The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams by Ben Bradlee Jr., Back Bay, 864 pages, $25
Bradlee details the life and career of “The Splendid Splinter,” including the five years Williams was out of baseball to serve as a Marine pilot in World War II and the Korean War. Bradlee explores Williams’ life away from baseball, his clash with journalists and fans, and how Williams hid his Mexican heritage on his mother’s side for most of his life.
Life in Motion by Misty Copeland, Touchstone, 304 pages, $15.99
Copeland, only the third African-American soloist with American Ballet Theatre, looks back at her life in this autobiography. She details how she first became interested in ballet at age 13 and how she became a professional while still a teen. Copeland explores her upbringing living in a motel room with her five siblings and sheds light on the highly publicized battle for her custody.
Until You’re Mine by Samantha Hayes, Broadway, 384 pages, $15
In this novel, Claudia Morgan-Brown, who has two stepsons, is happy to learn she is pregnant with a child of her own. Because of her full-time job and her husband’s work travel, Claudia hires nanny Zoe on the basis of glowing reviews. After a series of violent attacks on pregnant women in the area, Claudia becomes increasingly concerned about Zoe and her mysterious past.
Code Name: Johnny Walker by “Johnny Walker” with Jim DeFelice, William Morrow, 304 pages, $15.99
“Johnny Walker,” the code name for an Iraqi native who served as a Navy SEAL interpreter for eight years, looks back at his service helping U.S. Special Forces and his more than 1,000 missions. “Walker” also details the danger his family faced and the steps taken by SEALs to bring him and his family to the United States.
The Big Book of Swashbuckling Adventure edited by Lawrence Ellsworth, Pegasus, 477 pages, $24.95
Ellsworth collects 18 works featuring swashbuckling characters from the past century, many of which have been out of print for a number of years. Authors included are Alexandre Dumas (“White Plume on the Mountain”), Johnston McCulley (“Señor Zorro Pays a Visit”), Arthur Conan Doyle (“How the Brigadier Played for a Kingdom”), and Pierce Egan (“Robin Hood Meets Guy of Gisborne”).
