When Cuba Conquered Kentucky: The Triumphant Basketball Story of a Tiny High School that Achieved the American Dream [Hardcover]

Marianne Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

When Cuba Conquered Kentucky is a classic underdog tale of a basketball team from a tiny Kentucky high school that in 1952 won the state championship against supposedly stronger teams from much bigger schools.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 209 pages
• Publisher: Rutledge Hill Press (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558537457
• ISBN-13: 978-1558537453
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marianne Walker, a native of Monroe, Louisiana, is a retired professor of English and Philosophy at Henderson (Kentucky) Community College. Walker is the author of "Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone With the Wind" and "When Cuba Conquered Kentucky. She has written for the New York Times and The Louisville-Courier-Journal Sunday Magazine. Walker and her husband, Ulvester, live in Henderson, Kentucky.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have every read; and I have read many., September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: When Cuba Conquered Kentucky: The Triumphant Basketball Story of a Tiny High School that Achieved the American Dream (Hardcover)

David and Goliath in real life! A book which would be inspirational to to any reader because it demonstrates success can be achieved against all odds and by anyone regardless of wealth or class. It shows that if you live and breathe any subject you will excel at it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A celebration of the human spirit from the Bluegrass state, October 8, 1999

By 

Chuck Cole (New Albany, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Cuba Conquered Kentucky: The Triumphant Basketball Story of a Tiny High School that Achieved the American Dream (Hardcover)

A well told story about the resilience of the human spirit. The author passionately narrates a Kentucky styled version of David and Goliath. It is an inspiring and entertaining read about the magnificient efforts of a high school team from the tiny town of Cuba, Kentucky. The book would appeal to any basketball fan who is a native of the Bluegrass state. However, the book is much more than a story about a small town basketball team. It is a story that reminded me of everything my parents described about growing up in Western Kentucky during the 40's and 50's. Perhaps the best part of the book is the author's observations on the influence the community had on the players and their coach. The writer provides a compelling narrative about the challenges faced by the families who struggled to earn a living as sharecroppers. The reader gets to share in the glory of the team's commitment to an enormous task and the accomplishment of that goal. It is an enjoyable story about a visionary coach and a group of boys who dared to dream and strive for the unfathomable. I thoroughly enjoyed the contents of the book, and I would rate that portion of the book a five star. I appreciated the research on the Jackson Purchase region of the state, and how the demographics of that area impacted the characters of the story. The author does a nice job of piecing together research with oral history, and she writes with a compassion for the central figures of the book. However I thought the narrative style of the book was a bit awkward at times, and that is why I give the book a four star rating.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Cuba" is for those who love basketball and rural America, January 2, 2000

By 

Ron Boone (Elizabethtown, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Cuba Conquered Kentucky: The Triumphant Basketball Story of a Tiny High School that Achieved the American Dream (Hardcover)

As a radio newsman for the past 35 years I have had many interesting interview guests... including the legendary Adolph Rupp. No interview has been more interesting than the one I conducted in the summer of '99 with Marianne Walker and Howie Crittenden about the Cuba Cubs of 1951-52. Cuba defeated my hometown school (Corbin) in the '52 tournament, so I have no reason to feel warmly about that Graves county school. But I do. And it's because of the wonderful way Marianne made their story come alive. It's much more than a David and Goliath story. It's a story about shared dreams, hard work, and rural pride in dreams realized. If you're sick of high-salaried, big business basketball, return to the days of sport for sports sake....WHEN CUBA CONQURED KENTUCKY.