Name Neil Lanctot | Role Author | |
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Education University of Delaware, Temple University, University of Pennsylvania Books Campy: The Two Lives of R, Negro League Baseball, Fair Dealing and Clea, The Hilldale Club: The | ||
Philadelphia Baseball: Past, Present, & Personal 3/8/18
Neil Lanctot (born 1966) is an American historian and author.
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Biography
Lanctot was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1987 with a B.A. in English. He subsequently earned an M.A. in American History from Temple University in 1992 and a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in 2002.
Lanctot's first book, Fair Dealing and Clean Playing: The Hilldale Club and the Development of Black Professional Baseball, 1910-1932, was published by McFarland and Company in 1994. In 2007, Syracuse University Press released a paperback edition.
His second book, Negro League Baseball - The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution, appeared in 2004 and received critical acclaim from numerous publications, including the front cover of the Sunday New York Times Book Review.
In March 2011, his third book, Campy - The Two Lives of Roy Campanella, was published by Simon & Schuster. The book was the first to uncover the true story behind Roy Campanella's near fatal car accident in 1958 and his rocky relationship with Brooklyn Dodger great Jackie Robinson. Campy received positive reviews from the Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Baseball America, and several other publications upon its release. It was also named an alternate Book of the Month Club selection. In a review of for The Washington Independent Review of Books, Bob Luke writes that "Lanctot brings to light a man whose life reached the highest highs and the lowest lows, telling well the story of a remarkable ball player whose career has not had the recognition it deserves. It’s an important story told with ease and authority."
In December 2015, Lanctot signed a deal with Riverhead, an Penguin Random House imprint, to publish his fourth book, which will explore America's path to involvement in World War I. Expected publication is 2017 or 2018.