The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter

This solid chronological account of Jeter%E2%80%99s life begins with his parents%E2%80%99 biracial marriage and Jeter%E2%80%99s boyhood prediction that he would grow up to play for the Yankees, then follows him through a 15-year career that to date has included 11 All-Star selections and five World Series titles. O%E2%80%99Connor (Arnie & Jack) nicely details Jeter%E2%80%99s high and lows, with his in-depth accounts of the 1992 draft, in which the senior from Kalamazoo (Mich.) Central High School somehow went to the Yankees as a #5 pick. He then recounts Jeter%E2%80%99s on-field and off-field struggles during his first minor league season, giving readers a rare glimpse of the superstar at his most anxious and vulnerable. While O%E2%80%99Connor doesn%E2%80%99t shy away from charting Jeter%E2%80%99s various romances, exploring his feud with Alex Rodriguez, or documenting the shortstop%E2%80%99s inability to forgive even the smallest slight, there isn%E2%80%99t much new information or controversy, so those looking for the inner-torment of Joe DiMaggio, the braggadocio of Ted Williams, the social activism of Hank Aaron, or the controversy of Jose Canseco are out of luck. Still, O%E2%80%99Connor peppers the bio with enough hidden gems about the notoriously private ballplayer to make this the most thorough and intriguing work on Jeter so far. And O%E2%80%99Connor%E2%80%99s ability to reconcile Jeter the man with Jeter the ballplayer means that even Red Sox fans may enjoy this bio. (May)