“John Sexton has written beautifully about the magic of baseball: its near irresistible appeal, its legends, its breathtaking moments of drama, its heroes and villians. He has also written with great insight about the intense-felt character of religious perception. And he has—dare I say it?—woven the two together miraculously.” —Ronald Dworkin, author of Law’s Empire and the recipient of philosophy’s prestigious Holberg International Memorial Prize
“In the church of baseball, John Sexton is one of the preeminent theologians.” —Bill Moyers, in an interview with John Sexton on Bill Moyers Journal
“This book takes the reader on a remarkable spiritual journey, using the secular sport of baseball to explore subjects ordinarily associated with religion—prayers, altars, sacred space, faith, doubt, conversion, miracles, blessings, curses, saints and sinners. There is magic in these pages.” —Doris Kearns Goodwin, from the foreword
“…a thought-provoking proposition for zealots and skeptics alike.” —Publishers Weekly
“An elegant little meditation on life and the afterlife, well worth reading…” —Kirkus Reviews
“Baseball as a Road to God is both a wonderful collection of delightful baseball stories that allows the reader to relive the moments of joy, despair, anxiety, and inspiration, and a meditation demonstrating that baseball is rife with the profound and complex elements that constitute religion. The stories reflect a love of baseball and call upon us all to live slow and notice, illustrating the availability of a joyful, spiritual life.” —Governor Mario Cuomo
“Baseball as a Road to God illuminates baseball as you’ve never experienced or thought about it before. John Sexton has given us nine ‘innings’ of lively stories and insights that take our national pastime far, far beyond the playing field. He has pitched a perfect game!” —Arthur R. Miller, professor of law and resident scholar at Good Morning America for more than two decades
“John Sexton’s book, Baseball as a Road to God, provides a thoughtful and intriguing examination of the connection between baseball and religion. In this wonderful book, John navigates in clear language the complex questions linking faith and America’s favorite pastime. Using his parlance, this book is a home run.” —Rachel Robinson, founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation
“John Sexton has written not only an amazing, engaging, and fascinating chronicle of the game of baseball and the men who’ve played key roles in elevating it to heavenly status, but he has also skillfully married religious tradition, practice, and belief with the emotional, psychological, and physical sensations every true fan experiences in the course of a 162-game season.” —New York Journal of Books
“I’m with Sexton, and I think he is very shrewd in encouraging non-believers to try to understand the religious sensibility by focusing on baseball’s moments of ‘wonder, awe, hope, passion, heroism and community’ and, especially, of 'faith and doubt.’…” —E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
“What is most striking about Sexton’s work is its reminder of just how rare it has become for a professor — or a teacher of any sort, even a religious one — to ask a student to go with him on a journey into the depths of a life or the source of being. …” —From “Prefect Game: John Sexton on Baseball and Faith” in the Slate Book Review
