Last spring, we were honored to welcome favorite author John Feinstein to the Darien Library. It's a visit that we're all still talking about! His new book on the classic June 2008 showdown between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate hits the shelves in May, but meanwhile, The Last Amateurs, a year in college basketball's Patriot League, deserves another look.

Feinstein spent the 1999-2000 season with the seven teams that make up the smallest conference in NCAA basketball: Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Navy. Sports scholarships are rarely given and arenas hardly ever full in the Patriot League, but the passion and commitment of the players is unequaled. We meet students who attend games with books in hand to keep up with their studies and families who make deep sacrifices to pay full tuition so their sons can fulfill their hoop dreams while working at the highest academic levels. If the term "student-athlete" seems like an oxymoron to you, this book will restore your faith.