In 2015, Atlanta Braves pitcher Austin Evans fell into a coma and found himself in Providence, a hospital in Chicago, in 1919. A white man raised by his racist grandfather, Austin wasn't much of a fan of African Americans. Oblivious to their struggle or exploits in baseball, he wakes up as a black man in a time when segregation, lynching, and Jim Crow were on full blast. For twelve years, he learns firsthand the ugly truth about what it meant to be black in America in that era. Austin comes face to face with racial slurs and degrading treatment while trying to reconcile his new identity with his race in the future. He discovers that skin color doesn't make anyone better or worse and gets to know his grandfather in a way he never did; a twist at the end worth discovering in If Only You Were White by Al B Beard.

If Only You Were White by Al B Beard perfectly explores the world of black baseball in the 1920s. It is interesting to see a work of fiction that explores the history of racism in America. I love how it captures black success and struggles in a field that considered them inferior. Here, they could only play in the minor league solely because of the color of their skin. It shows how, despite being treated as second-class citizens, a group of exceptional black baseball players made tremendous accomplishments in their profession way before Jackie Robinson. The narration style is straightforward yet effective enough to portray a captivating and emotional story. Austin and his friend Bingo are fascinating characters, and their camaraderie with other black baseball players is heartwarming and endearing.

Unbeknownst to Atlanta Braves, ace pitcher Austin Evans was raised by a racist grandfather. During a game in 2015, a pitch hit him in the head and he fell into a coma. Waking up in 1918, he finds himself in the body of a black man. The story follows his struggle for survival over the next 12 years, as he learns first-hand how skin color has nothing to do with talent, but everything to do with acceptance and treatment as a fellow human being. Playing in the Negro Leagues during this time, he crosses paths with his grandfather several times and learns first-hand of his grandfather's racist past. If Only You Were White by Al B. Beard is two parallel stories. The first is the supernatural event that sends lead character Austin Evans, a white superstar pitcher for the Atlanta Braves into the past, effectively a parallel universe, where he awakens in a hospital almost a hundred years earlier as a black man. The second story is an abbreviated history of the Negro Baseball Leagues, from its inception to the precipice of black players making it into Major League Baseball, theretofore dominated by white players.

Al B. Beard writes in a unique style that combines fictional story segments interspersed with historical facts; a fascinating mixture that puts verisimilitude squarely in the spotlight. Though both stories are enthralling in and of themselves, I'd have preferred more of the story that entails Austin's personal struggles as a black man in some of the worst days of Jim Crow laws and the KKK, and maybe a little less of the historical snippets of the Negro Baseball League. Regardless, the combination works and Beard's research into baseball and racism proved effective and necessary for this spellbinding story of racial issues and thrilling baseball events. Highly recommended for baseball fans and readers who enjoy historical elements, and acts that formed a base for current societal events. It was unique, informative, and entertaining. I hope to read more of Beard's work in the future.