First of all, "Templeton" is really Cooperstown, New York - the author borrowed the fictional name and setting from James Fenimore Cooper's treatment of the town - but it's clear that the author wanted to write essentially a love letter to this special place she grew up. And it's a hell of a love letter. It's sometimes difficult to follow the twists and turns, but the story but the characters are really, really good, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Talmage Boston, in his "1939: Baseball's Tipping Point", recounts the story of how baseball's Hall of Fame got to Cooperstown (something addressed fictionally in this book as well - apparently the town essentially sacrificed a maiden on the altar of economic development) and makes the statement (which I can't find in my copy at the moment) that even if baseball really wasn't invented there (and the evidence is pretty clear it wasn't) the place is so extraordinary that it should be there anyway. That was really all I knew about "Templeton" before reading this, but it explains a lot. Good book - I look forward to reading more from this author.
