New Release!
David Lesch is a modern-day Renaissance man whose work has spanned continents and allowed him to explore cultures near and far. An acclaimed scholar, educator, author, and conflict resolution specialist, he has advised five U.S. presidential administrations at the highest levels about the head-spinning political, religious, and cultural complexities of the Middle East. He is the author or editor of many books about the history of this conflicted region.
Long before, as the number one draft pick for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980, Lesch followed his American dream of playing baseball until he was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He later became a distinguished professor of Middle East studies at Trinity University and was soon tapped by the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and governments and policy centers and internationally.
Dodgers to Damascus documents a part of the world that has been shrouded in mystery and plagued by conflict, power struggles, and warfare for ages. It provides a firsthand glimpse inside modern Syria, its neighboring countries, and their connections to the rest of the world, afforded by Lesch’s tenuous relationship with President Bashar al-Assad—including a poisoned meal that almost cost him his life. Through interviews with Lesch and his friends, family, former students, conflict resolution specialists, and international diplomats, Catherine Nixon Cooke takes readers on the adventure-filled life journey of an unassuming hero, complete with all the elements of a Hollywood thriller paralleling his own personal story of loss, crisis, and redemption.
Praise for Dodgers to Dasmascus
“An eye-popping biography of an all-American boy growing up with baseball who is catapulted into an unlikely life as scholar, professor, and unofficial diplomat in the most conflict-torn region in the world. I had the privilege of witnessing David Lesch at work in Syria, only for him to be poisoned and, fortunately for all of us, to survive. Read this riveting account and be inspired.”
— William Ury, author of Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict
“Most elite athletes blaze a brief trail before their star burns out. David Lesch, a number one pick for the LA Dodgers before injury ended his baseball career, built a new life based on his study of conflict. An academic by day, Lesch also knew the dark underworld of spies and subterfuge that almost claimed his life in the Middle East. Historian Catherine Nixon Cooke possesses a fine sensibility about the cultural differences fueling conflicts in that part of the world and does full justice to a fascinating story.”
— Rosalind Miles, author of The Women’s Modern History of
the World: How Radicals, Rebels, and Everywomen Revolutionized the Last 200 Years
“A compelling biography that demonstrates how adaptability, cultural intelligence, and resilience—whether facing baseball batters or authoritarian leaders—are essential skills for anyone working to bridge divides in our fractured world. Replete with ruthless dictators, fanatical fighters, villains, and victims, this book offers invaluable insights for conflict resolution practitioners, historians, and ordinary folks interested in a wonderful story.”
— Hrair Balian, former director of the Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program
