Sandlot Summit

by Rick Fishman

FUNNIEST SPORTS STORY EVER Get ready to "LOL" with the funniest, most entertaining youth sports story of all time. It's 1984 and the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union is heating up to a fever pitch. With combat a near certainty, President Ronald Reagan and the infamous Russian General, Kostlitzo "BoneFace" Zolotov, make a secret pact to settle differences, not by fighting a war, but instead, by playing a kids' baseball game...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1432718681
• ISBN13: 9781432718688
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Recommended to anyone seeking a good laugh

Three and a half decades of conflict all come down to Little League. "Sandlot Summit: The Winner Gets to Go to Diary Queen" is a bizarre and entertaining look at the cold war. The theme is a fictional situation where General Kostlitzo Zolotov & President Reagan make a pact to settle hostilities over a children's baseball game. Felix Farley is left to coach the American team in a game where there is more on the line than the post game reward of ice cream. Deftly written, "Sandlot Summit" is recommended to anyone seeking a good laugh, whether or not they are in favor of baseball diplomacy!

Front Street Reviews

Review of Sandlot Summit from Front Street Reviews Outskirt Press, Middle Grade Fiction 145 Pages Review by A. E. Jaskiewicz Baseball is considered one of the great American past-times. That's why it seems so fitting that it is used to decide the fate of the free world in the comic tale, Sandlot Summit. When it comes down to a fight between the Russians and the U.S.A. during the cold war, it's a group of 12 year old kids that battle it out on the ball diamond, rather than soldiers on the battle field. The only question is, can a rag-tag group of kids from Ohio win and help freedom reign? At the beginning of the story, you catch on rather quickly that coach Felix Farley is not the best baseball coach in the world. His team never wins. Coach Farley seems more interested in giving everyone a fair shot than actually winning. That's why it comes as a big surprise to him when President Ronald Reagan asks him to represent the free world in a symbolic war against the Soviet Union. Instead of fighting an actual war, the two super powers are going to battle it out on the ball diamond, with twelve year old baseball players as the combatants. Coach Farley has a short period of time to gather an all star team together to battle the Russians, but he manages to pull it all together and get nine players. There are seven boys, one little sister (who has to play as a punishment to her older brother) and an enthusiastic German Shepard named Denver. Through some outside help from Charlie, "The Master of Baseball", and Felix's arch rival, coach Brock Boyle, Felix hopes he has what it takes to win. The characters in the book are all well thought out. The ones who are supposed to be likeable, are likeable. The ones who are supposed to be villainous are just that. There is a clear sense of who you want to root for, and everyone is very cut and dry. Even though not all the boys get along (like trouble-maker Nat Picker vs. Sting), they still come across as kids you are cheering on when it comes down to it. The voice of the characters in the book comes across as very age appropriate. The boys and girls talk just like that, boys and girls. They don't sit around debating the upsides and down-sides of being at war with the Soviet Union, nor do they give their opinions of other political issues of the time. Instead, the boys and girls seem far more interested in things like video games, sports and chasing after crushes ... things that kids in that age group would really be interested in. I found there to be a strong message of patriotism throughout the book. It seemed that there was a great message of love your country and serve your country well. For example, even though Felix didn't believe he was the right man for the job, he still stood up and did what the President asked of him, because he was doing it out of pride for his country. Sandlot Summit is a very good read for both boys and girls at a middle grade reading level. There is an added bo

Sandlot Summit

In an effort to avoid World War III by the powers of the United States and Russia, President Ronald Reagan and Russian General Kostlitzo `Bone Face' Zolotov come to an agreement to solve their countries problems by playing a kids' baseball game. The son of the Vice President of the United States is sent on the mission to find Felix Farley and to recruit him as head coach of Team USA. With the date of the secret game on the horizon, the discovery that the wrong coach has been assigned to the critical mission to save the free world brings the already tense situation to even a higher level. "Katie, I would quit coaching forever if I could somehow find a way out of doing this game. But I can't say `no' to the President. I just can't." Rick Fishman creates and brings to life a cast of hysterical characters. From the moment the reader meets Coach Felix Farley and his hand chosen All-star team you will find yourself cheering for their success. [...]

A delightful story

Sandlot Summit is a delightful story and I'm glad I read it before passing it on to my grandson. The story is part cold war history and part fantasy and the author has quite an imagination in weaving together all the little sub-plots that lead up to the big baseball game against the Russians. Every player has some interesting conflicts to overcome and they do so with humor. The evil General "BoneFace" makes a great villian and I guess he answers the question of what it might be like having Darth Vader coaching your kid's little league team. I like the line where the U.S. coach Felix Farley warns his players not to tell their parents that the fate of the world is at stake in their upcoming game. It just reminds me of some of the little league games I've attended where some parents get a bit carried away as if that were true. I also liked the idea of the glossary at the back of the book which gave brief definitions to words like Soviet Union and Communism, which today's kids might be unfamiliar with. Overall, this is a very funny book for kids and especially fun if you like baseball.

Kirkus Discoveries review

--NOTE: Sandlot Summit has 10 full page illustrations.-- The following is a reprint of the complete review of Sandlot Summit by Kirkus Discoveries. Little leaguers duke it out in a decisive battle for global domination. Family guy and lawnmower salesman Felix Farley is crestfallen after his team of 12-year-olds, the Rangers, once again falls short in the championship game--even after securing a big lead in the last inning. But Felix's disappointment is rudely interrupted by a startling telephone call from President Reagan, summoning him to the White House pronto. The Oval Office is abuzz with Cold War intrigues: torpedoes were launched in the Persian Gulf and the Soviet Union's top brass immediately sprang to action, initiating an emergency blockade. In Reagan's presence, Felix turns into a bumbling bundle of nerves, anxiously nibbling on jelly beans as he is informed of the seething undercurrents that may lead to World War III. Both sides have negotiated to fight a "surrogate war" in the form of a winner-take-all baseball game. Felix is selected to helm the United States team and the malevolent rogue General Kostlitzo "BoneFace" Zolotov is installed as the head of the Russian team, both populated with players age 12 and younger. But the playing field seems insurmountably biased. The Soviets insist on national all-star players while the U.S. team must employ local leaguers from a single American town. Felix painstakingly recruits and assembles Lyndhurst, Ohio's finest budding athletes, patching together a rag-tag crew that will need a miracle to outshine the Russian competition. George W. Bush makes a cameo appearance to announce a technical mistake that could cancel everything. But Felix's love of the game and some positive morale-boosting teamwork overcomes this and several other heady obstacles, all while the fate of the country rests squarely on his shoulders. Fishman's playful, well-written and imaginative, though at times corny, story for young adults ends with a life-affirming message and the sweet hope of peace for all nations. Though devoid of plausibility, this patriotic, engaging novel will be a home run for readers of all ages.