Phenom: The Making of Bryce Harper

Before he famously became a Major League All-Star as a teenager, Harper already had dominated high school competition like Mickey Mantle on the playground and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which dubbed him the "most exciting prodigy since LeBron James." Seeking greater tests as a hitter, the precocious star got his GED after his sophomore year and enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada, where he would face future pro pitchers in a difficult wooden-bat league. Sportswriter Rob Miech was "embedded" with the team - in the dugout and locker room and on team buses and in motel rooms - to provide a warts-and-all account of a boy among men playing like a man among boys. Amid fascinating personal stories including the dynamics between a veterancoach and Harper's overprotective father, the jealousies of teammates and opponents, and the sudden descent of press armies on a tiny college field, the author chronicles a season-long experiment that culminates in Harper leading the Coyotes to the Junior College World Series and signing a $9.9 million contract negotiated by notorious agent Scott Boras. Sporting a fresh cover and a new afterword that covers Harper's headline-grabbing rookie season with the Washington Nationals, this expanded edition of Phenom gives fans an all-access pass to baseball's newest rising star.

ROB MIECH has won several awards in his twenty-five-year career as a sportswriter, predominantly at the Pasadena Star-News and Las Vegas Sun. His work has appeared in many publications, including USA Today, The Washington Post, CBS SportsLine, and MLB.com.