by Mike Piazza with Lonnie WheelerSimon & Schuster
Hardcover
From the publisher website:
Mike Piazza’s autobiography—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.
Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 baseball draft as a “courtesy pick.” The Dodgers never expected him to play for them—or anyone else. Mike had other ideas. Overcoming his detractors, he became the National League rookie of the year in 1993, broke the record for season batting average by a catcher, holds the record for career home runs at his position, and was selected as an All Star twelve times.
Mike was groomed for baseball success by his ambitious, self-made father in Pennsylvania, a classic father-son American-dream story. With the Dodgers, Piazza established himself as baseball’s premier offensive catcher; but the team never seemed willing to recognize him as the franchise player he was. He joined the Mets and led them to the memorable 2000 World Series with their cross-town rivals, the Yankees. Mike tells the story behind his dramatic confrontation with Roger Clemens in that series. He addresses the steroid controversy that hovered around him and Major League Baseball during his time and provides valuable perspective on the subject. Mike also addresses the rumors of being gay and describes the thrill of his game-winning home run on September 21, 2001, the first baseball game played in New York after the 9/11 tragedy. Along the way, he tells terrific stories about teammates and rivals that baseball fans will devour.
Long Shot is written with insight, candor, humor, and charm. It’s surprising and inspiring, one of the great sports autobiographies.
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Gods of Mischief: My Undercover Vendetta to Take Down the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang
by George RoweTouchstone / Simon & Schuster
Hardcover
From the publisher website:
The high-octane, no-holds-barred, true story of a bad guy turned good who infiltrated one of the most violent outlaw motorcycle gangs in history to take them down.
It’s the morning of March 9, 2006, hours before one of the largest motorcycle gang busts in United States history, and George Rowe can’t sleep. He keeps thinking about the past three years he spent as an informant for the ATF, working undercover with the Vagos, one of the most dangerous biker gangs in the country. His fiancée, a struggling heroin addict carrying their unborn child, is asleep next to him. She’s got no idea who he really is, what he’s done, or what’s about to happen. How in the hell, Rowe wonders, did it go so far and get so deep?
A gritty and harrowing memoir about human redemption and self-sacrifice, Gods of Mischief tells the story of the first private citizen to voluntarily infiltrate an outlaw motorcycle gang for the U.S. government. George Rowe, drug dealer, barroom brawler, and convicted felon, never thought he’d work for the feds. But when he watched the Vagos brutally and senselessly beat his friend everything changed. He decided to pay back his Southern California hometown by bringing down the gang that terrorized it. As “Big George,” a full-patched member of the Vagos, Rowe spent three brutal years juggling a double life—riding, fighting, and nearly dying alongside the brothers that he secretly hoped to put away for good. The road to redemption wasn’t an easy ride. Rowe lost everything: his family, his business, his home—even his identity. To this day, under protection by the U.S. government, Rowe still looks over his shoulder, keeping watch for the brothers he put behind bars. They’ve vowed to search for him until the day they die.
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To Show and Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction
by Phillip Lopate
Free Press / Simon & SchusterTrade Paperback
From the publisher website:
Distinguished author Phillip Lopate, editor of the celebrated anthology The Art of the Personal Essay, is universally acclaimed as “one of our best personal essayists” (Dallas Morning News). Here, combining more than forty years of lessons from his storied career as a writer and professor, he brings us this highly anticipated nuts-and-bolts guide to writing literary nonfiction. A phenomenal master class shaped by Lopate’s informative, accessible tone and immense gift for storytelling, To Show and To Tell reads like a long walk with a favorite professor—refreshing, insightful, and encouraging in often unexpected ways.
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