“Brad Balukjian’s Wax Pack puts you right inside the packaging. You come away feeling the heart of what it means to be a fan of eighties baseball. From his in-depth account of the history of the Topps card factory to seizing the moment to ask the tough questions of these players, he turns the happenstance of fifteen player cards randomly placed in one pack into a family. Your family.”—Doug Glanville, MLB analyst for ESPN “Poignant and powerful. . . . Balukjian covers more than ten thousand miles to track down the stories of fourteen men from a single pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, learning a lot about their lives—and his own. Hop in the backseat and join him for the journey.”—Tyler Kepner, national baseball writer for the New York Times and best-selling author of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches “[Features] chapter after chapter of surprisingly candid interviews, emotional revelations, and sharply written observations.”—nbcsports.com “Bracingly honest in its portrayal of human failure but equally powerful in its account of the possibility of redemption. The Wax Pack is one of the most enjoyable and moving pieces of baseball writing I have read in recent years. It may even come to be recognized as a classic of the genre.” —Gregory Hillis, America Magazine “Baseball cards were a wonderful and memorable part of my childhood. Balukjian brought a random pack of cards to life. Such a unique way to tell a fascinating story.”—Tim Kurkjian, MLB analyst for ESPN “Fascinating. . . . While not everyone featured here is a baseball superstar, all of the stories offer captivating tidbits for fans of the sport.”—Gus Palas, Library Journal “Brad Balukjian’s concept for his first book—tear open a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, chomp the ancient pink rectangle of gum-ish substance, then hit the road to unwrap the post-baseball lives of the players found in the pack—is so obviously compelling that it is the envy of any wannabeauthor sportswriter who has never been able to summon the right idea.” —Chad Finn, Boston Globe
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