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The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy |  | Author: Bill Simmons
Creator: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: ESPN
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $12.50
as of 11/22/2009 16:42 CST details
You Save: $17.50 (58%)
New (36) Used (6) Collectible (1) from $12.50
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 23
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Printing
Pages: 736
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 034551176X
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.323640973
EAN: 9780345511768
ASIN: 034551176X
Publication Date: October 27, 2009 (New: Last 30 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, October 2009: The Book of Basketball is a 700-page work of hoops genius that would make Dr. James Naismith beam proudly – and probably blush. Author Bill Simmons, best known as ESPN.com's "The Sports Guy," explores the NBA with hilarious insight, brilliant analysis, and a bevy of irreverent footnotes. Simmons is a fan first – a fact best explained in an entertaining foreword by Malcolm Gladwell – and writes from the stands, not the press room. His knowledge and passion for the game provide him with few peers, yet his voice represents those who stick by their teams through thick and thin. As a result, The Book of Basketball is not just a tribute to hardwood heroes, but also a celebration of yelling at TV sets, revering lucky jerseys, and holding our breath until the final buzzer sounds. Throw in pages of nearly-insane statistical breakdowns (including a projected boxscore from the movie Teen Wolf), and it's easy to see why fans of all levels should clear shelf space for this instant classic. --Dave Callanan
Product Description
There is only one writer on the planet who possesses enough basketball knowledge and passion to write the definitive book on the NBA.* Bill Simmons, the from-the-womb hoops addict known to millions as ESPN.com’s Sports Guy, is that writer. And The Book of Basketball is that book.
Nowhere in the roundball universe will you find another single volume that covers as much in such depth as this wildly opinionated and thoroughly entertaining look at the past, present, and future of pro basketball.
From the age-old question of who actually won the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the one about which team was truly the best of all time, Simmons opens–and then closes, once and for all–every major pro basketball debate. Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons’s one-of-a-kind, five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. And ultimately he takes fans to the heart of it all, as he uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball.
Comprehensive, authoritative, controversial, hilarious, and impossible to put down (even for Celtic-haters), The Book of Basketball offers every hardwood fan a courtside seat beside the game’s finest, funniest, and fiercest chronicler.
* More to the point, he’s the only one crazy enough to try to pull it off.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
 A book of NBA arguments November 22, 2009
Neil C. Ligon (Atlanta, GA)
This book is wildly entertaining, chalk full of footnotes showcasing The Sports Guy's usual sense of humor, and is a great way to brush up on NBA history, especially if you came to the NBA late as I did. Like his columns, this book is a blend of pop culture and sports, contains his unique opinions and insights as well as the research which he used to arrive at them, and it can be read in multiple installments without sacrificing the overall experience.
 Mediocre At Best November 22, 2009
B. Brown (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
I received "The Book of Basketball" as a gift. It's the only reason I read it. For me, getting Bill Simmons' take on the greatest basketball players is similar to getting Bobby Knight's opinion on the 100 finest French recipes. Although I realize that any ranking of the 100 best players is bound to include some players that are controversial, one would expect that the players selected would be very close to the Top 100. For me, the inclusion of Robert Horry as all-time player #85 is an unforgiveable joke and the notion that Dennis Rodman is the 69th best player of all-time leaves me speechless. At no time was Dennis Rodman any better than the 3rd best player on his team and he is the 69th best player of all-time? Give me a break. I got the impression that selections like these were supposed to add some spice to this book. It simply caused me to question the credibility of the author. Simmons list excludes many players. I'll mention four- Maurice Lucas, Bob Love, Chet Walker and Alonzo Mourning. I would find it astounding that someone who watched basketball in the 70's would take Bobby Dandridge (Player 79) over Lucas, Love or Walker. I would find it silly that someone would take Horry and/or Rodman over the aforementioned players. I will acknowledge that Simmons' did provide some good insights. However, a readers assessment of the insights will ultimately be a function of Simmons' ultimate decisions as to which players were included in the list (as well as their ranking on the list) and which were excluded. For me, Simmons' ultimate rankings are so poor that it causes me to question the value of the insights.
Great Basketball For NBA Gym Rats! November 21, 2009
Jason Bresson (New York City, NY)
As a life long Knicks fan, some of the material (Celtics)
is hard to digest. However, Bill Simmons does a more than credible job.
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Great book November 20, 2009
Greenleaf36
For any NBA fan, casual or die-hard, this is a great read with Bill Simmons view on the history of the league. Because he presents his theories and integrates his fan perspective analysis, it makes this an NBA book like none other.
Funny, Informed and Opinionated Look at The Association November 20, 2009
Matthew B. Scott (Alexandria, VA)
Great book for any NBA fan. Non-basketball fans will appreciate Simmons cultural references and footnoted sarcasm but their interest is likely to wane across the 1000 pages of detailed analysis of the history, trades, stars, teams and league leadership. Simmons doesn't look for the high-road (Kareem and Vince fans beware) but rather combines glowing adoration, scathing critique, and tons of stats and historical detail in a highly enjoyable tome.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 47
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