Review of “Five Banners”

Duke is one those teams in college basketball that one either loves or despises. While I fall closer to the latter category, I still enjoy reading about them and this book on their five championship teams is no exception. 

Title/Author:

“Five Banners: Inside the Duke Basketball Dynasty ” by John Feinstein

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: Men’s college basketball has a few schools who consistently have very good teams year in and year out. One of these “blue blood” schools is Duke University and one of its alumni who has gone on to have a successful journalism and writing career, John Feinstein, has written a book on Duke’s five championship seasons . 

It seems hard to believe, but the was a time when Duke basketball wasn’t very good. While there was a Duke team that made the Final Four in 1978, it is the 1986 team that lost the championship game to Louisville when Feinstein starts his journey into the start of Duke’s rise to basketball royalty.

Feinstein is considered to be one of the best writers on college basketball and for the most part, this book shows the reader why. Feinstein will take the reader inside the locker room and on the bench alongside legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, more affectionately known as “Coach K”. While Feinstein writes a lot about Coach K, including the famous “breakfast at Denny’s” after a loss, there isn’t the same level of detail to know the players. That is a hame because other college basketball books written by Feinstein are outstanding in their portrayal of players.

Instead, this book focuses on the results and highlights of Duke’s championship teams and seasons. The writing is still crisp, fast paced and done in a manner that the reader will feel like they are inside the venue. While personally I felt it wasn’t quite as good as other Feinstein books I have read on the sport, it is nonetheless one that any Duke fan will want to add to their collection. 

I wish to thank Duke University Press for providing a review copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1478026715/ref=x_gr_bb_amazon?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_bb_amazon-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1478026715&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2