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Title: The Biographical History of Basketball by Peter C. Bjarkman ISBN: 1-57028-134-3 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Basketball Amnesia Fixed
Comment: Basketball, unlike its counterparts in baseball and even football, hockey and tennis to a lesser extent, does not respect and revere its rich history. Too many "fans" today think the game started with Larry, Michael, Magic and Shaq. But the truth is, without mostly forgotten basketball men like Mikan, Luisetti, Holman, Lambert, Meanwell and many others, there would be no game as we know it today. Peter Bjarkman's "Biographical History of Basketball" sets out to rectify this oversight with over 500 incisive portraits of basketball's well-known and more importantly, lesser-known significant contributors to the game's history. Included is also an insightful look into why the game has become the national pastime, at least for the under-35 set, by examining basketball's one on one aspects. Its ability to have a single player affect the action more than in other team sports, as well as our society's increasing need to make heroes out of individuals in these often confusing, leader-less times, has made the game even more appealing. Most of the book's importance lies in its homage to the forgotten, underappreciated past of hoops as it recounts A-to-Z the overlooked men (and women) of the game from Bevo Francis to Dave Zinkoff. But it also traces the game's roots from the early barnstorming era to college basketball's heyday and the evolution of the game from "hardwood to hangtime." "The Biographical History of Basketball" is a lively, fun and informative look into how the game has moved from a loosely organized, dimly-lit past to status as perhaps the world's most popular sport by one of the nation's most prolific and knowledgable sports writers, Peter Bjarkman.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Must for Hoops Fans!
Comment: Here's a tome that's a must for serious students of the game's history for generations to come. the author answers every question about basketball except how they get "Sha-shef-ski" out of Krzyewski. The book offers up a smorgasbord of biographical and historical roundball facts about the game. Included are the famous, like Dr. James Naismith and John Wooden, and the all-but-forgotten - but equally important - like Danny Biasone, the father of the shot clock. Bjarkman traces the game from the lackluster days of jmp balls after each basket and stationery, two-handed set shots all the way through to today's above-the-rim action. The amply-illustrated book is divided into seven sections. Along the way, the author plumbs basketball's murky origins, and surfaces with some surprising finds. For example, one of the coaches in the first 5-on-5 collegiate hoops contest was Amos Alonzo Stagg, better known as a gridiron coaching legend. The biographical material is divided into three eras: 1891-1954; 1955-1980 and 1981-present. Bjarkman maintains that basketball (which he calls an "appropriate mirror image of a frantically paced, highly impersonalized" modern society) has replaced baseball as the National Pastime. This definitive work makes a very strong case for Bjarkman's thesis.
Rating: 4
Summary: Needs a little work in order to be complete
Comment: Doctor James Naismith is credited with the invention of a game mainly to be used as a form of relaxation for businessmen. Since the inception of the game changes have occurred at almost every level and Peter Bjarkman has put together once of the most complete books on those changes.
In the over 575 pages covering one of America's most loved games, you'll be treated to more than 500 portraits of those that played this game and transformed it from the peach basket to the break away basket. Bjarkman's remarkable look should have this book in the hall of fame in Springfield, MA.
While the book is broken down to cover the major periods of the game, the reading is often not fluid. I found that book can be read from any chapter without having to read the previous ones. The book covers just about everyone who ever played and this was a certain treat.
From the Big O, Wilt, Dr. J., Bird, Magic, Isaiah Thomas, and of course the best of all Jordan, you'll have a never ending treat of players right at your finger tips and best of all the book cost less than the price of tickets to see these men play. Overall a very good job.
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Title: Total Basketball: The Ultimate Basketball Encyclopedia by Kenneth A. Shouler, Bob Ryan, Sam Smith, Leonard Koppett, Bob Bellotti, Ken Shouler ISBN: 1894963016 Publisher: SportClassic Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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