audiobook Southern Invincibility: A History of the Confederate Heart by Wiley Sword in History

Description

Jim Dent; author of the New York Times bestselling The Junction Boys; returns with his most powerful story of human courage and determination.More than a century ago; a school was constructed in Fort Worth; Texas; for the purpose of housing and educating the orphans of Texas Freemasons. It was a humble project that for years existed quietly on a hillside east of town. Life at the Masonic Home was about to change; though; with the arrival of a lean; bespectacled coach by the name of Rusty Russell. Here was a man who could bring rain in the midst of a drought. Here was a man who; in virtually no time at all; brought the orphans' story into the homes of millions of Americans. In the 1930s and 1940s; there was nothing bigger in Texas high school football than the Masonic Home Mighty Mites―a group of orphans bound together by hardship and death. These youngsters; in spite of being outweighed by at least thirty pounds per man; were the toughest football team around. They began with nothing―not even a football―yet in a few years were playing for the state championship on the highest level of Texas football. This is a winning tribute to a courageous band of underdogs from a time when America desperately needed fresh hope and big dreams. The Mighty Mites remain a notable moment in the long history of American sports. Just as significant is the depth of the inspirational message. This is a profound lesson in fighting back and clinging to faith. The real winners in Texas high school football were not the kids from the biggest schools; or the ones wearing the most expensive uniforms. They were the scrawny kids from a tiny orphanage who wore scarred helmets and faded jerseys that did not match; kids coached by a devoted man who lived on peanuts and drove them around in a smoke-belching old truck. In writing a story of unforgettable characters and great football; Jim Dent has come forward to reclaim his place as one of the top sports authors in America today. A remarkable and inspirational story of an orphanage and the man who created one of the greatest football teams Texas has ever known . . . this is their story―the original Friday Night Lights."This just might be the best sports book ever written. Jim Dent has crafted a story that will go down as one of the most artistic; one of the most unforgettable; and one of the most inspirational ever. Twelve Mighty Orphans will challenge Hoosiers as the feel-good sports story of our lifetime. Naturally; being from Texas; I am biased. Hooray for the Mighty Mites.''―Verne Lundquist; CBS Sports "Coach Rusty Russell and the Mighty Mites will steal your heart as they overcome every obstacle imaginable to become a respected football team. Take an orphanage; the Depression; and mix it with Texas high school football; and Jim Dent has authored another winner; this one about the ultimate underdog.'' ―Brent Musburger; ABC Sports/ESPN"No state has a roll call of legendary high school football stories like we do in Texas; and; admittedly; some of those stories have been ‘expanded' over the years when it comes to the truth. But let Jim Dent tell you about the Mighty Mites of Masonic Home; the pride of Fort Worth in the dark days of the Depression. Read this book. You will think it's fiction. You will think it's a Hollywood script. But Twelve Mighty Orphans is the truth; and nothing but. It is powerful stuff. Some eighty years later; the Mighty Mites' story remains so sacred; not even a Texan would dare tamper with these facts. And Jim Dent tells it like it was."― Randy Galloway; columnist; Fort-Worth Star Telegram