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notspacemanlee's review against another edition
5.0
Halberstam is an astute observer of the human condition - and in this book, not just the Blazers, but the NBA as a whole. This book truly had to be groundbreaking when it was released.
archstanton's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.5
One of the better books on American sports there is.
jbarrow's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.5
As with other Halberstam books, this is really weirdly organized and this one had no chapters! As much as it’s very well written it took more than half of the book for me to get adjusted to this because it’s just so odd how it’s organized so I struggled to enjoy it
mishnah's review
5.0
ok i feel weird saying this about a book of sportswriting by a pulitzer prize winning war journalist but... he really freaked it. queened out. things of that nature.
actually really funny in that Halberstam writes about racism in the league and the way it affects the psychic landscape of sport in real deep and thoughtful ways and then calls an Asian guy "oriental" for some reason. like dude it's 1981.
actually really funny in that Halberstam writes about racism in the league and the way it affects the psychic landscape of sport in real deep and thoughtful ways and then calls an Asian guy "oriental" for some reason. like dude it's 1981.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
mjlopez128's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
The author spent a year with the Portland Trail Blazers and gives a very inside account of the team and its players. It was interesting to read about Bill Walton in his prime and then the start of his string of injuries that went on for most of his career. The author also goes deep into the character of many other interesting players on the team and how they interact. At times, I thought the book felt more like a series of in-depth newspaper articles than a coherent story.
endless30's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this more. Interesting, but much easier to put down at times than I expected.
branreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
4.5
It is an amazing book written by an amazing author. This is the first book that I read from him. A lot of people say Halberstam is a great writer along with other people from his generation, namely David McCullough and Robert Caro, and I highly recommend him.
The book itself is about the NBA in the 1970s and in particular, it is looking into the Portland Trail Blazers. It uses the team as a lens into understanding other aspects of the NBA and sports business. I have also learned about the lives of Maurice Lucas and Jack Ramsay. Kermit Washington also had his appearance. Today, people remember him for punching Rudy Tomjanovich, nearly killing him. But this book humanized him and treated him fairly in a good light. I read he is a calm-mannered person. And Halberstam detailed how it affected him and his wife. I even almost cried reading that part. It seemed to me he was just caught in the wrong situation at the wrong time.
Halberstam writes a lot about history and you can see that kind of training reflected in this book. In a way, it is a history book of the NBA 1970s and the downfall of the Portland Trail Blazers. But I like to see that it's also a biography of many individuals (the ones I previously mentioned). The only downside to this book is there is no further subdividing of chapters. So that means each chapter was so long that it felt like you weren't making progress. It can get tiring at times. But in terms of storytelling and details, it is amazing. You'd be looking at a vast ocean of stories and history. Anyone who is a basketball and sports fan or just a fan of anything that is history should read it.
The book itself is about the NBA in the 1970s and in particular, it is looking into the Portland Trail Blazers. It uses the team as a lens into understanding other aspects of the NBA and sports business. I have also learned about the lives of Maurice Lucas and Jack Ramsay. Kermit Washington also had his appearance. Today, people remember him for punching Rudy Tomjanovich, nearly killing him. But this book humanized him and treated him fairly in a good light. I read he is a calm-mannered person. And Halberstam detailed how it affected him and his wife. I even almost cried reading that part. It seemed to me he was just caught in the wrong situation at the wrong time.
Halberstam writes a lot about history and you can see that kind of training reflected in this book. In a way, it is a history book of the NBA 1970s and the downfall of the Portland Trail Blazers. But I like to see that it's also a biography of many individuals (the ones I previously mentioned). The only downside to this book is there is no further subdividing of chapters. So that means each chapter was so long that it felt like you weren't making progress. It can get tiring at times. But in terms of storytelling and details, it is amazing. You'd be looking at a vast ocean of stories and history. Anyone who is a basketball and sports fan or just a fan of anything that is history should read it.
rc90041's review against another edition
5.0
A mandatory read for any true basketball fan. One of the most satisfying and densely pleasurable books I've ever read.
The set-up--Halberstam spends a season with the 1979-80 Portland Trailblazers, three years after their championship season, after the transcendent Bill Walton has left the team--may not sound particularly enticing to the modern fan, but the scope of the book is so much wider than just the 1979-80 Blazers: Halberstam goes deep on race in the league, the former quotas college and pro teams had on how many black players they would play at one time, the power of television over the league and its owners, the evolution of the superstar and superstar contract, the intra-team jealousies over contracts and minutes, the struggles to unionize the players, the racial and value judgments in classifying basketball played "the right way," the arrival of Bird and Magic, the dominance of Kareem, the hypnotic genius of Julius Erving, the power of Moses Malone, the dignity of Lenny Wilkins, the ruthlessness of Red Auerbach, the will to succeed of Kermit Washington, the monomania of Jack Ramsay, the shady recruiting tactics of Jerry Tarkanian, the fleeting magic of the early-70s Knicks with their giants, Frazier, Bradley, Reed, the neuroticism of Dennis Johnson in Seattle, Rudy Tomjanovich getting punched in the face and almost dying, and the beer-and-cigar stink of the Boston Garden.
It’s a book about one season with one team but it’s also, somehow, about everything in basketball, and remains incredibly relevant 36 years after it was first published. I can't recommend this book highly enough to basketball fans.
The set-up--Halberstam spends a season with the 1979-80 Portland Trailblazers, three years after their championship season, after the transcendent Bill Walton has left the team--may not sound particularly enticing to the modern fan, but the scope of the book is so much wider than just the 1979-80 Blazers: Halberstam goes deep on race in the league, the former quotas college and pro teams had on how many black players they would play at one time, the power of television over the league and its owners, the evolution of the superstar and superstar contract, the intra-team jealousies over contracts and minutes, the struggles to unionize the players, the racial and value judgments in classifying basketball played "the right way," the arrival of Bird and Magic, the dominance of Kareem, the hypnotic genius of Julius Erving, the power of Moses Malone, the dignity of Lenny Wilkins, the ruthlessness of Red Auerbach, the will to succeed of Kermit Washington, the monomania of Jack Ramsay, the shady recruiting tactics of Jerry Tarkanian, the fleeting magic of the early-70s Knicks with their giants, Frazier, Bradley, Reed, the neuroticism of Dennis Johnson in Seattle, Rudy Tomjanovich getting punched in the face and almost dying, and the beer-and-cigar stink of the Boston Garden.
It’s a book about one season with one team but it’s also, somehow, about everything in basketball, and remains incredibly relevant 36 years after it was first published. I can't recommend this book highly enough to basketball fans.