In 1973, Sandy Tolan started a scrapbook on his baseball idol Hank Aaron. Tolan was a white teenager in Milwaukee, who had never given up his affection for the Braves baseball team that left his hometown for Atlanta; Aaron was closing in on the holy grail of baseball, the 714 career home-run record of Babe Ruth. Correction: Hank Aaron was the black athlete closing in on Ruth's record.

Aaron was the recipient of virulent racist letters and death threats. He also received a letter from one Sandy Tolan telling him, "You're my hero. I believe in you."

To his surprise, he received a reply. Twenty-five years later, he met his hero and the meeting launched a book that explores the impact of racism on America through the prism of baseball.