Staff Pick
The guys at FreeDarko have delivered another outstanding basketball book, this time about the history of the game. While not a complete history, they hit many of the highlights of the sport, including the first organized leagues, the Celtics of the 1960s, the ABA, the draft, Michael Jordan, and the Olympic teams. Alongside the written history are FreeDarko's unique visual aids. My favorites include "A History of Violence," mapping out players and those they have tussled with, and "The Hair up There," which charts the various hairstyles of the players. Recommended By Jennifer H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
In fall 2008, the blogging collective known as FreeDarko produced
The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac, generating endless buzz and rave reviews. Their unpredictable yet astute observations about contemporary basketball, coupled with truly stunning illustrations, made for a funny and irrepressibly stylish book on the NBA.
Yet the almanac was really just the beginning, and this inimitable collective returns with a bigger scope, deeper research, and renewed passion as they take on the whole of pro basketball history. Here we'll see the full evolution of the league: from the Celtics of Red Auerbach (compared by FreeDarko to the filmmaker John Cassavetes) clear through to the years of Frazier, Jordan, Iverson, and LeBron and Kobe. Of course, it's more than simply a history. In these pages we'll also see a taxonomy of every fight in NBA history, the relationship between Wilt Chamberlain's scoring and the atom bomb, and a feature known as the Mustache Index.
The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History is not only satiric and ingenious but an erudite and perspicacious history of the game. Complete with an appendix of obscure but telling statistics, this book is a must-have for fans, or anyone else lucky enough to lay eyes on it.
Review
Phenomenal.” >New York Times Play Magazine
Review
Stunning.” Sports Illustrated
Review
I love this book.” Stefan Fatsis, NPR
Review
"This is for those whose interest extends to the evolution of NBA facial hair and statistical analyses of in-game fights....[B]oth a useful reference tool and an engaging read. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Synopsis
From the blogging collective known as FreeDarko comes the whole of pro basketball history. The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History is not only satiric and ingenious but an erudite and perspicuous history of the game.
Synopsis
The history of basketball has always belonged to champions like the Celtics, the Lakers, and the Bulls. Yet the game's history cuts much deeper than that. The bottom line, the record books and retired jerseys, can never fully do justice to this wild, chaotic, and energetic game. In between the championships, there's the sight of Earl Monroe, spinning and cajoling his way to every corner of the court; or Allen Iverson, driving headlong into players twice his size.
The real history of the game is not its championships, which are indisputable, but the personalities of its heroes, which are, at least, undisputed. It's in the larger-than-life pathos of Wilt, the secret ties that bind Larry Bird to the flashy ABA, and Michael Jordan when he flew a little too high. From the prehistoric teachings of Dr. James Naismith to pioneering superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, you'll never see roundball the same way again.
Synopsis
The history of basketball has always belonged to champions like the Celtics, the Lakers, and the Bulls. Yet the game's history cuts much deeper than that. The bottom line, the record books and retired jerseys, can never fully do justice to this wild, chaotic, and energetic game. In between the championships, there's the sight of Earl Monroe, spinning and cajoling his way to every corner of the court; or Allen Iverson, driving headlong into players twice his size. The real history of the game is not its championships, which are indisputable, but the personalities of its heroes, which are, at least, undisputed. It's in the larger-than-life pathos of Wilt, the secret ties that bind Larry Bird to the flashy ABA, and Michael Jordan when he flew a little too high. From the prehistoric teachings of Dr. James Naismith to pioneering superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, you'll never see roundball the same way again.
About the Author
FreeDarko is a collective of like-minded writers and artists (Bethlehem Shoals, Jacob Weinstein, Dr. Lawyer IndianChief, Silverbird 5000, and Brown Recluse, Esq.,) who gather to celebrate (and take down) the National Basketball Association. For their new book, they will be joined by Tom Ziller, Eric Freeman, Joey Litman, J. Gabriel Boylan, author Pasha Malla and SLAM editor Lang Whitaker. Shoals, the chief operative of FreeDarko, has written for Slate, McSweeney's, the Nation, and SLAM. He is a regular contributor at AOL's NBA Fanhouse.