Gr 9 Up—Though this biography of baseball player Glenn Burke, credited with inventing the high five, starts off on
an inspirational note, it also examines the ways in which the homophobic practices of MLB in the 1970s and 1980s
brought down his career, sending his life into a tailspin. A captivating sports narrative and a heartrending portrayal of
the effects of homophobia.

Reason read: I received this book as part of the AudioSync Summer Program for teens in June 2022. It is the story of a baseball player who was black, gay and through the biography of this man the author gives a history account of the Gay Rights Movement including such things as disco was gay music before John Travolta, Anita Bryant and her down fall, the Stonewall Uprising, and AIDS epidemic, the rise of homelessness and demise of the Tenderloin. This book would be of interest to anyone who would be doing research as the author has done a completed review and at the end there is a bibliography, baseball statistics, a gay rights time line, selection of Black American LGBTQ people to know and study, and an index round out the work. I didn't really care for Glen Burke. Yes it was a sad story of failures and adversity and certainly is a work that meets the criteria of progressive. ( )

Andrew Maraniss's latest sports-focused biography centers on baseball player Glenn Burke. Having played in the 1970s, Burke is remembered for two things: He was gay at a time when the gay liberation movement was in its infancy, and he is credited as the inventor of the high five.