CEDAR FALLS -- The night before he died, Gary Moore's father told his son the most important story he would ever hear. The story was one of triumph, tragedy, and, most importantly, relationships -- and would eventually become "Playing with the Enemy."

Moore's father, Warren Eugene Moore -- known as Gene -- was discovered as a baseball phenom at the age of 15 by a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His incredible gift -- he could hit the ball farther than most everyone and was the best catcher anyone had seen -- took him to North Africa during World War II to play on a Navy team entertaining the troops. From there he went to Ruston, La., where he taught a group of German U-Boat prisoners how to play baseball. All along, he dreamed of a career in the major leagues.

Gary Moore almost didn't put the story down on paper.

"As I recounted the stories to friends over the years, they said, '‘That should be a book,'" said Gary Moore. "I almost didn't tell the story, because if my father didn't want to tell it, I didn't have the right to."

In 2002, as his mother was dying, she convinced Gary that her husband's story was one that should be told, that it was important the family know who Gene Moore really was.

Though his father gave him the basics, Gary Moore still had many holes to fill before the story could be a complete book. Because his father was never a public figure, Gary depended mostly on oral histories to complete the picture, which wasn't always sunny. Halfway through "Playing with the Enemy," an event changes the course of Gene Moore's life -- and the feel of the book.

"I enjoy the pureness of the first half, the fact that he was this baseball prodigy -- and I enjoy the humanness of the second half. You see him sort of become like anybody else, trying to move his life forward," said Gary Moore.

Theodore Savas of Savas Beatie publishers has been fascinated with the story of U-505, the German submarine that carried the soldiers that Gene Moore would eventually coach, since the age of 10. Originally contacted for his expertise in the area, Savas didn't think he would publish the book. Savas Beatie is known for its historical titles. But the unique nature of the book changed his mind.

"The story was something I had never heard," said Savas. "It's so moving and it's such a poignant story. It really transcends baseball and transcends history and transcends war. Anybody can take this story and read it."

At a book signing at the Waterloo Barnes & Noble in October -- Savas is a University of Northern Iowa grad and Gary Moore met his wife while teaching in Waterloo -- a woman approached the table clutching the book with tears in her eyes. When Savas asked her why the book was so important she said, "Because it's a book about relationships and healing."

John Skipper, an author of eight books on baseball and a writer for the Mason City Globe Gazette, wrote the introduction to "Playing with the Enemy" and had a hand in the editing process.

"In the end, the result when you put the book down is it's a memoir where a man is writing about his father, and that relationship kind of changes too," said Skipper, adding that every reader will find something to relate to in the book. "When any of us read a good book, I think it involves relationships we can relate to."

Though Gene Moore had passed away long before Gary Moore sat down to tell his father's story, their relationship evolved much like another one in the book -- between Gene Moore and his own father.

"I was incredibly impressed with his integrity," said Gary Moore of his dad. "He was broken to the point where his life could have been a mess. He was feeling sorry for himself, and he had a right to. But he tucked that in the back part of his mind and went on with his life -- he built a business and raised a family -- in a way I'm not sure that I could have."

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The story of "laying with the Enemy" doesn't stop with the publishing of the book, and the generations of Moores involved doesn't end with Gary. Before the book hit shelves, a movie deal was signed.

Gerald R. Molen, Hollywood producer of films including "Jurassic Park," "Twister" and "Schindler's List," fell in love with the story of Gene Moore and wanted to produce it. Starring as Gene Moore will be his real-life grandson Toby Moore, who appeared in the film "First Daughter" and on the television series "Law & Order: SVU" and "CSI Miami."

Publisher Theodore Savas and Gary Moore said their research has turned up no other time when a grandson played his grandfather in a movie.

"My father died when Toby was 5 years old, but my dad and Toby spent a lot of time together, and (Toby) remembers key moments," said Gary Moore.

The film "Playing with the Enemy" is tentatively slated for release in 2008. The book is available locally at Barnes & Noble Booksellers or can be purchased online at Amazon.com. For more information and updates on the film, or to purchase a signed copy of "Playing with the Enemy," visit www.playingwiththeenemy.com.