Abie Rotenberg just released his debut novel, entitled The Season of Pepsi Meyers. It's available in soft cover on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0994840519/?tag=cl03f-20 and in hard cover from Feldheim
http://www.feldheim.com/the-season-of-pepsi-meyers.html .
I read the book and was amazed. It ponders the deep concepts of baseball (I am not a baseball fan but was able to follow with some effort) and at the same time introduces Judaism to the unaffiliated. The setting is in the year 2040, and Abie shows some creativity as to the advance of technology (Auto-UMP [an umping system that uses chips that are embedded in the balls, mitts, and players], personalized TV view [type into your remote the seat in the stadium that you would like to watch the game from] and other Einfaals). It was written to be understood by non-frum Jews, but not to be boring for Frum Jews. (At the end of the book there is a whole list of websites to Kiruv sites for unaffiliated Jews to check out.)
This is the description on Amazon:
The year is 2040 and it’s been thirteen years since the New York Yankees played post-season baseball. With the number one pick in the draft, they choose a remarkably gifted ballplayer from the Binghamton, New York area, named Pepsi Meyers. Although just eighteen years old, Pepsi earns a place on the Major League roster and revitalizes the Yankees with his spectacular play. Pepsi also happens to be Jewish. As the season progresses, the city is energized by the newfound success of its beloved team. At the same time, Pepsi and his family discover a world they never knew existed, as they are exposed for the first time, to Torah and the way of life it endorses. Pepsi’s struggle with the tug-of-war between the spiritual and the mundane and how it affects him, his teammates and the City of New York is both an entertaining baseball tale, and a study into the priorities and meaningful choices we all have to make in our lives.
This is the description on Feldheim's website:
For the first time, an observant Jew has the chance to be a member of a professional baseball team, and not just any baseball team. Pepsi Meyers — an 18 year old phenom with unprecedented talent — is drafted number one in the nation, by the New York Yankees.
But a life of Torah is the furthest thing from Pepsi's mind at the start of the season. Hailing from Binghamton, N.Y., he and his parents arrive in New York woefully unfamiliar with the traditions and tenets of Judaism.
Providentially, they rent a house in Riverdale next door to a family with young children, whose father just happens to be the Rabbi of the local Torah Center. Pepsi's parents become enthralled with Torah and are drawn towards it. Pepsi's journey proves to be more complicated.
The Season of Pepsi Meyers is an exciting, edge-of-the-seat baseball story. But along with Pepsi, the reader will discover the underlying principles of the Jewish faith, and the sweet beauty of a Torah way of life.
There's even a website PepsiMeyers.com , but it doesn't seem active yet.
Am I the only one who is ecstatic that arguably the most talented person in the Jewish music field, and my personal favorite composer, lyricist, and singer (Yes, singer! his singing talents are waaaayyyy underrated!), has now expanded his horizons to the world of literature?
