Ted Williams was the best hitter in baseball history. His batting average of .406 in 1941 has not been topped since, and no player who has hit more than 500 home runs has a higher career batting average. Those totals would have been even higher if Williams had not left baseball to serve as a Marine pilot in WWII and Korea. He hit home runs farther than any player before him --- and traveled a long way himself, as Ben Bradlee, Jr.'s biography reveals.

BECOMING MR. OCTOBER is a revelatory self-portrait of baseball icon Reggie Jackson at the height of his public fame and private anguish. Filled with anecdotes about the notorious “Bronx Zoo” Yankees of the late 1970s and bluntly honest portrayals of his teammates and competitors, this is baseball history as can be told only by the man who lived it.

On the night JFK was assassinated, a photo ran on the front pages of newspapers across the world, showing a Secret Service agent jumping on the back of the presidential limousine in a desperate attempt to protect the President and Mrs. Kennedy. Now Secret Service Agent Clint Hill commemorates the 50th anniversary of the tragedy with a book containing more than 150 photos, each accompanied by Hill’s insider account of those terrible days.

With fresh and sober eyes, legendary pitcher Dwight Gooden shares the most intimate moments of his successes and failures, from endless self-destructive drug binges to three World Series rings. He also offers a unique perspective on Yankees owner and stalwart supporter George Steinbrenner and some of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Culturally, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were light-years apart. Yet they were nearly the same age and almost the same size, and they came to New York at the same time. They were both products of generations of baseball-playing families, for whom the game was the only escape from a lifetime of brutal manual labor. These two men shared a close personal friendship, and each was the only man who could truly understand the other's experience.

Talented pitcher Johnny "Blue Moon" Odom and outfielder Tommie Reynolds --- both young black ballplayers with dreams of playing someday in the big leagues --- along with Bert Campaneris, a dark-skinned shortstop from Cuba, all found themselves playing for Heywood Sullivan, a white former major leaguer. Larry Colton traces their entire season, capturing the essence of Birmingham and its citizens during the tumultuous year of 1964.

In the spring of 1946, with World War II finally over, hundreds of baseball's stars were coming home. It proved to be one of the most memorable seasons in history, capped with a thrilling seven-game World Series. And a new era began, with Jackie Robinson making his professional debut. Robert Weintraub brings to life little-known tales from the war years, including the "world series" service members played in an abandoned Hitler Youth stadium in the fall of 1945.

Mike Piazza’s autobiography is the candid story of the greatest hitting catcher in the history of baseball, from his inauspicious draft selection to his Hall of Fame-worthy achievements and the unusual controversies that marked his career. He addresses the steroid controversy that hovered around him and Major League Baseball during his time and describes the thrill of his game-winning home run on September 21, 2001.

From 2004 to 2011, Terry Francona managed the Boston Red Sox, one of the most talked-about and scrutinized teams in all of sports. In FRANCONA, the legendary manager opens up for the first time about his eight years there, as they went from cursed franchise to one of the most successful and profitable in baseball history.

Featuring quirky anecdotes and behind-the-scenes information, Sam Roberts’ book will allow readers to peek into the secret and unseen areas of Grand Central --- from the tunnels, to the command center, to the hidden passageways. With stories about everything from the famous movies that have used Grand Central as a location to the celestial ceiling in the main lobby (including its stunning mistake) to the homeless denizens who reside in the building's catacombs, this is a fascinating and exciting look at a true American institution.