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 

Review of "Game"

 Every year around this time, I start to go back through older books on my list to review and came across this one.  Since it is nearly time for basketball to return, it felt like a good time to read "Game", Grant Hill's memoir.  Here is my review. 

Title/Author:

“Game: An Autobiography” by Grant Hill

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

To say Grant Hill has lived a charmed life would not be inaccurate, but it certainly had some bumps in the road.  From his upbringing by two successful parents (his father was Calvin Hill, an All-Pro NFL running back and his mother was a successful businesswoman) to an eventful basketball career complete with injuries and a near-death hospitalization to successful business ventures, Hill has many stories to share and he does so in this fast paced and fun-to-read memoir.

Having read this fairly quickly on an e-reader, I was surprised to see that the hardcover edition is 400 pages – it certainly didn’t read like a 400 page memoir.  No matter what part of his life Hill is discussing, he does so in a manner that the reader will enjoy as it feels like Hill is sitting next to the reader, talking to them in plain language – even when discussing basketball strategy or later, medical terminology during his injury-plagued years while under contract for the Orlando Magic.

Those years were certainly the most frustrating for Hill, as he not only laments his lack of time on the court but also expresses his displeasure at the medical teams that treated him for his ankle injuries.  One of the surgeries he underwent had complications due to infections and he nearly died in the hospital.  He eventually recovered from these thanks to the medical teams at Duke University and was even able to play some more seasons as a role player for the Phoenix Suns.

It is only appropriate that Duke was the place for his medical recovery as that was where his basketball career really took off and his star rose quickly as in his four years as a Blue Devil, Duke won one championship and appeared in two additional championship games in Hill’s four years there.  He was the third pick in the 1994 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons and immediately made an impact in the NBA as well, as his six years with the Pistons were successful for him individually but not as much for the team before he left for Orlando as a free agent.

The book is certainly not limited to his basketball career or his medical issues as he talks at length about his parents and their influence in his life, both in childhood and adulthood.  He also spends much time discussing his marriage to Canadian singer Tamia and their two daughters.  His love for hip hop music is evident throughout the book and he even dips into social and political commentary.  The latter is written quite well and even-toned which was a welcome change from the divisive dialogue of today.

One doesn’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy this book, although it does help when he is discussing his time at Duke and in Detroit, where much of the basketball talk is focused.  The book is a great look at the man and his mostly humble personality.  I say “mostly” because he isn’t shy in sharing his opinions when they enhance the discussion.  

I wish to thank The Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Link: Amazon.com: Game: An Autobiography eBook : Hill, Grant: Books

Review of "The Legends Club"

Happy New Year!  I want to thank everyone who visited the blog in 2015 as it has grown a tremendous amount in the two and a half years it has been online.  I am humbled by not only this fact, but also by all the authors and readers who have contacted me to not only request a review or leave a comment but who also have complimented the blog and my review.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Therefore, for 2016, it is only appropriate that I start off the year with a review of a book from one of the best writers for college basketball and my personal favorite author of sports books in general, John Feinstein.  His book on Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzweski, and Jim Valvano will be published in March and should be another winner.  Here is my review of "The Legends Club." 

Title/Author:

“The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzweski and Jim Valvano and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry” by John Feinstein

Tags:

Basketball, college, North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State, rivals

Publish date:

March 1, 2016

Length:

416 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

In 1980, North Carolina was already established as a legendary basketball program with a legendary coach, Dean Smith.  That year, the two biggest rivals of the Tar Heels, Duke and North Carolina State, hired Mike Krzyzweski and Jim Valvano respectively.  That led to a decade of intense basketball between these three schools.

John Feinstein, considered by many to be one of the best writers of college basketball, captures the spirt of this three-headed rivalry by telling the story of not only the successes on the court of these three coaches, but by also exploring what made each one of them so intense despite having distinctly different personalities.

Feinstein is a no-nonsense writer as he tells stories of the recruiting wars between the three, the intensely competitive fire inside each one against one another, and insightful stories that bring the reader inside the mind of each coach. Feinstein gives each man equal time through the years that all three coached.  However, I felt that Feinstein did his best work when writing about the discovery of Valvano’s cancer and all that happened until his death in 1993. The stories have been told before, but not like this. Feinstein should also get extra kudos for getting Valvano’s widow to open up so freely about the loss of her husband. This section made for some of the best reading in the entire book.

Readers who have enjoyed Feinstein’s previous books on college basketball such as “A Season on the Brink” and “The Last Amateurs” will enjoy this one as well. Covering the game and the three schools who were coached by these three legendary coaches in his usual informative style, “The Legends Club” is a book that every basketball fan should add to his or her collection.

I wish to thank Doubleday Publishing for providing an advance review copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

Book Format Read

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links (pre-order at time of posting):

http://www.amazon.com/The-Legends-Club-Krzyzewski-Basketball/dp/038553941X

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-legends-club-john-feinstein/1123107984?ean=9780385541664

Review of "To Hate Like This"

Earlier I reviewed a book about sports rivalries, "Love Thy Rival."   One of the rivalries mentioned was Duke-North Carolina basketball.   I found this book on that rivalry in the library, so naturally I was curious.  I am glad I picked it up, as it was a very entertaining read.   Here is my review of "To Hate Like This."

Title/Author:

“To Hate Like This Is To Be Happy Forever” by Will Blythe

Tags:

Basketball, College, North Carolina, Duke, rivals

Published:

October 13, 2009

Length:

382 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

College sports are filled with rivalries that evoke passions that otherwise are not shown by some people. Will Blythe writes about one of these emotions that he otherwise would not admit to having, hate, as a result of the rivalry between the Duke University men’s basketball team and his favorite team, North Carolina.  

The book is mostly personal stories about the times he would talk about and watch the games with his parents. The stories where he and his mother are watching the game and her pessimism until the final horn are priceless. I especially like Blythe’s description of what she would do after a particularly upsetting loss to calm herself down.   The stories where he interacts with his father are touching and written from the heart.

There are also recaps of games during the 2004-05 season.  However, these do not read like typical recaps in a newspaper or reporting book.  These are where the stories are with his parents or other people with whom he watched the game.   Also, these recaps often resulted in other stories about players, coaches or others who were a part of the action.   He doesn’t only write about North Carolina players and coaches.   He did include some Duke stories as well that were not spiteful or mean.  In fact, my favorite story in the entire book was about Duke shooting guard JJ Reddick and it was a very flattering piece on the player.

The book’s selling point is the humor, and the first chapter sets the tone.  It made me cry a couple times because I was laughing so hard.  Even the title of that chapter, “The Object of My Affliction” made me chuckle.   While this book would be best for North Carolina fans, any fan of college basketball will be entertained by reading it.

Did I skim?

No. 

Pace of the book: 

Very good.  A few of Blythe’s stories about other people slowed down the book briefly, but his own stories and his accounts of the Tar Heel games were fast.

Do I recommend? 

Yes, I do to fans of college basketball and especially of North Carolina.

Book Format Read:

e-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Hate-Like-This-Happy-Forever-ebook/dp/B000FCKREC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1392583158&sr=1-1&keywords=to+hate+like+this+is+to+be+happy+forever

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-hate-like-this-is-to-be-happy-forever-will-blythe/1110766088?ean=9780060740245