Review of "Kingdom on Fire"

Having taken a break from sports reading for a short period, this was a very good choice to get back into sports - great book on the UCLA basketball dynasty. 

 Title/Author:

“Kingdom on Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty” by Scott Howard-Cooper

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (Excellent)

Review:  One of most storied sports dynasties took place in the 1960’s and 1970’s when the UCLA Bruins won 10 of 12 NCAA men’s basketball titles.  While there were many players and other people who helped make this dynasty, there were three people who were the biggest names.  First it was Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who will be referred to by that name in this review although he was “Alcindor” at UCLA) and the legendary coach John Wooden.  Then shortly after Abdul-Jabbar graduated, another “greatest college player ever” came to UCLA – Bill Walton.  How these three men made UCLA basketball as great as it was during a time of social upheaval is captured in this book.

While there is some text about the games on the court, especially famous ones like the 1968 “Game of the Century” in the Houston Astrodome and the January 1974 game in which Notre Dame broke UCLA’s 88-game winning streak, most of the work is about the lives, personalities, and beliefs of the three men.  This is especially true for Abdul-Jabbar as he was at times conflicted about what he truly wanted from his education and time in Los Angeles.  His conversion to Islam and his actions toward civil rights for Black citizens are particularly noteworthy, such as his decision to not participate on the 1968 USA Olympic basketball team.

Here, there is a connection to Walton as he too declined becoming part of USA Olympic basketball in 1972 – this time as a protest over the Vietnam War.  Like the civil rights issue in 1968, the war was a hot spot of protest in 1972 and how both players approached their beliefs and actions upon those beliefs made for very good reading.  Of course, there is also material on their basketball accomplishments at UCLA.  Reading those, while good, is no match for the great material on their off-the-court lives.

As for the coach, how he dealt with these types of personalities was to just be himself.  He never let on that he was playing favorites with Abdul-Jabbar, Walton or any other player – he coached the way he always coached, instilled discipline as always and never seemed to move away from what he believed was correct.  Whether that meant never cursing no matter how tense the situation, teaching players at the first practice the proper means of tying shoes and pulling up socks or never calling a time out during games to let opponents think the team was in trouble, Coach Wooden was mostly a pillar during this time.  However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t moments of weakness, and this book shows that side of Wooden as well.

For basketball junkies or historians, this book is a great addition to their libraries.  It isn’t the most perfect book on UCLA basketball, but it gives excellent insight to topics one may never have heard previously about one of the most dominant teams in college basketball.

I wish to thank the author and publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Kingdom on Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton, and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty eBook : Howard-Cooper, Scott: Kindle Store