Like many a rock star before him, Gregg Allman has written a colorful memoir depicting his even more colorful past as a rock 'n' roll Hall of Famer and illustrious member of the Allman Brothers Band. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the band was a huge success -- but their struggles with substance abuse and addiction are as honestly depicted here as are Allman's upbringing in the American South and the joy he felt at making music, making for a compelling read. For more on the Allman Brothers Band and how it influenced the music of the 1970s, try Scott Freeman's Midnight Riders.

Seventy-three-year-old sportswriter Frank Deford went straight from college to Sports Illustrated, and he's covered a multitude of sports, sporting events, and athletes in the years since. Here, he offers not only anecdotes from his own career but an anecdotal history of American sportswriting in general, by offering homages to and stories about such writers as Ring Lardner and Jim Murray, all while providing coverage of such personal topics as his stint with The National Sports Daily, his visit to apartheid South Africa with Arthur Ashe, and his recent 1,500th commentary on NPR's Morning Edition.

When Warren Littlefield was head of entertainment at NBC, he presided over the era of "must-see TV" and such shows as Friends, Seinfeld, and ER. But that golden era is no more, as the networks fight each other -- and cable, the Internet, and movies -- for an ever-shrinking share of people's attention (for more on that, try Bill Carter's Desperate Networks). That aside, this fast-paced and anecdote-rich history of a definitive era in television offers the ultimate insider's perspective by paying tribute to the producers, actors, and programs of the time. Did you love Thursday nights' Must See TV? You'll definitely want to pick up Top of the Rock.

You may recognize Garry Marshall's name from credits on TV shows like Happy Days or Laverne & Shirley, or from movies like Beaches, Pretty Woman, or The Princess Diaries. Or you may never have noticed this writer, director, producer, and actor -- either way, his charming memoir will have celebrity-watchers entranced, for with five decades in Hollywood under his belt, he's got stories to tell. From his start as a writer to the pranks he pulled on the stars of his shows, his anecdotes feature famous figures like Julia Roberts, Dick Van Dyke, and even Lindsay Lohan. Though not particularly revelatory, this is an engaging memoir of a nice guy who certainly didn't finish last.

Introducing the players who warmed up baseball's Major Leagues for racial integration, Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert documents the barnstorming games played, in the post-season, between white Major Leaguers and players from the Negro Leagues prior to the 1947 integration of the Majors. Though this is a fascinating sports history, for more on legendary pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige, whose shenanigans off the field earned him a reputation that may have prevented him from being the first to integrate the Major Leagues, try Larry Tye's Satchel.

Imagine speaking with one of baseball's greatest hitters and one of its greatest pitchers. That's exactly what you'll get here, in a conversation between two baseball greats -- dominant hitter Reggie Jackson and top-notch pitcher Bob Gibson -- that ranges from mechanics and strategy to steroids and racism and touches not only on pitch analysis but on personal anecdotes from their years on the field. Though the two men never came face to face on the diamond, they share encyclopedic knowledge, plenty of experience, and strong memories, making for a "thoroughly fascinating and entertaining read" (Library Journal).

In 1941, Joe DiMaggio played 56 consecutive games with a hit in each one, a record that still stands today (in fact, only nine players in Major League history have hitting streaks of more than 35 games in a season). The streak was at least in part responsible for DiMaggio's increasing celebrity, but its occurrence during a time when many men (including professional baseball players) were drafted into a military preparing for war may have obscured the achievement in years past. In this excellent baseball book, Sports Illustrated editor Kostya Kennedy sheds light on the streak and its era -- and on DiMaggio and his relationships with his wife, brother, and best friend.

Jane Leavy, author of the bestselling Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, here offers a biography about former New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle, one of the best baseball players of all time. Leavy chronicles Mantle's stellar career, but she also reveals the man behind the legend -- a flawed, often unpleasant man who was nonetheless venerated by the media and the adoring public. Drawing on more than 500 interviews with those closest to Mantle as well as her own surprising 1983 interview with him, Leavy has created what Kirkus Reviews calls "the best of the Mantle biographies."