'Out of the Blue'
By John S. Friedman
Delacorte, $24
This interesting little book treats the reality of lightning in every possible way. It is intended for outdoor adventurers, sports enthusiasts, science and weather buffs, nature lovers and anyone who is awed or frightened by lightning.
It is subtitled, "A History of Lightning: Science, Superstition, and Amazing Stories of Survival."
Although the odds of being struck by lightning are only one in 750,000, lightning strikes are always feared, even by the most experienced outdoor enthusiast. The author, a respected journalist, has amassed a number of fascinating stories of those struck by lightning in diverse situations, some of them from storm chasers.
He also discusses the profound ways that being struck has effected the lives and well-being of victims. — Dennis Lythgoe
'Once Upon a Fastball'
By Bob Mitchell
Kensington, $20
Bob Mitchell, who calls himself "a certifiable sports nut," has written a tale about Harvard history professor Seth Stein, who discovers a message saying "For Setharoo, on his fiftieth birthday" in his grandmother's home two years after his grandfather, Papa Sol, vanished.
Using the note, Stein finds a scuffed, yellowed baseball in a handmade box belonging to his papa. When Stein touches the ball, he is thrust onto New York City streets in the 1950s and then to the greatest game ever played.
It is the Bobby Thomson "Shot Heard 'Round the World" playoff classic. With this touch of past glory, Stein begins a life-changing odyssey that answers his baseball questions. Built on historical fantasy, this novel pays a sentimental tribute to the power of baseball in the lives of Americans. — Dennis Lythgoe
'Laughing Without an Accent'
By Firoozeh Dumas
Villard, $22
Originally from Iran, the author's family came to America when she was 7. She has written a funny memoir about growing up Iranian American in Southern California.
She rates the "weirdest American culinary marriage as yams with melted marshmallows. I don't know who thought of this Thanksgiving tradition, but I'm guessing a hyperactive, toothless 3-year-old."
On Iranian wedding anniversaries, she writes, "It just initially seemed odd to celebrate the day that 'our families decided we should marry even though I had never met you, and frankly, it's not working out so well." —Dennis Lythgoe