Audiobooks by Tim Wendel

Far From Home: Latino Baseball Players in America

The National Pastime and the American dream entwine in this powerful story of Latinos who came to the United States their eyes on a tantalizing prize: a career in professional baseball. From Cuba to Venezuela and throughout the Caribbean, thousands of boys play sandlot ball while inspired by Latino greats who paved the way. Players like Roberto Clemente, Martin Dihigo, Orlando Cepeda and the Alou brothers.

Jose Luis Villegas, Tim Wendel (Author), Tim Wendel (Narrator)

Audiobook

My Man Stan

Alex loves to play hockey, but he has a difficult time controlling his temper, on and off the ice. Nothing seems to work until his grandfather's 'magic' radio transports him back in time, where he meets Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks. Together, Alex and Stan find a way to help each other out.

Tim Wendel (Author), Scott Mikita, Tim Wendel (Narrator)

Audiobook

Escape from Castro's Cuba

In this visionary sequel to Castro’s Curveball, the former Washington Senators Minor League catcher has returned to Havana with a small role in a movie being filmed on location. Billy Bryan soon realizes that this place and his past remain as star-crossed as when he played winter ball in the Cuban capital decades before. Against his better judgment, Billy becomes entangled in a scheme to spirit a top baseball prospect off the island. This pits him against his old friend Fidel Castro. Despite being in his final days, the dictator remains a dangerous adversary, as does the Cuban sports machine and the Mexican crime syndicates that now direct baseball talent toward the U.S. Major Leagues. In Escape from Castro’s Cuba, Billy must once again navigate the crosscurrents of the so-called City of Columns: a place where the sunsets from the Hotel Nacional along the Malecón breakwater are as beautiful as ever, but where the alleyways in Old Havana still fan out, crooked and broken, like an old catcher’s fingers.

Tim Wendel (Author), Tim Wendel (Narrator)

Audiobook

Night on Manitou Island

Young Teddy and his older sister, Amanda, find themselves stranded on South Manitou Island on the second full moon of the month, or as the old-timers call it, the night of the blue moon. Little do they know that on such nights the past can come alive here, with ghosts and demons, spirits and pirates, once again walking the earth. To their amazement, Teddy and Amanda find that they have major roles to play in this magical realm on the fabled isle in Lake Michigan.

Tim Wendel (Author), Tim Wendel (Narrator)

Audiobook

Habana Libre: A Novella

The distance between Cuba and the United States: tantalizingly close yet worlds apart. When a beautiful showgirl married to Cuba’s most famous baseball player escapes to the sea, only a boy and a boat and a belief in the “American Dream” keep her afloat. Planning to rendezvous with her husband after an exhibition game in El Norte, the showgirl risks everything only to discover that crossing the straits might be easier than spanning allegiances. Set against the backdrop of actual games played between the Cuba National Team and the Baltimore Orioles, Habana Libre is the story of people caught between home and hope. 'For this cast of dreamers, America is more of an abstract ideal than a place that can be reached by boat. Wendel tells their story with tender complexity and rich detail.' --Holly Goddard Jones

Tim Wendel (Author), Tim Wendel (Narrator)

Audiobook

Buffalo, Home of the Braves

BUFFALO, HOME OF THE BRAVES chronicles the rise and fall of the National Basketball Association franchise in Western New York that existed from 1970-1978. The team roster included such key players and personalities as Bob McAdoo, Dr. Jack Ramsay, Randy Smith, Paul Snyder, Jack Marin, Gar Heard, John Shumate and Ernie DiGregorio. The Braves made history with their up-tempo style of play and had three rookies of the year. This award-winning book highlights each of those memorable seasons, including the playoffs. With a foreword by Van Miller (read by broadcaster Pete Weber), this is a must-listen for basketball fans everywhere. 'Over the years, I can reflect on the experience of living in Western New York with a single phrase: 'You can leave Buffalo, but Buffalo never leaves you.' The same can be said of the Buffalo Braves.' -- Rick Azar, longtime Buffalo sportscaster 'If you are old enough to remember the Braves, you will love this book for its clear-eyed, unsentimental rendering of the heartbreak and the history. If you are too young to remember, you need this book for an essential understanding of how the Braves' bizarre departure fits into a continuum with Wide Right, No Goal and the terrible specter of 'Toronto.'' -- Erik Brady, The Buffalo Courier-Express, 1976-1982

Chris Wendel, Tim Wendel (Author), Pete Weber, Tim Wendel (Narrator)

Audiobook

Cancer Crossings: A Brother, His Doctors, and the Quest for a Cure to Childhood Leukemia

When Eric Wendel was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 1966, the survival rate was less than 10 percent. Today, it is 90 percent. Even as politicians call for a "Cancer Moonshot," this accomplishment remains a pinnacle in cancer research.The author's daughter, then a medical student at Georgetown Medical School, told her father about this amazing success story. Tim Wendel soon discovered that many of the doctors at the forefront of this effort cared for his brother at Roswell Park in Buffalo, New York. Wendel went in search of this extraordinary group, interviewing Lucius Sinks, James Holland, Donald Pinkel, and others in the field. If there were a Mount Rushmore for cancer research, they would be on it.Despite being ostracized by their medical peers, these doctors developed modern-day chemotherapy practices and invented the blood centrifuge machine, helping thousands of children live longer lives. Part family memoir and part medical narrative, Cancer Crossings explores how the Wendel family found the courage to move ahead with their lives. They learned to sail on Lake Ontario, cruising across miles of open water together, even as the campaign against cancer changed their lives forever.

Tim Wendel (Author), Tim Wendel (Narrator)

Audiobook