Fall books on music look at innovators in various traditions, including soul, early New Wave, and the Great American Songbook. In film, a classic director of the 1960s gets his due. In sports, American football (college and pro) gets the spotlight.
Entertainment & Sports Top 10
Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story
J. Randy Taraborrelli. Grand Central, Oct. 27
The first comprehensive biography about America’s favorite living pop star, Beyoncé.
Billion-Dollar Ball: A Journey Through the Big-Money Culture of College Football
Gilbert M. Gaul. Viking, Aug. 25
An account of how college football has come to dominate some of the most prestigious universities, reframing campus values and transforming athletic departments into rich entertainment factories.
The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City
Luther Campbell, with Tanner Colby. Amistad, Aug. 4
Rap artist and music entrepreneur Campbell invented Southern hip-hop, saved the First Amendment, and became a role model for his disenfranchised Miami neighborhood.
But Enough About Me
Burt Reynolds with Jon Winokur. Putnam, Nov. 17
A scandalous, sentimental, no-holds-barred memoir from one of Hollywood’s most enduring and resilient stars.
Find a Way: One Wild and Precious Life
Diana Nyad. Knopf, Oct. 20
Nyad will inspire with this account of her record-breaking swim from Cuba to Florida at age 64—and of her quest to live life at the highest level, in and out of the water.
Gilliamesque: My Pre-posthumous Memoir
Terry Gilliam. Harper Design, Oct. 20
The screenwriter, innovative animator, visionary film director, and only non-British member of Monty Python provides an intimate glimpse into his world, with hand-drawn sketches.
NFL Confidential: True Confessions from the Bowels of Football
Johnny Anonymous. Morrow/Dey Street, Dec.
A pseudonymous trip through the 2013–2014 football season by a current NFL player.
Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll
Peter Guralnick. Little, Brown, Nov. 10
The author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biography Last Train to Memphis explores the life of Sam Phillips, the genius behind Sun Records.
Sinatra: The Chairman
James Kaplan. Doubleday, Oct. 27
Just in time for the Chairman’s centennial comes a sequel to Kaplan’s bestselling Frank: The Voice, picking up the story the day after Frank claimed his Academy Award in 1954.
Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink
Elvis Costello. Penguin/Blue Rider, Oct. 13
An unconventional but indelible memoir by one of the music world’s greatest and most influential songwriters and performers.
Entertainment Listings
Abrams
Sinatra: The Photographs by Andrew Howick (Oct. 27, hardcover, $50, ISBN 978-1-4197-1792-5). Featured is the best work by a group of photographers who helped shape the public image of Sinatra, accompanied by illuminating commentary on Sinatra by the people who knew him best during his years in the Rat Pack and Las Vegas, socializing with Jack Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe, and making music with Nelson Riddle, Count Basie, and Quincy Jones.
Agate Bolden
(dist. by PGW)
Strayhorn: An Illustrated Life, edited by Alyce Claerbaut and David Schlesinger (Nov. 10, hardcover, $35, ISBN 978-1-932841-98-5). A collection of essays, photos, and ephemera celebrate Billy Strayhorn, one of the most significant yet underappreciated contributors to 20th-century American music. Released in commemoration of Strayhorn’s centennial, it shares details of his life from musicians, scholars, and more.
Amazon/New Harvest
David Lynch: The Man from Another Place by Dennis Lim (Nov. 3, hardcover, $20, ISBN 978-0-544-34375-7). This remarkably smart and concise book proposes several lenses through which to view master filmmaker Lynch and his work, not seeking to decode his art or annotate his life so much as to offer complementary ways of seeing and understanding one of the most distinctive bodies of work in modern cinema.
Amistad
The Book of Luke: My Fight for Truth, Justice, and Liberty City by Luther Campbell and Tanner Colby (Aug. 4, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-06-233640-8). A rap artist, wealthy musical entrepreneur, high school coach, and involved, active citizen—Campbell and his life reflect modern America. His is the story of how one man invented Southern hip-hop, saved the First Amendment, and became a role model for his disenfranchised Miami neighborhood.
Atria
Adrenalized: Life, Def Leppard, and Beyond by Phil Collen, with Chris Epting (Oct. 27, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-4767-5165-8). A revelatory and redemptive memoir from Def Leppard’s lead guitarist chronicles the band’s underdog tale of ordinary working-class lads who rose to megastardom, overcoming such obstacles as drummer Rick Allen losing an arm in a car crash and the tragic death of guitarist Steve Clark.
Black Dog & Leventhal
Bob Dylan: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track by Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon (Oct. 27, hardcover, $50, ISBN 978-1-57912-985-9). Focusing on Dylan’s creative process and his organic, unencumbered style of recording, this is the most comprehensive account of Dylan’s work, with the full story of every recording session, every album, and all 525 songs he has released during his remarkable and illustrious 53-year career to date.
Chicago Review
Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of the Doors by Mick Wall (Sept. 1, hardcover, $28.95, ISBN 978-1-61373-408-7). Spanning the entire history of the band, from the birth of its members to the deaths of those who are gone, bestselling rock journalist Wall captures the true spirit of the band’s period, including interviews with all surviving band members, and reveals the true story behind Jim Morrison’s death and the band’s evolution.
Crown Archetype
What Happened, Miss Simone?: The Nina Simone Diaries by Alan Light (Nov. 17, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-101-90487-9). Music journalist and former Spin and Vibe editor-in-chief Light provides a biography of the incandescent soul singer and activist, Nina Simone, drawn from a trove of rare archival materials, including Simone’s remarkable private diaries, published after Radical Media’s much buzzed-about documentary of the same name, scheduled for June release.
Da Capo
Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements, the Last Rock ’n’ Roll Band by Bob Mehr (Dec. 8, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-306-81879-0). With full participation from the reclusive singer and chief songwriter Paul Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson, guitarist Slim Dunlap, and the family of the late band cofounder Bob Stinson, Mehr tells the real story of the Replacements, capturing their chaotic, tragic journey from the basements of Minneapolis to rock legend.
Doubleday
Reckless: A Memoir by Chrissie Hynde (Sept. 8, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-0-385-54061-2). The Pretenders’ Hynde offers a no-holds-barred memoir of her life in rock ’n’ roll.
Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan (Oct. 27, hardcover, $35, ISBN 978-0-385-53539-7). Just in time for Sinatra’s centennial comes the sequel to Kaplan’s bestselling Frank: The Voice.
Dutton
Wildflower by Drew Barrymore (Oct. 27, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-101-98379-9). Award-winning actress Barrymore shares stories from her past and present, including living on her own at 14, saying good-bye to her father in a way only he could have understood, and many more adventures and lessons that have led to the most important thing in her life: motherhood.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
What the Eye Hears: A History of Tap Dancing by Brian Seibert (Nov. 17, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-0-86547-953-1). This magisterial history shares the saga of African-Americans in show business wielding enormous influence as they grapple with the pain and pride of tap dancing’s complicated legacy. Seibert charts tap’s growth in vaudeville circuits and nightclubs, chronicles its spread to ubiquity on Broadway and in Hollywood, analyzes its post–WWII decline, and celebrates its reinvention.
Flatiron
I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies by Illeana Douglas (Nov. 3, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-05291-9). Award-winning actress Douglas submits a memoir about learning to survive in Hollywood while staying true to her quirky vision of the world in a testament to the power of art, the tenacity of passion, and the profound effect of how one movie can change our destiny.
Grand Central
Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story by J. Randy Taraborrelli (Oct. 27, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-4555-1672-8). The first comprehensive biography of America’s favorite living pop star, by New York Times bestselling biographer Taraborrelli.
Grove
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff (Nov. 3, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-8021-2398-5). Comedy historian Nesteroff presents a century of fascinating rebels, forgotten stars, and characters on the precipice of fame in this essential history of American comedy spanning more than a century, from vaudeville through radio, TV, the counterculture, and the comedy boom to the present.
Hachette
Movie Freak: My Life Watching Movies by Owen Gleiberman (Jan. 12, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-316-38296-0). Veteran film critic Gleiberman—best known for his 24 years at Entertainment Weekly—traces his life through an obsessive love of movies.
Harper
Had I Known: A Memoir of Survival by Joan Lunden (Sept. 22, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-240408-4). In this brave and deeply personal memoir, Joan Lunden—journalist, TV host, mother, and New York Times bestselling author—speaks candidly about her battle against breast cancer.
Sinatra’s Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and His World by David Lehman (Oct. 27, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-06-178006-6). The irresistible collection reflects on 100 facets of Frank Sinatra, his music, and his larger-than-life story, by a lifetime fan who also happens to a prominent poet.
Harper Design
Gilliamesque: My Pre-posthumous Memoir by Terry Gilliam (Oct. 20, hardcover, $40, ISBN 978-0-06-238074-6). The screenwriter, innovative animator, highly acclaimed visionary film director, and only non-British member of Monty Python offers an intimate glimpse into his world in this memoir illustrated with hand-drawn sketches, notes, and memorabilia from his personal archive.
HarperOne
Why I Still Carry a Guitar: My Spiritual Journey from Cat Stevens to Yusuf by Yusuf Islam (Oct. 20, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-06-240623-1). Wise and illuminating, as compelling and thoughtful as his finest songs, the famously reclusive singer and songwriter Cat Stevens shares the gripping and often moving story of his personal journey and delivers a powerful message of peace.
Holt
Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes (Nov. 10, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-0-8050-9968-3). Tom Petty, known for his reclusive style, has shared with rocker, writer, and friend Zanes his insights and arguments, his regrets and lasting ambitions, and the details of his life on and off the stage. The book is honest and evocative of Petty’s music and the remarkable rock and roll history he and his band helped to write.
Hal Leonard
You’ve Heard These Hands: From the Wall of Sound to the Wrecking Crew and Other Incredible Stories by Don Randi and Karen Nishimura (Sept. 15, paper, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-4950-0882-5). As a keyboard musician, composer, arranger, music director, and record producer, Randi has thrilled music lovers for years, even if they weren’t aware of his work. Now everyone can discover the in-studio, behind-the-scenes, and on-tour tales from the man whose hands we’ve heard playing our favorite hit tunes.
Little, Brown
Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll: How One Man Discovered Howlin’ Wolf, Ike Turner, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley, and How His Tiny Label, Sun Records of Memphis, Revolutionized the World! by Peter Guralnick (Nov. 10, hardcover, $32, ISBN 978-0-316-04274-1). The author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biography Last Train to Memphis brings us the life of Sam Phillips, the genius who created Sun Records.
Norton
The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook (Oct. 5, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-0-393-24192-1). Traveling from New York to Los Angeles, Stockholm to Korea, New Yorker staff writer Seabrook visits specialized teams composing songs in digital labs with novel techniques, and he traces the growth of these contagious hits from their origins in early ’90s Sweden to their ubiquity on today’s charts.
Penguin/Blue Rider
Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello (Oct. 13, hardcover, $28.95, ISBN 978-0-399-16725-6). The long-awaited, unconventional, indelible memoir by one of the music world’s greatest and most influential songwriters and performers.
Putnam
But Enough About Me by Burt Reynolds and Jon Winokur (Nov. 17, hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-0-399-17354-7) is a scandalous, sentimental, no-holds-barred memoir from one of Hollywood’s most enduring and resilient stars. Reynolds is a Hollywood leading man known for his legendary performances, sex-symbol status, and infamous Hollywood romances
Riverhead
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (Oct. 27, hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-1-59448-663-0). A leader of feminist punk music at the dawn of the riot grrrl era takes a candid look at life in rock and roll in a deeply personal and revealing narrative of her life in music, as ardent fan, pioneering female guitarist, comedic performer on TV’s Portlandia, and luminary in the independent rock world.
Running Press
Fellini: The Sixties by Manoah Bowman (Oct. 27, hardcover, $65, ISBN 978-0-7624-5838-7) collects hundreds of never-before-seen or -published photographs from all of Fellini’s films of the 1960s, his most representative decade, a time in which he made such classics as 8½, La Dolce Vita, Juliet of the Spirits, and Satyricon.
Scribner
MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson by Steve Knopper (Oct. 20, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-4767-3037-0). Rolling Stone contributing editor Knopper delves deeply into Michael Jackson’s music and talent, delivering a critical biography of the King of Pop. This panoramic, vivid, and incisive portrait explores and celebrates his influence in music, dance, and popular culture, drawing on 400 interviews.
St. Martin’s/Dunne
Frank & Ava: In Love and War by John Brady (Oct. 13, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-250-07091-3). The love story of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner has been told from one side or the other, it but has never been fully explored or explained—until now. Thoroughly researched and reported, this is not another storybook version of a Hollywood romance, but a compelling drama of love and emotional war that left two celebrities wounded for life.
Ten Speed
Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting by Eilon Paz (Sept. 15, hardcover, $50, ISBN 978-1-60774-869-4). This sumptuous coffee-table book is the culmination of photographer Eilon Paz’s six-year journey around the world, giving a glimpse into the vinyl collections of known and unknown deejays, producers, record dealers, and everyday enthusiasts, with photographic essays paired with interviews that delve into collectors’ personal histories and vinyl troves.
Sports Listings
Bloomsbury
Beast: Blood, Struggle, and Dreams at the Heart of Mixed Martial Arts by Doug Merlino (Oct. 13, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-62040-155-2). Following four high-level MMA fighters, Merlino bluntly examines the history, culture, business, and meaning of professional cage fighting.
Crown Archetype
Brady vs. Manning: The Untold Story of the Rivalry That Transformed the NFL by Gary Myers (Sept. 22, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-8041-3937-3). Veteran NFL reporter Myers offers the definitive book on the greatest football question of modern times: Who is better, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
Firefly
Toughest I Ever Faced: Hockey Hall of Fame Players Remember Their Greatest Rivals, Teammates and Heroes by Steve Milton; technical editor, Steve Cameron (Oct. 1, paper, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-77085-598-4). Milton interviews reveal surprising, never-before-heard answers from Hall of Famers about the sport, the teams, and their fellow players; supported with more than 150 photos.
Globe Pequot
Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA by Caron Butler and Steve Springer (Oct. 7, hardcover, $25.95, ISBN 978-1-4930-1142-1) shares Butler’s journey from the streets of Racine, Wis., to his career as an accomplished pro basketball player. The book explores the impact his single mother’s unconditional love and his college coach’s support had, and what drives him to be so successful in basketball and in life.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Junior Seau: The Life and Death of a Football Icon by Jim Trotter (Oct. 27, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-544-23617-2). Drawing on exclusive access to Seau’s family and Seau’s never-before-seen diaries and letters, veteran reporter Trotter goes beyond the statistics to paint a moving portrait of a larger-than-life star whose towering achievements in the game came at a great cost when he committed suicide in 2012 at age 43.
Knopf
The Last Season: A Father, a Son, and a Lifetime of College Football by Stuart Stevens (Sept. 15, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-0-385-35302-1). In this fresh and moving account, a 60-year-old son returns to his native South to spend a special autumn with his 95-year-old dad, sharing the joys, disappointments, and life lessons of Saturdays with their Ole Miss Rebels. A powerful story of parents and children and the importance of taking a backward glance together while you still can. 100,000-copy announced first printing.
Find a Way: One Wild and Precious Life by Diana Nyad (Oct. 20, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-0-385-35361-8) is the inspiring firsthand account of Nyad’s record-breaking swim, after four failed attempts, from Cuba to Florida, at the age of 64—and of her extraordinary quest to live life at the highest level, in and out of the water. 150,000-copy announced first printing.
Morrow
Hail to the Redskins: Gibbs, Riggins, the Hogs, and the Glory Days of D.C.’s Football Dynasty by Adam Lazarus (Sept. 1, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-237573-5). Based on more than 75 original interviews, veteran sportswriter Lazarus tells the inside story of the glory days of the famed Washington Redskins teams of the Joe Gibbs era—one of the most remarkable and unusual runs in NFL history.
Morrow/Dey Street
NFL Confidential: True Confessions from the Bowels of Football by Johnny Anonymous (Dec. 1, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-242241-5). A current pro player takes fans on a pseudonymous trip through one of the most infamous years of football—the very long, sometimes funny, often controversial 2013–2014 season—sharing stories from behind the scenes, on the field, and in the locker room.
National Geographic
Skate the World: Photographing One World of Skateboarding by Jonathan Mehring (Oct. 6, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-1-4262-1396-0). In this collection, award-winning photographer Mehring takes us to New York, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and beyond as he sets out to capture the heart and soul of skateboarding culture on six continents; featuring stars like Tony Hawk, Nyjah Huston, and Eric Koston.
Norton/Liveright
Approaching Ali: A Reclamation in Three Acts by Davis Miller (Nov. 23, hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-1-63149-115-3) gives us a series of extraordinary stories that coalesce to become a moving and timely introduction to the human side of a boxing legend and Miller’s unexpected friend, Muhammed Ali.
Oneworld
The Ghosts of K2: The Epic Saga of the First Ascent by Mick Conefrey (Nov. 10, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-78074-595-4). An acclaimed writer on mountaineering presents the exhilarating history of the first attempts to ascend K2, including new revelations about the controversial first summit using exclusive interviews and never-before-seen diaries and letters of explorers. A fast-paced read for lovers of adventure.
Penguin/Portfolio
For the Good of the Game: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA by Joe Nocera and Ben Strauss (Nov. 10, hardcover, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-59184-632-1). New York Times columnist and bestselling author Nocera offers a fresh analysis of what’s really wrong with the NCAA, and the legal push by a band of renegades, working sometimes in concert and sometimes alone, who took on the NCAA, nearly bringing it to its knees.
Quercus
No Limits: My Autobiography by Ian Poulter (Sept. 1, paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-1-78206-691-0). Professional golfer Poulter lays his life bare, from early days of working in a club shop through his rise to become one of the biggest names on the tour. Just as Poulter’s appearance came as a refreshing antidote to a staid and stuffy sport, so his own book is as forthright and passionate as he is.
Random House
Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas (Oct. 27, paper, $16, ISBN 978-0-8129-8926-7 The riveting, unlikely story of Bennet Omalu, the pathologist who made one of the most significant medical discoveries of the 21st century—a discovery that challenges the existence of America’s favorite sport, and puts him in the crosshairs of its most powerful corporation: the NFL; the movie tie-in edition.
Random/Spiegel & Grau
The Crowd Goes Wild: How to Love Sports Without Losing Your Soul by William C. Rhoden (Dec. 29, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-0-8129-9421-6). Award-winning New York Times sports columnist Rhoden walks fans through contemporary sports scandals and issues.
Rowman & Littlefield
Three-Week Professionals: Inside the 1987 NFL Players’ Strike by Ted Kluck (Aug. 16, hardcover, $32 ISBN 978-1442241541). Kluck tells narrates the year NFL players went on strike, demanding better pay and the right to seek free agency, and were replaced by semiprofessional players in what was one of the strangest weeks in the NFL history.
Simon & Schuster
Saban: The Making of a Coach by Monte Burke (Aug. 4, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-4767-8993-4). In the tradition of When Pride Still Mattered, Paterno, and Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life, here is the definitive biography of Nick Saban, the influential and controversial University of Alabama football coach who not only transformed college football but might be the best ever at winning.
S&S/Gallery
Raw: My 100% Grade-A, Unfiltered, Inside Look at Sports by Colin Cowherd (Oct. 13, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-5011-0519-7). In his unapologetically controversial voice, New York Times bestselling author and ESPN radio show host Cowherd gives an insider’s look into all things sports, including behind-the-scenes scandals, inter-team rivalries, and players’ lives on and off the field.
S&S/Touchstone
I Feel Like Going On: Life, Game, and Glory by Ray Lewis and Daniel Paisner (Oct. 27, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-5011-1235-5). In this searing memoir, Lewis—legendary Baltimore Ravens linebacker and one of the greatest defensive players of his generation—opens up about the state of football, as well as his troubled childhood.
Viking
Billion-Dollar Ball: A Journey Through the Big-Money Culture of College Football by Gilbert M. Gaul (Aug. 25, hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-0-670-01673-0). Gaul, a two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, offers an examination of how college football has come to dominate some of our best, most prestigious universities.
