The Dalton family moves to the mining town of Rupland, where baseball is that of a religion. The surrounding counties help make up the storied Summer League, where the best baseball in the country is played. In Rupland, little boys dream of donning the orange and black of their idols, the Rupland Hawks. Jack the leader, Johnny the rebel, and Joe the student, are sons of a tormented Vietnam veteran who pushes them towards a better future. Together they battle through Rupland's and their own hardships of death, decline, and war that tears them apart.
The Dalton boys follow different paths in life that change the course of their family, friends, and town forever. The Sons of Summer tells the story of family, baseball, and the American dream's glory and demise in this last gasp of a small town.
In the name of the father, the son, and the great game...
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"A true classic that rings true to middle America."
Donald Sutherland, ACTOR
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"It sings of cleat scraping, chaw and sunflower seed spitting. Games don’t rain out unless lightning strikes; but lightning does strike metaphorically."
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"I'm a baseball nut and this book took me back. This book touched home for me."
Jamie Shoemaker, CEO & FOUNDER OF THROUGH THE FENCE BASEBALL
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"The dynamics of family relationships, social and economic realities, and ways baseball provides meaning for this family and community make this a story to stir us and lead us to reflect on the grand old game and life itself."
Dr. Donald K. McKim,
BASEBALL WRITER & CRITIC
Del Leonard Jones, Author & Former USA Today Writer
