Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. The imagery is rich and fluid, and the similes jump off the page and into the heart. Here you will find some information about many of the real characters who abound in the novel and some of the actions which made them worth writing about.
W.P. Kinsella 
Click here for a short bio of the author. This site contains a bibliography and reviews. You can even write your own, if you wish.
McDougal-Littell offers a Q&A session with the author concerning his thoughts about the books, writing, movies, and other topics. You are even invited to ask a question of your own.
For some news stories which provide some insight into Kinsella, Jam Books is the place to be.
Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1919 Black Sox
Eight members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox were accused by then Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis of throwing the Series to the hapless Reds in exchange for kickbacks from gamblers. These men were thrown out of baseball forever. Shoeless Joe Jackson was one of these men.
You can learn the whole shebang about Jackson and the scandal at the Virtual Hall of Fame. However, for the down and dirty stuff you can get the TRUTH in the words of Shoeless Joe himself. Or you can learn about the other suspended players by clicking here. And this site provides a bibliography of books about the lefty whom Ty Cobb called the greatest left fielder to ever play the game (and Cobb didn't like anybody!)
The Shoeless Joe Jackson Newsletter offers tremendous information and a chance to sign a petition to have Jackson re-instated to the game and enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Last, we come to Grover Lowdermilk, who played for the 1919 Black Sox, though he was not involved in the scandal. He was, however, my neighbor in my hometown of Odin, Illinois. He was a tall man and often scared my mother when his bobbing head was visible in our living room window as he cut through our yard. His brother, Lou, with whom he played for the Cardinals in 1911 was nicknamed "Lurkey" (Baseball players had good nicknames in those days)and was an artist whose paintings are still featured in many churches and at the school in Odin.
"Moonlight" Graham was a real person, really a doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota, and really played just one-half inning for the New York Giants. Almost everything Kinsella writes in his book about Graham is true--except the coming back to life bit. Here are some "Moonlight" Graham links:
Here is the Official Moonlight Graham Page.
This site gives a nice bio of the man, while this Moonlight Graham link offers baseball cards of the good doctor for sale as well as reprints the Chisholm newspaper obituary of this now legendary man.
If you have only watched the movie Field of Dreams, you might think the fictional Terence Mann is a character in the novel. He is not. The author who is sent to report what lies beyond the cornfield is none other than J.D. Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey among others.
Little is published on the Internet about the reclusive author (Salinger has had many site closed down), but some material still exists. Here are a few links to help you understand the man (as far as he can be understood) and his work.
Bananafish is the most-comprehensive site about Salinger on the web. If you can't find it here, you probably can't find it!
Here you will find a short biography and MANY great links! You get a picture, too!
Join the J.D. Salinger Chat and converse with others about this great author. This site is a part of the Jolly Roger Literary Circle, a weird but good place to chat about books.
Of course, the book was developed into the movie 
Field of Dreams.
This site will inundate you with movie info and links to everything that everyone involved in the movie has ever done.
Julie's Field of Dreams Page is a great site to learn all about the flick and its nuances.
To find out what the experts think about the movie, check out Roger Ebert's Review (he gives it a "thumbs up") or a TV GUIDE review.
Finally, the ball field where the movie was filmed still exists and is a money-maker for two sets of owners. Visit the 
Movie Site or the Left and Center Field of Dreams (I guess you take what you can get!).
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This page is maintained by Kent Hawley.
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