With all the bittersweet charm of a bygone era, when baseball was the national religion and the Yankees an indomitable juggernaut, this uplifting fantasy novel pulls back the curtain on an amazingly improbable team of heroes, Pittsburgh's own Pirates. It is 1956, and despite what history tells us, the legendary subway series between Mickey Mantle's New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers never really happened. A mysterious stranger has arrived in town, and his magical intervention causes the Pirates to soar. But both heaven and hell have a stake in this season, and as the Pirates finally face the Yankees, the team and their star player are faced with challenges and consequences beyond anything they could have imagined. In Sweet Lightning, passion, political paranoia, integration, the struggle for a living wage, and a shot at the World Series merge with the pure transcendence at the heart of America's pastime. Here's the incredible story of a miraculous year, told by a passionate Pittsburgh Pirates fan and America's foremost fantasist, Peter S. Beagle.