Catherine Nixon Cooke is a former journalist and the author of many books, including In Search of Tom Slick: Explorer and Visionary and Juan O’Gorman: A Confluence of Civilizations. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Her latest book is Dodgers to Damascus: David Lesch’s Journey from Baseball to the Middle East.
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 US presidential administrations at the highest levels about the head-spinning political, religious, and cultural complexities of the Middle East. Long before, as the number one draft pick for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1980, Lesch followed his American dream, playing with many baseball greats until a shoulder injury sidelined him. He later became a distinguished professor of Middle East studies at Trinity University in San Antonio and was soon tapped by the United Nations, the US State Department, and policy centers and governments internationally.
"Dodgers to Damascus" documents a part of the world that has been shrouded in mystery and plagued by conflict, power struggles, and warfare, and offers a firsthand glimpse inside modern Syria, its neighboring countries, and their connections to the rest of the world. Lesch’s work in Syria resulted in a tenuous relationship with President Bashar al-Assad and many tense situations, including a poisoned meal that almost cost him his life. His encounters with elected officials, diplomats, spies, and conflict resolution specialists have all the elements of a Hollywood thriller and parallel his personal story of loss, crisis, and redemption.
