Description: David Falkner, highly acclaimed author of The Short Season, pens the first full biography of one of the most controversial baseball figures to date, Billy Martin. Falkner uncovers the real Billy Martin as those who loved, hated, hired, and fired him knew him to be, revealing how Martin cam to be a larger-than-life figure.

David Falkner examines Mickey Charles Mantle from several perspectives in this biography of one of America's most famous baseball players. From his days as a boy in the mining towns of Oklahoma to his breakthrough moment in baseball where he became the embodiment of power and speed, Micky Mantle was an American symbol of power and vigor. With grace, intelligence, and depth, David Falkner provides a perceptive look at the man, the athlete, and the phenomenon who will always be known as, simply, The Mick.

Jackie Robinson's extraordinary courage, his unflappable dignity, and his astonishing feats on the field as the first African-American to play on a major league team made him not only a great sports legend but a genuine American hero. In this comprehensive, moving portrait, David Falkner explores in detail the lifelong influences on Robinson, the pressures he had to bear, and the contributions he made to the cause of integration.

From Robinson's famous battle with the army over segregation to his rigidly maintained restraint in the face of ugly prejudice and life-threatening hostility from baseball fans and players alike, to his post-baseball efforts to help African-Americans establish an economic base within mainstream America, Falkner illuminates Robinson's inner strengths and his determination to make a lasting difference in American society.