Dust Bowl Girls, Lydia Reeder
Dust Bowl Girls, Lydia Reeder
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Dust Bowl Girls
The Inspiring Story of the Team That Barnstormed Its Way to Basketball Glory

Author: Lydia Reeder

Narrator: Virginia Wolf

Unabridged: 8 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/24/2017


Synopsis

At the height of the Great Depression, Sam Babb, the charismatic basketball coach of tiny Oklahoma Presbyterian College, began dreaming. Like so many others, he wanted a reason to have hope. Traveling from farm to farm, he recruited talented, hardworking young women and offered them a chance at a better life: a free college education if they would come play for his basketball team, the Cardinals. Despite their fears of leaving home and the sacrifices faced by their families, the women followed Babb and his dream. He shaped the Cardinals into a formidable team, and something extraordinary began to happen: with passion for the sport and heartfelt loyalty to one another and their coach, they won every game. For author Lydia Reeder, this is a family story: coach Sam Babb is her great-uncle. When her grandmother handed her a worn, yellowed folder that contained newspaper articles, letters, and photographs of Sam and the Cardinals, she said, You might want to tell their story someday. Now, with extensive research and the gathered memories of the surviving Cardinals, she has."

About Lydia Reeder

Lydia Reeder’s research and writing brings to light the stories of little-known or forgotten pioneers in their professions and daily lives. Her first book, Dust Bowl Girls, was a Junior Library Guild Selection, a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award and the WILLA literary Award, and won the For the Love of the Game award from the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. A regional bestseller in Oklahoma and Colorado, it was named as a 2017 top nonfiction book by Amazon, Bustle, Romper, and BookBub, and optioned for film five times. A native of Oklahoma, Lydia now lives in Denver, CO.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cindy on November 19, 2016

3.5 stars As soon as I saw the cover and description for Dust Bowl Girls, I knew I had to read it. Both of my parents are from Oklahoma and still maintain close ties to the state. While my parents grew up in Ardmore, my grandfather lived for a while in Durant, and several of my relatives are buried t......more

Goodreads review by Emily on June 18, 2018

A surprisingly good read. I wish I could remember how it came to my notice -- probably a goodreads friend liked a review. It seemed like something that I should give my attention to, given my interest in historical as well as fictional "college girls." Approaching it with a slightly weary sense of d......more

Goodreads review by Don on September 15, 2017

Nowadays, it is seldom that a book pulls me in and forces me to continue turning the pages. “Dust Bowl Girls” was one of those books. Author Lydia Reeder tells the story of the Oklahoma Presbyterian College Cardinals and their magical year in 1932. The book almost reads like a novel, as Ms. Reeder ta......more

Goodreads review by Moonkiszt on April 19, 2019

Swooshing! Girls playing basketball in the 1930’s for the Oklahoma Presbyterian College’s Cardinals – that is the story told. Sam Babb, their agent and all the women who join the team have their backstories unfolded in their order of gathering. It was ok – I’m not sporty, but I spent my childhood at......more

Goodreads review by Kimba on June 01, 2017

The book tells the story of the 1932 AAU Women's basketball championship and the female students from Oklahoma Presbyterian College who overcame the odds and won the championship in the early years of the depression. In telling this story, the book offers a fascinating account of the politics and de......more