Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Lost Tribe is a historical sports novel written by Matthew Caldwell. It's 1939, and Harry Pike is working as a sports editor for the New York Daily Benchmark. He's enjoyed a close relationship with the publisher, Horace Greenacre, and is saddened but not surprised when Greenacre tells him that he doesn't expect the paper to survive much longer. The depression has hit every aspect of economic life, including the newspaper industry. Harry's unwilling acknowledgment of Greenacre's gloomy prediction is swiftly followed by mild confusion as he receives a legal notice requesting that he attend the reading of Mrs. Lederer's will. He still had bad memories of the wealthy widow who had impacted his life so badly when his latent zamler powers had begun to surface, so he was more than surprised when he was informed of the large bequest she had left him, along with her request that he 'make the world a better place.' The attorney also showed him her collection of his baseball articles; a passion they had both apparently shared. Harry left the office stunned, his mind churning over the unexpected windfall and the responsibility that went along with it.

Matthew Caldwell's historical sports fiction novel, The Lost Tribe, is an exciting and suspenseful tale that follows Harry Pike and his unconventional dream team as they take on the best baseball team Nazi Germany can put together. I was intrigued by the premise as it touched on my interest in the history of Germany going up to the war and my passion for baseball fiction, and I wasn't at all disappointed. The Lost Tribe is astonishingly good on both accounts. The historical aspects are meticulously researched and masterfully folded into the story, and the baseball games the author creates kept me on the edge of my seat as I was reading. Add into the mix Harry Pike's coming of age as he negotiates an understanding of his gifts and limitations as a zamler and assumes the responsibility for his team under harsh and perilous conditions, and you end up with a rich, suspenseful and enthralling novel whose power and presence lingers long after the last page is read. I am so impressed by Caldwell's The Lost Tribe; it's a superb literary effort that is most highly recommended.