Review of "Basketball and Football"

It isn't often I will finish two books in one day, but that was the case for today. Instead of waiting to write the second review, I thought I would just do so now.  This book was a great collection of satirical pieces and short stories on basketball and football.  Having read a boxing book by this author before, I thought it would be good and I was correct.  However - he sent me the book in August so this one makes the Blogger Shame list.  But...at least it now makes me on track for my Blogger Shame resolution to review at least two of these books that have been sitting on my shelf for at least four months.  Here is my review of "Basketball and Football".

Title/Author:

“Basketball and Football ” by George Thomas Clark

Tags:

Football (American), basketball, short stories, essays

Publish date:

August 16, 2017

Length:

298 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

With one of the simplest titles for a sports book, “Basketball and Football” by George Thomas Clark is a very entertaining collection of essays and short stories about those two sports.  Some of the stories are completely fictional, some are satire based on real football and basketball people or events and some even read like a newspaper account.

Something that was different about this collection was that there wasn’t a single story that I did not like. Of course, some were better reads or far more entertaining than others, but unlike other collections of stories or essays, this one did not have a single clunker in the mix.  Each one showcased the author’s writing talent, which is plentiful and beautiful to read.

Stories that are about the same person in the sport are grouped into a chapter and that chapter is titled with the name of the subject.  I thought these were the very best passages of the book as the humor and satire of these first person narratives were very entertaining and yet very true at the same time.  My favorites of these were the essays on LeBron James in basketball and former coach Bill Walsh in the football section.  A close second on the football side was the chapter on O.J. Simpson – which of course talks about not only his football career but also his notoriety later on in life for his famous murder trial.

Fans of these two sports will want to pick up a copy of this very entertaining book that is not only fun to read, it is one that once a reader stops, he or she will be done fairly quickly as it is a page turner that is hard to put down.

I wish to thank Mr. Clark for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Basketball-Football-George-Thomas-Clark-ebook/dp/B074WH2QJ7/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1516469145&sr=1-1&keywords=basketball+and+football

Review of "Cold War Games"

This book served a couple of purpose.  One, I do like to read about the Olympics, especially during the Cold War era when the USSR and other communist nations supposedly sent "professional" athletes.  Two, this is the first book in my Blogger Shame challenge as I had downloaded this e-book in August but had not read it yet.  Therefore, since I have had it for more than four months, it meets the challenge - #1 of 24.  Here is my review of "Cold War Games."

Title/Author:

“Cold War Games: Spies, Subterfuge and Secret Operations at the 1956 Olympic Games” by Harry Blustein

Tags:

Olympics, water polo, football (European), politics

Publish date:

August 1, 2017

Length:

368 pages

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

The 1956 Summer Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia had one very memorable event – the water polo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union.  The match turned very physical, resulting in a gruesome-looking injury to a Hungarian player. This was a bloody injury to the nose, giving the game the nickname of the “Blood in i Water” match.

Why was this match so bloody? There were hard feelings between the two countries as a Hungarian uprising to break away from the communist rule of the USSR was crushed by the latter’s military.  These carried to the Olympics and that match, along with how the Soviet Union became a Olympic super-power, is captured in this book by Harry Blustein.

This book is more than just a sports book – it is a good historical book as well if a reader wants to learn about the inner workings of the Soviet sports machine.  The reader will learn how the Soviet Union was able to convince the IOC chairman Avery Brundage that its athletes were true amateurs.  Brundage took this position mainly because the United States athletes, in his eyes, were also subsidized with college scholarships and military service.  While a reader may not agree, it was an interesting argument.

There are also stories about the athletes. One touching story in particular is what an American male athlete and a Hungarian female athlete had to do in order to marry after the Games as Hungary was concerned about athletes defecting.  Also interesting was the role one of the water polo players from Hungary played in the uprising and his concern for his family during the Games. 

At times the book was very slow paced and a tough read, but the material kept my interest and by the end, I felt that I learned a lot about one of the most interesting Olympic games during the Cold War era.

I wish to thank Bonnier Publishing Australia for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)