Books

concepcion coverConcepcion: Conquest, Colonialism, and an Immigrant Family’s Fate
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    • Finalist for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography
    • Recipient of a Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant

Reviews

“A resolutely intimate book. . .with a finely tuned sense of irony. . . . If Concepcion were only about Samaha’s mother, it would already be wholly worthwhile. But she was one of eight children in the Concepcion family, whose ancestry Samaha traces in this. . .powerful book.” –The New York Times

“Concepcion puts us forcefully and unapologetically on the hook of U.S. imperial history and its role in shaping Filipino and American identity—and never lets us off. . . . At the bighearted center of Concepcion is Samaha’s desire ‘to honor my elders.’ . . . He succeeds ably, putting a human face and history on a. . . community largely left out of the Asian American canon and U.S. literature generally.” –The New York Times Book Review

“A sprawling and impressive work…[Samaha] unearths a wealth of documentation that runs counter to the kinder, gentler version of American history we’re taught in school.” –San Francisco Chronicle

“Extraordinary . . . an evocative window into global issues of immigration and American imperialism. . . . [and] an extraordinary look at the freedoms and perils of making a new life in America.” –Publishers Weekly (starred)

“An expansive view of Filipino history and the experiences of Filipino immigrants . . . that provides an intimate perspective on the legacy of colonialism.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“An epic tale populated by remarkable characters . . . expanding the capacity of the autobiography. . . . The result is truly extraordinary.” —National Book Critics Circle

“Informative but approachable, heartbreaking but hopeful. . . Concepcion speaks to the inherently human desire to build something better.” –BuzzFeed

“An extraordinary feat of personal, family, and colonial history. . . . Samaha switches seamlessly from the epic to the extremely intimate.” –Philippine Daily Inquirer

“Intimate and urgent.” –Electric Literature

“A captivating, thoughtful, classification-defying read. . . . [An] insightful, fresh perspective [on] immigration, history, and what it means to be American, all so fascinating and engagingly shared.” –Booklist

“Surprising and complex … Samaha plants [his relatives’] stories alongside his own and grows a remarkable family tree.” —BookPage

“A clear, moving, and powerful rumination on what it means to be an immigrant.” —Library Journal

Endorsements

“Absolutely extraordinary—a sweeping story of global power and movement, told through the intimate reality of one Filipino family’s centuries-long quest for self-determination within the grip of empire. A landmark in the contemporary literature of the diaspora. My admiration for it knows no bounds.”―Jia Tolentino, author of Trick Mirror

“A wonder of a book, Concepcion should be required reading for anyone who thinks they know anything about America’s past, or wants to understand its present and future.” ―Elaine Castillo, author of America Is Not the Heart

“For those of us who have admired Samaha’s journalism for so long, this jarringly beautiful memoir is the book we’ve been waiting for. Simply a joy to read.” —Daniel Alarcón, author of Lost City Radio and At Night We Walk in Circles

“A gorgeous, cinematic epic about how an immigrant family becomes American, and the unfathomable losses they bear in pursuit of the dream. “―Adam Serwer, author of The Cruelty Is the Point

“An odyssey of history and memory across decades and countries, Concepcion excavates and astounds. Illuminating and epic, a revelation.” ―Bryan Washington, author of Lot and Memorial

“Concepcion brilliantly captures the legacy of conquest, the absurdity of empire, and the life-altering reverberations of the American myth. A rollicking, heartfelt, and profoundly edifying epic.”―Francisco Cantú, author of The Line Becomes a River

“Surprising, uplifting, and tragic, at once a history of the Filipino immigrant experience in the United States and a deeply personal family memoir full of hope and loss. What a perfect book.”―Scaachi Koul, author of One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter

Publicity Contact
Glory Anne Plata
Assistant Director of Publicity, Riverhead Books
gplata@prh.com

NRNWNever Ran, Never Will:
Boyhood and Football in a Changing American Inner City 
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  • Winner of the New York Society Library’s 2018 Hornblower Award
  • Finalist for the 2019 PEN/ESPN Literary Sports Writing Award
  • One of the New York Public Library’s “20 Great Football Reads Even Non-Fans Will Love”
  • One of BuzzFeed’s “Best Books of Fall 2018” and “Best Nonfiction Books Of 2018”
  • One of Booklist’s “Top 10 Sports Nonfiction: 2018”
  • Audiobook named an AudioFile Magazine “Earphones Award” winner

Reviews

“Samaha brings empathy and scrutiny to his reporting. . . . There is much to enjoy and at the best moments to admire in this book.” ―New York Times Book Review

“What journalist H.G. Bissinger did for high school football in Friday Night Lights, Samaha does for a youth football league in the mostly black Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn. . . The final product is a joy for readers, an island of hope.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Outstanding. . . a great work of sports writing and sociology.” —NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour

“Samaha zooms into the pressing, complicated conversations around privilege, gentrification, and anti-blackness in America . . . That Samaha is able to give such an intimate view of this large cast of characters is a testament to his dogged reporting and his deep investment in their right to tell their stories. The result is a mesmerizing book that will make you feel like you’re right at the sidelines, breath held, rooting for the team.” —BuzzFeed Books (Best Books of Fall 2018, Best Nonfiction Books of 2018)

“Samaha takes readers by the hand and leads them on a visceral tour of a peril-filled world that, nevertheless, can also become a seeding ground for hope. An important book on many levels.”―Booklist (Starred Review; Top 10 Sports Nonfiction: 2018)

“Filled with as much heart and grit as the boys who run through its pages . . . Packed with smart social commentary, sobering facts and the fierce joy of the game, Never Ran, Never Will is a complicated yet hopeful story of football and community.” —Shelf Awareness (Starred Review)

“Samaha tackles the narration of his audiobook with the heart and soul of the youth football team he writes about.” —AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award winner)

“A more complex story than one might imagine, a human drama.” —Christian Science Monitor

“An inspiring tale . . . Unflinching.”  —Publishers Weekly

“Exceptional. . . Told with great intensity. . . Never Ran, Never Will belongs on the shelf next to Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here, Wojnarowski’s The Miracle of St. Anthony, and Coyle’s Hardball. This is an important book that poses real questions about what will fill the void if football and other sports disappear from inner cities.”  —Paul’s Picks

Endorsements

“Refreshing and raw, Never Ran, Never Will tracks the boys of Brownsville, Brooklyn as they age out of innocence and details the efforts of the devoted men and women laboring to guide them into adulthood. By the last page of Albert Samaha’s compelling debut, you don’t just want the boys of the Mo Better Jaguars to make it—you realize that we all need them to.”
―Wesley Lowery, Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post national correspondent and author of the New York Times bestselling They Can’t Kill Us All

“Never Ran, Never Will is the irresistible story of the Mo Better Jaguars, a football team of hard-luck boys in low-income Brownsville, Brooklyn. With dazzling prose, Albert Samaha’s big beautiful book about teamwork and ambition, growing up and breaking away, will touch you with its heart and grace.”
―Don Van Natta, Jr., ESPN senior writer, New York Times bestselling author, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize

“Albert Samaha writes with grit, grace and compassion about coming of age in a hard place. The young men of the Mo Better Jaguars—and their tireless coaches—face long odds on the field and in the streets. It’s impossible not to root for them, to marvel at their determination and heart, and to share in their dream of a better future.”
— Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century

“Good narrative nonfiction requires a kind of alchemy—thorough reporting and incisive writing are essential, but the most important ingredient is time. Albert Samaha’s years-long commitment to this tale of striving Brooklyn kids and their dedicated football coaches shines through on every page. The result is a rare gift: a story with genuine characters, real texture, and deep, sensitive insight.”
―Nate Blakeslee, author of American Wolf and Tulia