On a rainy January morning in 1973, a press conference is called that will change the face of the Yankees forever. A young Cleveland Industrialist by the name of Steinbrenner stands at New York's famed '21' Club and announces his new ownership of the Yankees. And so begins the Steinbrenner era, the era of the Boss. Now with five World Championships to his name, Steinbrenner is not only the owner of one of the past century's winningest baseball teams, but a legendary figure in his own right. Both eccentric and egocentric, Steinbrenner employed his unique approach to the game to turn a not-so-good 1973 Yankee squad into World Champions just five years later.

All Roads Lead to October examines the team under the reign of George Steinbrenner, a man as integral to the history of the Yankees as DiMaggio or Ruth. Having covered the Yankees since Steinbrenner came aboard, acclaimed sports journalist and noted author Maury Allen examines the complex and often fiery relationships the owner had and has with the likes of Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Joe Torre, Darryl Strawberry, and many others.

Here are the firsthand, insider's accounts of the pivotal events in the Yankees' rise to power. Maury Allen gives an exclusive look at all the action, covering both off-field and on-field controversies -- Yankee pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich's wife swapping; the angry tirades, fights, and often brilliant coaching moves of the misunderstood Billy Martin; the inside story of the signing of Reggie Jackson, whose ego was as big as his bat; and the Yankees' rise to baseball dominance with the likes of Jeter, Williams, El Duque, Clemens, Rivera, and Torre. Allen was there through it all, from Steinbrenner's first press conference through the death of Catfish Hunter...