The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams

Historian Lazarus (Best of Rivals) provides an affable account of the war-forged friendship between Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams and astronaut-turned-politician John Glenn. As a marine fighter pilot, Williams became acquainted with veteran flying ace Glenn during the Korean War. Cheerful Glenn was initially wary of the quarrelsome, brooding Williams, but the pair developed a tight bond built around a near-death experience: In early 1953, Williams sustained anti-aircraft fire on a mission, and Glenn escorted Williams to safety before he crash-landed the plane. After the war, Glenn served as a test pilot (unexpectedly becoming a bigger celebrity than Williams when he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight over the U.S. in 1957); an astronaut (he was the first American to orbit Earth); and a U.S. senator from Ohio. Williams returned to Major League Baseball after the war, and retired in 1960 to serve as a manager and coach for several major league teams over the next two decades. For the rest of their lives, the pair maintained a strong bond. Before Glenn went back to space in 1998 (becoming the oldest person to do so), he visited Williams at his Florida home for encouragement before the journey, and despite being 80 years old and in fragile health, Williams ventured to Cape Canaveral to watch the launch. Drawing on interviews and archival research, Lazarus narrates his story in an easy and accessible style. It adds up to a touching and highly readable story of male friendship. (Aug.)