Jump: My Secret Journey from the Street to the Boardroom

A Black man imprisoned for murder and other crimes has a spectacular second act as a business executive in this nervy saga of redemption. Miller—former president of the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise and founder of Nike’s Jordan brand—was a 16-year-old Philadelphia gang member in 1965 when he shot to death a randomly chosen, unarmed teenage boy in response to a previous gang killing. After a stint in juvenile prison, he spent his 20s selling drugs before being incarcerated for armed robbery. Miller recounts how, after getting out, he turned his life around, got an accounting degree, climbed the corporate ladder at Campbell Soup and Kraft, and did business with Michael Jordan—all the while fearing his secret criminal past might be exposed, an anxiety that gave him nightmares and migraines. Punchily coauthored by his daughter Lacy, Miller’s gritty picaresque (“I was going to walk in the door, shoot Billy in the leg, and then put the gun to his head and tell him to convince me not to kill him”) grows more sedate when he enters the boardroom and starts selling swimwear, but his street persona—brash, ruthless, determined to show no weakness—remains palpable beneath the corporate exterior. The result yields something striking and rare: an immensely gripping business memoir. Agent: David Larabell, CAA. (Jan.)