Baseball, basketball, football—no matter the game, Jackie Robinson excelled. His talents would have easily landed another man a career in pro sports, but such opportunities were closed to athletes like Jackie for one reason: his skin was the wrong color.Settling for a baseball career in the Negro Leagues, Jackie chafed at the inability to prove himself where it mattered most: the major leagues. Then in 1946, Branch Rickey, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, recruited him. Jackie faced cruel, sometimes violent hatred and discrimination, but he proved himself again and again, exhibiting courage, determination, restraint, and a phenomenal ability to play the game.

In this compelling biography, award-winning author Doreen Rappaport chronicles the extraordinary life of the pioneering African American athlete and shows how his achievements won the hearts—and changed the minds—of a segregated nation.