A book cover with the title of the art of fielding.

The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach, 2011

A marvelous baseball novel with memorable characters playing games and living out life at Westish College in northeastern Wisconsin. Featuring Lake Michigan in a supporting role ( I finished the book while in view of the Lake when we were visiting the Vogels in Milwaukee), Harbach’s first novel is entertaining, thought-provoking and filled with good action and excellent sentences. Henry Skrimshander of Lankton, South Dakota, Mike Schwartz, Owen Dunne, Pella and Guert Affenlight, and a lot of supporting characters makes this a big league hit!