“A wonderful journey that opens into an exploration of sports, nostalgia, American culture, and memory,
The Wax Pack will surprise and engage you. It’s a delight to read and a tribute to the power of curiosity.”—Susan Orlean, author of
The Orchid Thief and
The Library Book“What if a pack of baseball cards could come to life? It sounds like a Spielberg movie plot, except it happened. It happened because Brad Balukjian made it happen, in real life, with the most eclectic cast of baseball characters ever assembled. And the result is one of the most fun, honest, funny, human, and uniquely creative baseball books of the year. I’ll admit it. I loved
The Wax Pack!”—Jayson Stark, senior baseball writer for
The Athletic “
The Wax Pack is one of the most interesting and pleasing baseball-themed books I have read in quite some time. An original idea, brought to fruition with graceful prose, a sense of humor, empathy, and insight.”—Bob Costas
"Baseball cards were a wonderful and memorable part of my childhood. Balukjian brought a random pack of cards to life. Such a unique way to tell a fascinating story."—Tim Kurkjian
“Poignant and powerful. . . . Balukjian covers more than ten thousand miles to track down the stories of fourteen men from a single pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, learning a lot about their lives—and his own. Hop in the backseat and join him for the journey.”—Tyler Kepner, national baseball writer for the
New York Times and best-selling author of
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches“As pleasing as the pink slab of bubble gum that, long ago, came with baseball cards inside five cent packets, this slender volume gives fresh flavor to the familiar phrase ‘inside baseball.’”—George F. Will
“What a weird, quirky, fun read. There have been 50,000 books written on Major League Baseball, but Brad Balukjian’s
The Wax Pack is a uniquely romantic love letter to a game, a time period, and its random soldiers. Well done.”—Jeff Pearlman, author of
Football for a Buck“
The Wax Pack is the perfect synthesis of what makes baseball (and baseball cards) compelling, combining the thrill of discovery, the reassurance of shared memory, and poignant metaphors for life. Balukjian’s cross-country, cardboard-based bildungsroman reminds us that baseball’s best stories are sometimes told by and about players who’ve long since left the league.”—Ben Lindbergh, best-selling author of
The MVP Machine and
The Only Rule Is It Has to Work“Brad Balukjian’s book is for all those little kids with cardboard heroes who turned into big kids and started wondering, ‘Hey, what if there’s more to life than just the cardboard?’ Turns out, there is.”—Rob Neyer, author of
Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game“A journey of self-discovery by way of a pack of 1986 baseball cards. In Brad’s emotional quest, he not only finds answers but shares a snapshot of ballplayers who, like him, are trying to make it through life’s many twists and turns.”—Shane Rawley, former MLB pitcher
