“Heroes with Humble Beginnings: Underdogs on the Diamond, At the Movies, In the White House,” by FM Kail

As the title telegraphs, “Heroes with Humble Beginnings” is a book about the early, challenging years of some of the greatest ballplayers, movie actors and presidents of all time, about boys whose parents were socially as well as economically deprived. It also explains why we love underdogs, in what way these “humble beginnings” matter and how the lives of these men are intertwined with our belief in the American Dream.