A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
A Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist
Ohioana Award WinnerLonglisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence A Booklist Editors' Choice Book of the Year A Hooks National Book Award FinalistA Hurston/Wright Legacy Award nominee "A haunting, unforgettable book." –
The Wall Street Journal "Dramatic, memorable, triumphant and heartbreaking. . . .
Tigerland is about more than sports. Sports provides a plot line and characters for a conversation about race in America." –Minneapolis
Star Tribune "Highly readable. . . . [Haygood] brings meticulous reporting and vivid writing to this largely forgotten story." –
The Washington Post "Factoids coalesce to produce a vivid sense of the community's deep identification with its sports team." –
The New Yorker "An uplifting story. . . . [Filled with] rich detail about the city and the school. . . . [Haygood's] forays into the minutiae of life in Columbus give the book depth and texture." –
The New York Times Book Review "[
Tigerland] cries out for a movie adaptation. . . . Haygood offers a vivid sense of the African-American community of East Columbus–the parents, pastors and local businessmen who cheered the Tigers on to victory." –
Newsday "Dynamic, multidimensional, and heart-revving. . . . As in all his avidly read books, Haygood sets the stories of fascinating individuals within the context of freshly reclaimed and vigorously recounted African American history as he masterfully brings a high school and its community to life. This laugh-and-cry tale of rollicking and wrenching drama . . . is electric with tension and conviction, and incandescent with unity and hope." –
Booklist (starred review)
"The blood beats in Haygood's latest book. . . . It is well-told history. It lends to a better understanding of who we are and where we live." –Michael Arace,
The Columbus Dispatch "Haygood executes a series of historical fadeaway jump shots, taking us back for extended interludes with the likes of Rev. King, Jackie Robinson, federal Judge Bobby Duncan . . . and other civil rights catalysts." –
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "[Haygood] has gifted the reading public with a book about a defining moment in America. . . . [
Tigerland] is in keeping with Haygood's style of well-written prose, allowing the characters to speak for themselves, and placing the reader as a participant in the book rather than an observer." –
Decatur Daily "An engrossing tale of one shining moment in dark times. . . . Haygood dramatically renders the heady excitement of each game, the tense moments of a close contest, and the exuberant–tear-jerking–wins." –
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In the supremely talented hands of Haygood, the Tigers of an all-black Columbus, Ohio, school prove to be an ideal way of understanding [a] fraught time." –
The National Book Review "Haygood's look at the socially turbulent atmosphere [of 1968-69], told from the perspective of a black man coming of age at the time, is nationally relevant." –Nancy Gilson,
The Columbus Dispatch "[An] intense sports saga. . . . Haygood is a passionate storyteller as he expertly captures this period of civil unrest" –
Publishers Weekly "With
Tigerland, Haygood is shining a light on [a] story long in the shadows: teenage athletes who brought unity to their community through the power of sports." –
Toledo Blade "Inspiring. . . . Haygood tells the story of an amazing group." –CBC