Brett H. Mandel '91 is the author of Is This Heaven? The Magic of the Field of Dreams, about the some 75,000 people a year who make a pilgrimage to the baseball diamond carved out of a northeast Iowa cornfield for the 1989 film Field of Dreams. Why do they do it? Mandel addresses that question by relating the stories, often poignant, of those who seek, and frequently find, comfort, fulfillment and even redemption at that make-believe place, which has somehow taken on mystical reality. Mandel is director of financial aid policy analysis for the City of Philadelphia Controller's Office and a hardcore baseball fan. His first book, 1997's Minor Players, Major Dreams, was an account of his George Plimpton-like venture into the minor leagues.
Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.