Customer Reviews

Bad as I Wanna Be

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

race,sex,drugs,class very much of todays sports in general and life for that matter.while the images of the nba are glossy and everybody says the right thing dennis rodman tells it like it is in this book.he breaks down the current nba and the choices people make.the other parts of this book reflect his life.and much of it has highs&lows.but as for the nba it hits home.talks about how certain players are treated differently than others and who has heart and who doesn't.dennis can play the game if he wants to.i wish more people in sports and entertainment would speak the truth as opposed to sounding like programmed robots.

Dennis Rodman was a fascinating bad boy who wasn't afraid of mouthing off about anyone. His book is full of a very few good stories and plenty of complaints about fellow players, basketball management, coaches, everyone. He's bitter and angry, not full of interesting anecdotes. Most of this has ceased to be relevant as his heyday of shock value has passed. For someone not intimately involved in the mid to late 1990's basketball scene, none of the information retains relevancy as time passes. This might be good as a history book for a true fan, but if you lived through the Rodman heyday, you probably picked up his memoir back then.

So much is done for pure shock value, and it gets tiresome.

I found this book disappointing. I was expecting something resembling an autobiography of Dennis' life, with plenty of tales from experience. While there were a few such stories, much of the book could be described as a rant, with Dennis harping on about the same old stuff again and again.
He hated the Spurs' coach, he's never been paid what he's worth, David Robinson is crap, he's a good rebounder, he was in two championship teams, he misses his daughter, he boinked Madonna, he's misunderstood, he had a tough upbrining.
I mean, fair enough that this may all be be true...but do we REALLY need to hear about it over and over and over?? Even in the chapter about sex, which you would expect to have something a little risque in it, Dennis manages to mention his rebounding average AGAIN.
If I took all the insights Dennis gave us and cut out all the repitition, this book would be about 20 pages long.

Is Dennis Rodman an oustanding member of our society, Heck No! In addition, he rarely seems to admit he has done anything wrong in his life. However, his story his spoken from the heart and he doesn't care about always being Mr. Nice Guy. Sometimes you have to have a little bit of attitude to get what you want out of life. Dennis gives the reader the inside skinny on life in the NBA and its interesting to read about his thoughts on players like Jordan, Pippen, Malone, Shaq, and Mr. Robinson. Dennis has a very vivid imagination and that is waht makes this book a near classic.

I have to say that there isn't two people in the world like Dennis Rodman! You have to read his book to understand who he is. This book isn't the best biography out there but it's Dennis Rodman... he tell you what he knows about him self not all cause he has still have many questions unsolved about him self and his sexuality for example! what i liked in this book is that, no matter what some revieuwers told here, this (...)always kepped real, ok, he got a big ego, that's the case with all the famous people, and i have to say everything he predicted in his book has happened Chicago bulls became the biggest team of nba history (72 victory), David robinson never win a championship alone(Tim Duncan was the man in the Spurs victory),Madonna is a mamma now(isn't trash nomore) and he is in the truth we he say how much David stern and the nba hate on some players, he talked about him, but there is Allen Iverson case. what i regret with this book is that sometime he doesnt say much,..., like about the women and him , the sex,..., that' s still a good book for all the people who really want to understand Dennis Rodman.

Dennis Rodman has produced a book that reminds us we live in a society of uninformed consumers. Since the book has come out, there has been a cliche division between two camps; those who like his image and those who are offended by it. The reality is, Rodman walks a very fine line between popular entertainer and basketball innovator. As entertainment, his image greatly increased ticket sales; a fact "management" does not properly acknowledge because they (like the fans) are afraid to show approval of such a deviant character. As an innovator, Rodman deserves the respect of true lovers of the game. He is unique because his approach (as he details in the book) has never been utilized with such conscious effort. Rodman seeks to turn the game on its head, using rebounding as a way to win the game. His vision is a game with less points in which defense is ultimately the deciding factor. While his critics regurgitate statistics hoping to lessen any attention given him, Rodman's status as an important contributor to the game will survive. He possesses the conviction that inspires all innovators to persist in the face of public ignorance. Finally, it is ironic that the very same "fans" who seek the excitement of instant gratification, will not admit to the magnetism of his image, nor will they admit to his integrity as a player of the game these "fans" are supposedly so passionate about. This is an informative, entertaining book that should motivate people to respect Mr. Rodman for providing us with great basketball and memorable culture.

As a longtime basketball fan, I was at first anxious to see what I would find in a tell all novel of one of the best rebounders and all around defensive players of the game. What I found was horrible talk about women and other players. Rodman's racist comments against white people are enough to scoff at no matter what color a persons skin is. His comments of "black" players being better than whites is just a terrible shameful label to put upon all of those who play the game. Would have loved to hear what Larry Bird, John Stockton, and Jerry West had to say when they heard that one!

Rodman does talk in depth of the family he lived with for some of his life and I commend him for that. The only downfall to this is the fact he didn't seem to learn from them anything about class or manners. If you are looking for a book about a "worm" then you've come to the right place. If your looking for a book about the wonderful game of basketball as told by one of it's greatest players, I suggest that you look elsewhere.

First off, after looking at the cover of this book, you'll find out that "Bad as I wanna be" doesn't appeal to everyone. Why? Quite simply because the cover features Dennis Rodman nude on a motorcycle. I'd also like to include that, as if the cover weren't enough, the back of the book features a picture of Rodman's bare @$$ - uncensored.

After trying to get those disturbing images out of my head, I decided to take the time and read the full book. This book was published in 1997, so it doesn't include his final days (the latest it goes is his 1996 run with the Bulls), but it does greatly detail his entire life and all the troubles he's had growing up. I just have a few comments on some of the stuff he says:

- This guy is an egomaniac. There's actually a quote in here where he says something like "Jordan is number 1 in the NBA, Shaq is #2, and everyone knows I'm #3". Is he serious? He was a great player and everything, but I wouldn't even think of putting him in the top 10. He was #3 on the Bull's team (behind Jordan and Pippen of course), but he definitely wasn't #3 in the entire league.

- Dennis is extremely bitter. I thought it might be interesting to hear Dennis' thoughts on other players and coaches. Sadly, I was mistaken. Throughout the entire book, he just constantly complains about almost everyone he's come into contact to in the NBA. It gets rather boring after a while.

- The way Rodman describes the games, you'd think the team that gets the most Rebounds wins. He acts as if points don't mean anything in the NBA and the only thing that shows how well you play is the amount of rebounds you get. To me, it seemed like he was trying to cover his own @$$ here, since Rodman never was much of a scorer.

I haven't read very many NBA books, but if all of them are like this, I think I'll pass. If you're an NBA fan, I'd suggest to skip this one. If you're a Rodman fan, there's a small chance you might enjoy this.

Length:: 0:48 Mins

Dennis is a very likable, respectable guy and you learn it early on in the book. its never boring and he doesn't necessarily have to be as famous as he is for this autobio to be enjoyable. it's a good book