In entertainment, publishers will release some heavy hitters across the board this spring. There are music memoirs with sizeable print runs from Alanis Morissette, Bobby Brown, and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels. In sports, baseball and NASCAR are in season with books on the Earnheart family and on Lenny Dykstra.
Entertainment & Sports Top 10
Breaking: Surfing After Andy Irons
Brad Melekian. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, July 5
Melekian explores what happened when an oddball, esoteric pursuit pioneered in the early 2000s by a cluster of outcasts morphed into a fully formed sport.
Earnhardt Nation: The Full-Throttle Saga of NASCAR’s First Family
Jay Busbee. Harper, Feb. 16
Busbee goes deep into the fast-paced world of NASCAR in the story of the car-racing family dynasty and the business that made them rich and famous—and nearly tore them apart.
Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. Grand Central, Apr. 12
Tony Award–winning composer-lyricist Miranda gives readers a backstage pass to his hit musical Hamilton, with behind-the-scenes photos that evoke the spirit of the musical.
Lennyball: A Memoir of Life on the Edge
Lenny Dykstra, with Peter Golenbock. Morrow, July 12
Dykstra tells all with his stories of a successful baseball career, his lucrative businesses, and his two years in prison for bankruptcy fraud in this epic tale of winning big and losing it all.
My Prerogative
Bobby Brown. Morrow/Dey Street, June 14
The controversial and polarizing bad boy of R&B tells the unvarnished story of his life, from his time in New Edition to his marriage to Whitney Houston and beyond.
Paul McCartney: The Life
Philip Norman. Little, Brown, May 3
Paul McCartney’s story is told by the author of John Lennon: The Life, with McCartney’s consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before.
Perpetual Becoming
Alanis Morissette. HarperOne, Feb. 23
Morissette shares her journey from Canadian pop star to Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, to spiritual teacher.
Players: The Story of Sports and Money, and the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution
Matthew Futterman. Simon & Schuster, Apr. 26
Futterman chronicles the business story behind modern sports and the revolution that moved athletes from the bottom of the financial pyramid to the top.
Ten Ways Not to Commit Suicide: A Memoir
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels. Amistad, June 14
In this memoir, rap star DMC speaks openly about the emotional and psychological struggles that led him to consider suicide, offering information and insight he hopes can help save other lives.
Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century
Simon Reynolds. Morrow/Dey Street, June 28
Critic Reynolds takes the reader on a wild cultural tour through the early ’70s, offering a look at the glam and glitter phenomenon, placing it in the context of social upheaval and political disillusion, and tracing its continued reverberations through pop culture.
Entertainment Listings
Amistad
Ten Ways Not to Commit Suicide: A Memoir by Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (June 14, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-236877-5). In this memoir, legendary rap star DMC speaks openly about his emotional and psychological struggles and addresses the many reasons that led him—and thousands of others—to consider suicide. Revealing how even the most successful people can suffer from depression, DMC offers inspiration for everyone in pain—information and insight that he hopes can help save other lives. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Backbeat
Confessions of a Serial Songwriter by Shelly Peiken (Mar. 1, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-4950-4925-5). The songwriter’s memoir tells of the highs and the lows of the creative process, the challenge of staying relevant in a rapidly changing industry, the conflicts that arise between motherhood and career success, the divas and schemers, but also the talented and remarkable people she’s found along the way.
Basic
How to Listen to Jazz by Ted Gioia (May 17, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-0-465-06089-4), an acclaimed music scholar, presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz
Chicago Review
Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac: Interviews and Encounters by Sean Egan (June 1, hardcover, $28.99, ISBN 978-1-61373-234-2). In this collection of interviews across Fleetwood Mac’s entire career, readers will learn the story from the band members’ own mouths, and experience it contemporaneously rather than through hindsight.
Crown Archetype
Kanye West Owes Me $300: And Other True Stories from a White Rapper Who Almost Made It Big by Jensen Karp (June 7, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-553-44815-3) tells the true story of Karp’s close brush to fame as “Hot Karl,” the Jewish rapper you’ve never heard of. Featured is his record-breaking rap battling streak on the popular radio show Roll Call, his rise in the L.A. club scene, and the performers he recorded with, including soon-to-be household names Kanye West and Will.i.am.
Da Capo
Juggalo: Insane Clown Posse and the World They Made by Steve Miller (June 28, trade paper, $17.99, ISBN 978-0-306-82377-0) explores the lives of those who follow the roster of Psychopathic Records like a religion, as well as their horrorcore hip-hop leaders, Insane Clown Posse, which extols the virtues of crime and violence. Miller hangs out with their fans, called Juggalos, not only at concerts but at work and during family time, writing a definitive examination of this large and diverse cast of colorful characters. 20,000-copy announced first printing.
Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, the Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock by Barney Hoskyns (Mar. 8, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-306-82320-6). A sociocultural-musical history of the upstate New York locale of Woodstock, not the site of the legendary music festival of 1969 but the bucolic artists’ enclave. Hoskyns tells Woodstock’s musical story from its earliest days as a bohemian arts colony to its continuing life as a cultural satellite of New York. 25,000-copy announced first printing.
Ecco/Anthony Bourdain
Adios, Motherfucker: A Gentleman’s Progress Through Rock and Roll by Michael Ruffino (Feb. 2, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-0-06-222896-3). Unband bassist Michael Ruffino takes us on a journey to meet mute Christian groupies, crack-smoking Girl Scouts, beer-drinking chimps, and thousands of head bangers who cannot accept that hair metal is dead. Here, too, are uncensored portraits of Ronnie James Dio, Anthrax, Sebastian Bach, Lemmy of Motorhead, and others. 20,000-copy announced first printing.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty by Ben Ratliff (Feb. 9, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-374-27790-1). Veteran New York Times music critic Ratliff reimagines the very idea of music appreciation for our times. Encompassing the sounds of five continents and several centuries, Ratliff’s book is a field guide to our musical habitat, and a foundation for the new aesthetics our age demands.
FSG/Crichton
The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built by Jack Viertel (Feb. 2, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-374-25692-0) gives an insider’s look at the anatomy of the Broadway musical. Viertel draws on a range of examples—from Carousel to Wicked, The Music Man to The Book of Mormon—and personal encounters to paint a picture of how Broadway musicals are made, taking readers through all the phases of a typical musical theater story, from opening numbers to finales.
Flatiron
Master of Ceremonies: A Memoir by Joel Grey (Feb. 16, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-250-05723-5). The Broadway star and Academy Award–winner tells the story of a life lived both in and out of the spotlight. A show business tell-all, and a portrait of a changing time and nation, the book is an insider look from a living legend.
Grand Central
Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter (Apr. 12, hardcover, $40, ISBN 978-1-4555-3974-1). The Tony Award–winning composer-lyricist-star offers a backstage pass to his groundbreaking hit musical Hamilton, with behind-the-scenes photos that evoke the spirit of the musical, giving readers the same mix of history, personality, and inspiration that Miranda has achieved on stage. 100,000-copy announced first printing.
Harper
Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep by Michael Schulman (May 17, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-234284-3). New Yorker contributor Schulman brings into focus Streep’s heady rise to stardom, revealing a gifted young woman coming into her extraordinary talents at a time of immense transformation, offering a rare glimpse into the life of the actress long before she became famous. 50,000-copy announced first printing.
HarperOne
Perpetual Becoming by Alanis Morissette (Feb. 23, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-06-231395-9). The Grammy Award–winning singer and songwriter shares her journey from Canadian pop star to international music legend and spiritual teacher, with a contemplation-meets-revelation on love, fame, celebrity, trauma, addiction, and recovery, and the joy of creating and honoring your own true self. 200,000-copy announced first printing.
Library of America
Virgil Thomson: The State of Music & Other Writings by Virgil Thomson, edited by Tim Page (Mar. 29, hardcover, $45, ISBN 978-1-59853-467-2). Following on the critically acclaimed 2014 edition of Virgil Thomson’s collected newspaper music criticism, the Library of America and Pulitzer Prize–winning music critic Page present Thomson’s major literary and critical works, a body of writing that constitutes America’s musical declaration of independence from the European past.
Little, Brown
Paul McCartney: The Life by Philip Norman (May 3, hardcover, $32, ISBN 978-0-316-32796-1) tells McCartney’s story, with the singer’s consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before. Norman reveals formative experiences, including McCartney’s mother’s death, his father introducing him to music, his troubled partnership with John Lennon, his trauma at the Beatles’ breakup, and the struggle to get back to the top with Wings. 150,000-copy announced first printing.
Why You Love Music: From Mozart to Metallica—the Emotional Power of Beautiful Sounds by John Powell (June 14, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-316-26065-7). Scientist and musician Powell explores the fascinating science of music. Chapters on music and our emotions, music as medicine, music and intelligence, and much more provide a study of how our brains respond to the joys of music. 40,000-copy announced first printing.
Morrow
Your Song Changed My Life: From Jimmy Page to St. Vincent, Smokey Robinson to Hozier, Thirty-Five Beloved Artists on Their Journey and the Music That Inspired It by Bob Boilen (Apr. 12, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-06-234444-1). The host and creator of NPR’s All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts presents an essential oral history of modern music, told in the voices of famous and up-and-coming musicians, including Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Michael Stipe, Carrie Brown, all answering the question: “is there an unforgettable song that changed your life?” 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Morrow/Dey Street
My Prerogative by Bobby Brown (June 14, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-244256-7). The controversial and polarizing bad boy of R&B tells the story of his life, from the band New Edition to his married life with Whitney Houston and beyond, sharing his life of passion and excess, and his creative inspirations and musical success. 250,000-copy announced first printing.
Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-first Century by Simon Reynolds (June 28, trade paper, $15.99, ISBN 978-0-060227980-4) takes the reader on a cultural tour through the early ’70s. Reynolds features a fresh, in-depth look at the glam and glitter phenomenon, placing it in the wider context of social upheaval and political disillusion, and how it continues to reverberate through contemporary pop culture. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
New Press
The Humorless Ladies of Border Control: Touring the Punk Underground from Belgrade to Ulaanbaatar by Franz Nicolay (May 17, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-1-62097-179-6). Musician Nicolay spent five years crossing the world with a guitar in one hand, a banjo in the other, and an accordion on his back, playing the anarcho-leftist squats and DIY spaces of the punk rock diaspora, exploring the past and future of punk rock culture in the post-Communist world.
Penguin
Porcelain: A Memoir by Moby (May 24, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-59420-642-9). One of the most interesting musicians of our time, the deejay Moby, offers an account of the path from suburban poverty and alienation to a life of beauty, squalor, and unlikely success out of the New York club scene of the late ’80s and ’90s.
Phaidon
Nicole Kidman: Anatomy of an Actor by Alexandre Tylski (Mar. 7, hardcover, $45, ISBN 978-0-7148-6803-5) is a comprehensive study of Kidman’s work through 10 of her most celebrated roles. Each role gets its own chapter, identifying the key elements that made the performances exceptional and carefully examining the actor’s craft, for both a professional audience and movie fans alike.
Plume
Old Records Never Die: One Man’s Quest for His Vinyl and His Past by Eric Spitznagel (Apr. 12, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-0-14-218161-4). Journalist Spitznagel embarks on a quest to find the exact vinyl records from his past, reminiscing about the physical records, the music, and the people he listened with. Exploring the magic of music and memory, he interweaves his adventures in record culture with questions about our connection to our past and whether we can ever recapture it.
Random/Spiegel & Grau
Kill ’Em and Leave: Searching for the Real James Brown by James McBride (Apr. 5, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-8129-9350-9). The National Book Award winner goes in search of the “real” James Brown—and his surprising journey illuminates not only our understanding of the Godfather of Soul but the ways in which our cultural heritage has been shaped by Brown’s legacy.
Rowman & Littlefield
The Essential Humphrey Bogart by Constantine Santas (Mar. 16, hardcover, $38, ISBN 978-1-4422-6093-1) looks at the most important films of this Hollywood legend’s career.
Running Press
Audrey and Givenchy: A Fashion Love Affair by Cindy De La Hoz (Apr. 12, hardcover, $18, ISBN 978-0-7624-6017-5) showcases the most influential team of star and designer in fashion history, Audrey Hepburn and French designer Hubert de Givenchy. Included is a celebration of their work both on-screen and off, featuring fashion profiles of Hepburn’s classic movies and off-screen fashion hits for awards shows and events. 30,000-copy announced first printing.
S&S/Touchstone
American Epic: When Music Gave America Her Voice by Elijah Wald and Bernard McMahon (Feb. 16, hardcover, $29.99, ISBN 978-1-5011-3560-6) is the companion book to the PBS and BBC documentary series celebrating the pioneers and artists of American roots music—blues, gospel, folk, Cajun, Appalachian, Hawaiian, Native American—an extraordinary testament to our country’s musical roots, the transformation of our culture, and the artists who gave us modern popular music.
St. Martin’s/Dunne
Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner, with David Fisher (Feb. 2, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-250-08331-9). Shatner tells the story of Leonard Nimoy, a man who was his friend for more than 50 years, as he recounts anecdotes and untold stories of their lives on and off the set of Star Trek, as well as including stories from Nimoy’s close friends and family to present a full picture of a rich life.
Taylor Trade
Toni Tennille: A Memoir by Toni Tennille, with Caroline Tennille St. Clair (Apr. 1, hardcover, $21.95, ISBN 978-1-63076-174-5) is an account of Toni Tennille’s life, from her childhood in the segregated South and her rise to fame in the world of pop music with the duo Captain and Tennille to where she is now: no longer one-half of a famed couple, but a stronger woman for all she has experienced—both the good and the bad.
Univ. of California
Better Git It in Your Soul: An Interpretive Biography of Charles Mingus by Krin Gabbard (Feb. 8, hardcover, $34.95, ISBN 978-0-520-26037-5) takes a careful look at Charles Mingus as a writer as well as a composer and musician. Gabbard digs into why Mingus chose to do so much self-analysis, how he worked to craft his racial identity in a world that saw him simply as “black,” and how health problems shaped his career.
Viking
Orson Welles, Vol. 3: One-Man Band by Simon Callow (Apr. 5, hardcover, $40, ISBN 978-0-670-02491-9) is the third volume of Callow’s acclaimed Orson Welles biography. IT covers the period of Welles’s exile from America (1947–1964), when he produced some of his greatest works, and is a comprehensive look into one of the most complex, contradictory artists of the 20th century.
Sports Listings
Artisan
On the Origins of Sports: The Early History and Original Rules of Everybody’s Favorite Games by Gary Belsky and Neil Fine (Apr. 19, hardcover, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-57965-684-3). An illustrated book built around the original rules of 21 of the world’s most popular sports, from football and soccer to wrestling and mixed martial arts. Each sport’s chapter includes a short history, the sport’s original rules, and a deeper look into one element of the sport.
Atlantic Monthly
I’d Know That Voice Anywhere: My Favorite NPR Commentaries by Frank Deford (May 3, hardcover, $24, ISBN 978-0-8021-2524-8). This compendium of sports commentator Deford’s witty and frank pieces covers more than 30 years of sports history while showcasing the vast range of Deford’s interests and opinions. Perfect for sports enthusiasts—as well as sports skeptics—and a must-read for any Frank Deford fan. 25,000-copy announced first printing.
Bloomsbury Sport
The Lost Boys: Inside Football’s Slave Trade by Ed Hawkins (May 10, hardcover, $27, ISBN 978-1-4729-1493-4) exposes the anatomy of soccer’s human-trafficking scandal—fake academies selling a vision of professional wealth to exploit poor South American and African kids—the extent of the abuse, and the ways in which it ruins lives and threatens the credibility of the sport. 10,000-copy announced first printing.
Burford
Fishing the Adirondacks: A Complete Angler’s Guide to the Adirondack Park and Northern New York by Spider Rybaak (June 7, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-58080-180-5).
A detailed where-to and how-to guide to the spectacular angling paradise of the Adirondack Park covers well over 200 specific locations. Included is authoritative guidance on where to fish, what will be biting and when, and techniques and strategies to put fish on the line.
Crown Archetype
This Is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon by L. Jon Wertheim and Sam Sommers (Feb. 2, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-553-44740-8). Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers inside the behavioral science and psychology of athletics and professional sports, from athletes on the field to the coaches who train and motivate them, revealing the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and sometimes derail athletes.
Da Capo
Chasing Perfection: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the High-Stakes Game of Creating an NBA Champion by Andy Glockner (Mar. 8, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-306-82402-9) spans the entire amateur and pro basketball landscape using the 2014–2015 NBA season as a window into a much larger story. Glockner offers an all-access pass into the inner workings of the smartest minds in the game whose main goals are to build a winning team. 20,000-copy announced first printing.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Breaking: Surfing After Andy Irons by Brad Melekian (July 5, hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-374-29872-2) explores what happened when an oddball, esoteric pursuit pioneered in the mainland U.S. by a cluster of outcasts morphed into a fully formed sport, with the rise of Kelly Slater and in the wake of the tragic death of rival Andy Irons.
Flatiron
Rise and Fire: The Origins, Science, and Evolution of the Jump Shot—and How It Transformed Basketball Forever by Shawn Fury (Feb. 23, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-250-06216-1). In a work part history, part travelogue, and part memoir, award-winning journalist Fury praises the jump shot, puzzles over its complexities, and marvels over its simplicity. He traces how the jump shot changed basketball history, with interviews and profiles of legendary figures like Jerry West, Bob McAdoo, Ray Allen, and dozens more.
Globe Pequot/Lyons
DiMag & Mick: Sibling Rivals, Yankee Blood Brothers by Tony Castro (Mar. 15, hardcover, $24.95, ISBN 978-1-63076-124-0) examines the heart and soul of the Yankees’ glory days, especially the bond among the players themselves and how that came to breed and spread the perception that there was animosity between DiMaggio and Mantle.
Harper
Earnhardt Nation: The Full-Throttle Saga of NASCAR’s First Family by Jay Busbee (Feb. 16, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-236771-6). The story of the car-racing family dynasty and the business that made them rich and famous—and nearly tore them apart. Covering all the white-knuckle races, including the final lap at the Daytona 500 that claimed the life of the Intimidator, Busbee goes deep into the fast-paced world of NASCAR, its royal family’s obsession with speed, and its struggle with celebrity. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
HarperOne
Different by Colin Kaepernick (June 14, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-06-245807-0) is an inspirational, faith-filled memoir by the 49ers quarterback, who shares his extraordinary life including his adoption as a baby, losing the Super Bowl with a last throw, his tattoos, and his Christian faith. 110,000-copy announced first printing.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf by Kevin Robbins (Apr. 5, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-544-14849-9). The first biography of the famed golf coach who caddied for Francis Ouimet, played with Ben Hogan, competed against Bobby Jones, shaped Ben Crenshaw, and distilled his golf wisdom into the Little Red Book, granting simplicity to a vexing yet popular sport. The book part elegy to golf’s greatest teacher, part inquiry into his simple teachings, part history of golf over the past century. 25,000-copy announced first printing.
Morrow
Lennyball: A Memoir of Life on the Edge by Lenny Dykstra and Peter Golenbock (July 12, hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-06-240736-8) tells all with stories of Dykstra’s successful baseball career, his lucrative businesses, and his two years served in prison for bankruptcy fraud. An epic tale of winning big and losing it all, this is the eagerly anticipated firsthand account of a most remarkable American life. 150.000-copy announced first printing.
Morrow/Dey Street
18 Holes with Bing by Nathaniel Crosby and John Strege (May 3, hardcover, $22.99, ISBN 978-0-06-241428-1). In this love letter to his father, former professional golfer Nathaniel Crosby shares memories of singer Bing Crosby on the golf course, and the lessons Bing taught him about the game and about life. Full of anecdotes, vignettes, and recollections of Bing’s time on the course and the constant encouragement he showed his son. 75,000-copy announced first printing.
Norton
The Games: A Global History of the Olympics by David Goldblatt (July 5, hardcover, $29.95, ISBN 978-0-393-29277-0). Sportswriter Goldblatt delivers a magisterial history of the Olympics, relating the epic story of the Games from their recreation in Athens in 1896 to the present day, and chronicling classic moments of sporting achievement as well as the Games’ significance in international conflicts.
Penguin/Portfolio
Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA by Joe Nocera and Ben Strauss (Feb. 16, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-1-59184-632-1) offers an analysis of what’s really wrong with the NCAA and the legal push to bring down this morally corrupt and hypocritical organization. Included is the story of how a small band of renegades, working sometimes in concert and sometimes alone, took on the NCAA, nearly bringing it to its knees, and exposing its hypocrisy to a new wave of challengers.
Picador
Soccer Without Borders: Jürgen Klinsmann, Coaching the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team, and the Quest for the World Cup by Erik Kirschbaum and Jürgen Klinsmann (June 7, hardcover, $25, ISBN 978-1-250-09831-3). Journalist Kirschbaum lays out head coach Klinsmann’s vision for making the U.S. men’s soccer team a dominant world power.
Simon & Schuster
Players: The Story of Sports and Money, and the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution by Matthew Futterman (Apr. 26, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-4767-1695-4) chronicles the business story behind modern sports—a true revolution that moved athletes from the bottom of the financial pyramid to the top. Futterman tells the story of athletes, agents, TV executives, coaches, and owners who together created the dominating and multifaceted industry we know today.
S&S/Howard
Leap of Faith: My Journey to Become the Fastest American on Two Blades by Blake Leeper, with Travis Thrasher and Blair Underwood, foreword by Bo Jackson (June 14, hardcover, $25, ISBN 978-1-5011-3727-3) is the true story of Blake Leeper—born without legs and told by doctors he would never walk—and his amazing journey to becoming the first disabled American athlete to compete on the U.S. Olympic Team. He opens up about the difficulties he faced, the constant support of his parents, and his unwavering faith that sustained him through it all.
Skyhorse
Golfing with Dad: The Game’s Greatest Players Reflect on Their Fathers and the Game They Love by David Barrett (Apr. 5, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-63450-295-5) collects golf’s best players’ favorite memories with their fathers and how those memories shaped them not only as players but as the men and women they are today. 12,000-copy announced first printing.
Skyhorse/Sports
Fall from Grace: The Truth and Tragedy of Shoeless Joe Jackson by Tim Hornbaker (May 3, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-61321-913-3) breaks down the rise and fall of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, from mill boy to well-known baseball player, giving an inside look into baseball’s deadball era, including, for the first time, Jackson’s personal view of the “Black Sox” scandal.
St. Martin’s/Dunne
The Selling of the Babe: The Deal That Changed Baseball and Created a Legend by Glenn Stout (Mar. 8, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-250-06431-8). Award-winning baseball historian Stout reveals new information about Babe and the unique political situation and ramifications surrounding his sale to New York. That sale, and the subsequent selling of Ruth to America, led baseball out of the deadball era and sparked a new stage in the game.
Triumph
Rod Laver: A Memoir by Rod Laver (Apr. 1, hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-1-62937-201-3) is the inspiring story of how a diminutive, left-handed, red-headed country boy from Rockhampton, Australia, became one of tennis’s greatest champions. A look at his path to stardom is filled with anecdotes about the great players and matches, set against the backdrop of a tennis world changing from strict amateurism to the professional game we recognize today.