and American culture.

©2022 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (P)2022 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Incredible….. a must listen to.

Truly a most insightful and well researched book on the life of Jackie. I gained such an appreciation of just how incredible of an athlete Jackie was, but more importantly how deep his faith was that gave him the strength to persevere. Highly recommend.

Surprising what this man was able to acomplish

Let me start by saying that I enjoy listening to biographies to learn about different people and how they impacted our world, no matter the focus. I’m not a big fan of sports events or personnel, but I can say that the name Jackie Robinson often bubbles to the top with others like Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, and many others who affected Major League Baseball. Yet, I can honestly say, this is the first biographical piece I have listened to involving Mr. Robinson and I found it fascinating. “Strength for the Fight: The Life and Faith of Jackie Robinson” was written by Gary Scott Smith and exceptionally narrated by Shamaan Casey. The audiobook was both an eye opener as to the greatness, even outside of baseball, along with much tragedy this one man had to endure during his life. Even though there may be many other works covering Mr. Robinson’s life, this one seemed to be a more focused view of his religious influences and his overall faith in God no matter the situation, good or bad. If you are one that likes biographies or want to learn more about America’s number one sport of baseball history, I recommend you give this audiobook a listen. Even if you have previously studied this man, I think you will also learn something new about the person who desegregated Major League Baseball in a time of horrific race wars.

For me, I was mostly taken back by the battles this man fought to see Major League Baseball desegregated and what he had to endure for this to come to fruition, by no means was this an easy task. As he started to achieve success in this goal, many from his own race began turning on him and even call him a sellout. It seemed like he would never be able to win, and much of his life was plagued by these perceived swings in his alliances. I found his joining with the Jewish community to unify the races quite fascinating as the Jews were also a people group being segregated for their heritage. However, in all this turmoil, Jackie would hold fast to his God and believe that he was destine for greatness only by the power of his creator. Even with this belief, Jackie would work and train harder than many others knowing that such worldly changes require focus and effort along with the level of scrutiny he would be under. While listening, you begin to see the mental and physical scars this man had, and this did not even account for the tragedy he would face in his own life with the loss of one of his children.

I was a bit nervous when I started listening as I felt it was going to overlay a more modern view of racism on top of this historic person. The introduction had me worried that the book would only focus on race, and we would not get an overall perspective on this man who made history, not only in Major League Baseball, but also in his many life endeavors. It was quickly apparent that his faith is what drove his decisions and supported him in his trials. Even though some of his theology took a backseat to his social/political efforts, he still held fast to his beliefs. I found the section covering his early years, often involved in both gangs and some form of trouble fascinating. In his later years, he used these earlier life experiences to help those that were in a simular situation. I was quite amazed at the number of failed and successful enterprises he started after his baseball career along with his popularity being used to lead some of the US leaders around politics and the divide of race.

For the audiobook’s nearly eleven hours, the author kept me engaged and wanting to listen to more about this man and his role in making history. The writing and flow of the audiobook was well thought out and researched. Again, with me not being a big Major League Baseball fan, I was still captivated by all that this one man was involved in and the many trials he faced from an early age up until his death. I found the author’s focus on the religious side of this man also refreshing and enlightening. The only negative aspect is the author’s overuse of the acronym MLB instead of using the full term of Major League Baseball. In the audiobook’s narration this began to get on my nerves by the time I reached the end of the book. Maybe it could have been addressed by the narrator, but I understand why they stick to the text alone.

Let me turn my attention to the audiobook’s narration in this part of the review. I have listened to quite a few of Shamaan Casey’s works and I can say that, from a narration perspective, have enjoyed them all. I like his smooth and deep voice which flows gently as one listens. I do recall one or two spots where the audio appeared to have been patched/plugged, but both times were not anything that pulled me out of the story. The audio volume was overall consistent and for its length, it seemed to have been recorded all in one sitting, which I’m sure was not the case. This shows both professionalism and skill in the work of the narrator. Always a narrator I will listen to for years to come.

For parents and younger listeners, I would say that this biography could be enjoyed by most ages. There are a few heaver aspects around his political and religious events that may not be easily understood by younger audiences. Other than that, I think anyone will learn something new about this historic man and I would recommend it to any who may be interested.

In summary, a biography that can be enjoyed by people even if they do not love the sport. His work in changing the game of baseball was only the tip of the iceberg when held up to all that he accomplished during his life. The narration was right up there with some of the best, and I do like the deeper and suave voice of Mr. Casey. If you give this audiobook a chance, I guarantee you will learn something new about this great man of not only baseball history, but US history as well.

Disclaimer: I was provide a review copy of this audiobook by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for posting a non-bias review.

Jackie Robinson's story - with a twist.

Published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company in October of 2022.
Read by Shamaan Casey.
Duration: 10 hours, 57 minutes.
Unabridged.

Jackie Robinson.

He is an icon of sports. And politics. And American history.

All fans of baseball know at least the broad strokes of the story of Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) and how he integrated baseball. This book offers a detailed re-telling of that story with a twist - a look at how Jackie Robinson's faith led him to this path and helped sustain him.

Robinson's early life, his time in service during World War II and his college sports career and his relationship with his wife are all covered. The biggest single part of the book is, appropriately, the story of how he and Branch Rickey (the head of the Brooklyn Dodgers) worked together to integrate Major League Baseball in 1947. The book also looks at how Rickey's faith led him to act to make the world a more just place by acting in such a symbolic manner.

I am not going to go through all of the details of Robinson's life - that's what the book is for. This book covers it all pretty thoroughly right up until his death in 1972. Sometimes, it was a little slow and repetitive about how Robinson demonstrated his faith. On the whole, though, it was a good listen.

The audiobook was read by Shamaan Casey. He had a perfect voice deep solemn voice for narrating this book. The only complaint I had was that he mispronounced several people's names, including singer/civil rights activist Harry Belafonte and baseball players Orel Hershisher and Derek Jeter. I don't look at this as necessarily the fault of the reader - if you don't know the name, you don't know the name. In my mind, the producer or director of the audiobook should have caught and corrected the mistakes.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.