A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBA'S GLORY DAYS, AND THE
RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERA
In the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with
outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne,
Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and
layup were the sport's chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s,
the league ruled America's biggest media markets; contests
attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television
audiences. The game was played "above the rim"-and the most
marketable of its high-flying stars were black. The credit for this
remarkable transformation largely goes to two giants: Bill Russell
and Wilt Chamberlain.
In The Rivalry, award-winning journalist John Taylor projects the
stories of Russell, Chamberlain, and other stars from the NBA's
golden age onto a backdrop of racial tensions and cultural change.
Taylor's electrifying account of two complex men-as well as of a
game and a country at a crossroads-is an epic narrative of sports
in America during the 1960s.
It's hard to imagine two characters better suited to leading roles
in the NBA saga: Chamberlain was cast as the athletically gifted
yet mercurial titan, while Russell played the role of the stalwart
centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Taylor delves beneath
these stereotypes, detailing how the two opposed and complemented
each other and how they revolutionized the way the game was played
and perceived by fans.
Competing with and against such heroes as Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn,
Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor, and playing for the two
greatest coaches of the era, Alex Hannum and the fiery Red
Auerbach, Chamberlain and Russell propelled the NBA into the
spotlight. But their off-court visibility and success-to say
nothing of their candor-also inflamed passions along America's
racial and generational fault lines. In many ways, Russell and
Chamberlain helped make the NBA and, to some extent, America what
they are today.
Filled with dramatic conflicts and some of the great moments in
sports history, and building to a thrilling climax-the 1969 final
series, the last showdown between Russell and Chamberlain-The
Rivalry has at its core a philosophical question: Can determination
and a team ethos, embodied by the ultimate team player, Bill
Russell, trump sheer talent, embodied by Wilt Chamberlain?
Gripping, insightful, and utterly compelling, the story of Bill
Russell and Wilt Chamberlain is the stuff of sporting legend.
Written with a reporter's unerring command of events and a
storyteller's flair, The Rivalry will take its place as one of the
classic works of sports history.
"From the Hardcover edition."
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
![Steve Kerr - A Life [Large Print] (Paperback, Large type / large print edition): Scott Howard-Cooper](http://media.loot.co.za/images/x120/642233939456179215.jpg)
