Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are among the headline grabbers telling their own stories, while a clutch of forthcoming titles delve into various medical and personal issues plaguing professional athletes.
Ali
Jonathan Eig. HMH, Oct.
The author, whose 2005 Lou Gehrig bio Luckiest Man has sold 101,000 print copies, per NPD BookScan, here profiles the boxer known as the Greatest.
Coach Wooden and Me
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Grand Central, May.
Hoops legend Abdul-Jabbar discusses his nearly 50-year friendship with John Wooden, his basketball coach at UCLA.
God and Starbucks
Vin Baker. Amistad, July.
A former NBA All-Star recounts his recovery after alcoholism obliterated his career.
Hugh Casey
Lyle Spatz. Rowman & Littlefield, Apr.
Baseball researcher Spatz profiles the Brooklyn Dodger who he says helped redefine the role of the relief pitcher. He also delves into the athlete’s troubled life, which ended with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
My Cubs
Scott Simon. Blue Rider, Apr.
The longtime NPR host and diehard Chicago Cubs fan offers an ode to the newly minted World Series champs.
The 1997 Masters
Tiger Woods, with Lorne Rubinstein. Grand Central, Mar.
The usually tight-lipped golfer talks about his first, life-changing major win.
The Phenomenon
Rick Ankiel and Tim Brown. Public Affairs, Apr.
Ankiel, formerly a St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, recalls the crippling anxiety that killed his ability to do the one thing he excelled at—throw a baseball.
Playing Hurt
John Saunders. Da Capo, Aug.
Beloved ESPN broadcaster Saunders, who died in August 2016, chronicles his lengthy battle with depression.
Sharapova
Maria Sharapova. FSG/Crichton, Sept.
The Siberian-born former #1 tennis player opens up about her doping-related suspension and forthcoming return to the game.
Truth Doesn’t Have a Side
Bennet Omalu, with Mark Tabb. Zondervan, Aug.
Omalu, whose 2002 autopsy of former Pittsburgh Steelers player Mike Webster opened up the discussion of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy, caused by repeated blows to the head) in the NFL, details the path to his medical discovery.
Unscripted
Ernie Johnson Jr. Baker, Apr.
The host of TNT’s Inside the NBA (with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal) discusses life on and off camera, including raising six children with his wife, Cheryl, and his battle with cancer.