Books

Jon Teitel’s summer reding list of the 10 best basketball books..

1. A Season on the Brink, by John Feinstein (member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame)

WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT: Feinstein follows Bob Knight and his Hoosiers through the 1985 86 season.  The inside access allows the reader to see how Knight, one of the most fascinating coaches in college basketball history, works his magic both at practice and during a game.

2. The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam (Pulitzer Prize winner)

Across the Line

Profiles in Basketball Courage: Tales of the First Black Players in the ACC and SEC

Barry Jacobs

The Wages of Wins

Taking Measures of the Many Myths in Modern Sport

Players and Pretenders

The Basketball Team That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

by Charley Rosen

Can I Keep My Jersey?
Paul Shirley
Villard Books
$23.95 ($29.95 Canada)

The subtitle of the book sums it all up – 11 Teams, 5 Countries and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond. NBA diehards and/or Iowa State fans will know the name Paul Shirley from the basketball court – the rest of the world is getting to know him from his very popular blogs on ESPN.com and from this very good book.

Tip Off – How The 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever
Filip Bondy
Da Capo Press
$25.00 ($30.00 Canada)

New York Daily News columnist Filip Bondy’s Tip Off is out just in time to put this year’s NBA draft in perspective. While Greg Oden and Kevin Durant appear destined for greatness, there isn’t any other “superstar” apparent in the mix. On the other hand, four of the greatest players of all-time were picked in the 1984 draft – Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton.

Basketball Warfare: Life in the Big East Conference
By Kevin McNamara
McNamara Publishing

$20.00 ($24.50 after shipping & handling) - www.bigeastbook.com