Chad Harbach has realized the dream of the "Great American Novel": "The Art of Fielding" is a literary wonder, a magical debut, a novel that is as clever as it is heartfelt about the farewell to youth, about passion and love, friendship and family. The god of the game has bestowed a gift upon Henry Skrimshander at birth: the slight, unassuming boy from the provinces is the greatest baseball talent in decades. When he is accepted into the Westish College team, his rise to the pinnacle seems predetermined. For months, he makes not a single mistake. But then a routine throw goes disastrously wrong, and the fates of five people become inextricably linked. Henry faces a new opponent: self-doubt. His mentor, Mike Schwartz, bitterly learns that he forgets himself for Henry's sake.