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(Skyhorse Publishing, January 2009)

Change is in the air. It’s the perfect time to look back to 1969, a year of landmark achievements, cataclysmic episodes, and generation-defining events.

In 1969, man landed on the moon. The Cinderella stories of Joe Namath’s Jets and the “Miracle Mets” captivated sports fans. Students across the nation took over college campuses, and demonstrators battled police in the People’s Park riots and during the “Days of Rage.” It was the year of the first artificial heart transplant and the first computer network connection. The Manson family and the cryptic Zodiac Killer terrorized the country.

In the span of twelve months, America witnessed the Woodstock music festival, Easy Rider, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, the Battle of Hamburger Hill, the birth of punk music, the invasion of Led Zeppelin, the occupation of Alcatraz, and death at Altamont Speedway happened. It was a year that pushed boundaries on stage (Oh! Calcutta!), screen (Midnight Cowboy), and the printed page (Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex), witnessed the genesis of the gay rights movement at Stonewall, and started the era of the “no fault” divorce. Richard Nixon became president, the New Left squared off against the Silent Majority, William Ayers co-founded the Weatherman Organization, and the nationwide Moratorium provided a unifying force in the peace movement.

Compelling, timely, and quite simply a blast to read, 1969 chronicles the year through all its ups and downs, in culture and society, sports, music, film, politics, and technology. This rich and comprehensive history is perfect for those who survived 1969, or for those who simply want to feel as alive as those who were there during this time of amazing upheaval.
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(St. Martin’s Griffin, February 2009)

The definitive look at The Boss and how his music has both shaped and confronted American mythology.
Emerging on the music scene with 1973’s “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.”, Bruce Springsteen was heralded as “the future of rock and roll”, and since then his influence and popularity have exploded. Rob Kirkpatrick’s Magic in the Night uses Springsteen’s biography as a lens through which listeners can reevaluate his music as he morphs from “the next Bob Dylan” to a Reagan-era pop culture icon, and again to today’s populist voice, discussing each album in chronological order. Kirkpatrick’s keen insights show why the classic 1975 album “Born to Run” was named is the most popular album of all time by a Zagat Survey poll, and what’s made Springsteen the most respected and influential artist in rock music.
Though his career has been widely documented, Springsteen fans have never had a book like this one, which lets them immerse themselves in his music and learn about his influences, lyrical choices, and the themes Springsteen has been drawn to again and again in his career. Kirkpatrick’s in-depth analysis of Springsteen’s work–even unreleased songs–and the political controversies surrounding it make Magic in the Night, widely available for the first time, a must for any true Springsteen fan.

“Other books have covered the life and works of popular musician Bruce Springsteen, but few offer the depth of analysis and critical assessment.”-Midwest Book Review (five-star review)

“A fresh, compelling look at The Boss’s art, his life, and even his country.”-Library Media Connection

“Provides a comprehensive, insightful overview of Springsteen’s prodigious catalogue of music. Rob Kirkpatrick’s rich narrative sheds new light on the songs that have become a soundtrack for the American experience.”-Mark K. Updegrove, former publisher of Newsweek and MTV Magazine

“Beautifully written.”-David Barker, editor, Continuum “33 1/3″ series
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Foreword by Dave Kindred
(Bison Books/University of Nebraska Press, March 2009)

A three-time All-Star, Cecil Travis (1913–2006) was well on his way to a Hall of Fame career when he was drafted for World War II in 1941. When he returned to the game in 1945 after three and a half years in the Army, Travis was no longer the dominant player he had been. In the three seasons that followed—the last of his career—only once did Travis play in more than seventy-five games, and his offensive numbers plummeted. Yet his prewar accomplishments were such that he finished his twelve-year career with a .314 batting average, and baseball maven Bill James put Travis atop his list of players most likely to have lost a Hall of Fame career to the war.

This biography documents Travis’s life and dynamic career. It recounts his childhood years on his family’s Riverdale farm in rural Georgia, his demonstration of talent during high school, the beginning of his professional career with the Minor League Chattanooga Lookouts in 1931, his rise with the Washington Senators, the historic 1941 season in which Travis led all of baseball in hits, his time as a soldier, his playing decline from 1945 to 1947, and his retirement. In an epilogue Cecil Travis comments on his baseball career, the effects of the war, and his life in Riverdale, where he raised livestock on the farm that was his childhood home.

“Cecil Travis was one of the best hitters I ever faced. Rob Kirkpatrick’s well-researched biography pays tribute to a player who belongs in the Hall of Fame.”—Bob Feller, Hall of Fame pitcher

“Rob Kirkpatrick has written a warm and compelling biography of one of the best but least appreciated ballplayers in the history of our national pastime. Rob’s book is a beautiful celebration of a beautiful life.”—Timothy M. Gay, author of Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend
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