Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops [Paperback]

Art Chansky (Author), Dick Vitale (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

NEW MATERIAL FROM THE 2005-2006 SEASON

 

"It's not about me versus Dean, or me against Roy or Dean against Vic Bubas. Duke and Carolina will be here forever."
---Mike Krzyzewski
 
For fifty years the rivalry between Duke and Carolina has featured famous brawls, endless controversy, long-nurtured hatred---and some of the best basketball ever played in the history of the sport. For Duke and UNC players and fans, the competition is not about winning a prize, trophy or title---it's about bragging rights and raw pride.
            Blue Blood is a thrilling chronicle of the Duke-Carolina rivalry as it has evolved over the last fifty years. With unparalleled insider access, veteran journalist and author Art Chansky details the colorful, revered, and respected rivalry---for the first time ever.
            The Duke-Carolina rivalry has fostered more than thirty former players from the two schools playing or coaching in the NBA; it has enchanted a nation of spectators to watch games between the archrivals---garnering some of the highest regular-season TV ratings in history. Blue Blood celebrates the history of this rivalry, the traditions, the heritage, and, most importantly---spectacular basketball.

 

"You can see the beads of sweat on coaches' and players' faces as the tale by this former sports editor for the Durham Morning Herald unfolds."
---News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
 
"A book on this rivalry was long overdue, and Chansky does it justice. This is sure to become a staple of every Tar Heel or Blue Devil fan's library."
---InsideCarolina.com
 
"A holy text for both sides of the rivalry. . . . This book is a coffee table necessity for anyone that claims to have a background in college basketball . . . you need to read this book cover to cover as many times as possible until you can recite from it."---The East Carolinian
 
"I'm biased, but I think this is the greatest rivalry, not just in college basketball, but in all of sports."
---Dick Vitale, ESPN
 
"Art Chansky has more than learned what Duke-Carolina is all about; he's lived it for more than thirty years. His columns, commentaries, and characterizations have long been on the money, and Blue Blood puts them all together in an anticipated and entertaining work that reads more like a novel. But truth is stranger than fiction, and Chansky tells it just like it is."
---Curry Kirkpatrick, who has covered Duke-Carolina for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and ESPN the Magazine

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

What's interesting about the Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry is that it's not the product of some marketing-savvy hypemeister. It's the real deal: there's respect, but dammit, them folks just don't like each other and haven't since whenever. Duke is a tony private school with high academic standards. North Carolina is a state school justifiably proud of its academic traditions, no matter what those Dukies say. Duke dominated basketball in the sixties, Carolina did so from the mid-seventies to the early nineties, and Duke was once again ascendant in the nineties and into this decade--except that North Carolina is now the defending national champion. Chansky provides an engaging overview of the rivalry--filled with great anecdotes--emphasizing the last 30 years, which encompass the reigns of dominant coaches Dean Smith (NC) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke). He also delves beneath the surface to discuss recruiting ethics, the ever-escalating salaries of coaches, and their role as advertising pitchmen. An informative, intelligent history that will entertain even those college basketball fans who can't stand either school. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Art Chansky is an author and sportswriter who has covered basketball on Tobacco Road for more than thirty years. By day, he is a sports marketing executive who developed an all-sports competition between Duke and Carolina called the Carlyle Cup. He has written The Dean's List: a Celebration of Tar Hell Basketball and Dean Smith and Dean's Domain: The Inside Story of Dean Smith and His College Basketball Empire on North Carolina basketball and coach Dean Smith. He lives with his family on the "Duke side" of Chapel Hill.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312327889
• ISBN-13: 978-0312327880
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Circus, the Madness, the Splendid Agony, the Wonder, November 25, 2005

By 

Eli N. Evans "lifelong fan" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops (Hardcover)

Finally, a book that captures the passion, the intensity, the stories and anecdotes and legends of the UNC-Duke baskteball rivalry. For lifelong fans, the images and memories come flooding back and bring with them the heartbeat and electricity of the many moments of grand drama. Art Chansky has put lightning in a bottle because he has lived it and covered it and has spent several years interviewing and researching and uncovering the stories behind the games. Sometimes, the book takes your breath away, it is often sheer poetry, you can feel the heartstopping drama--the Coach K vs Dean Smith battles--two masters of their arts,two legends of the game. The NCAA championships, the players who have worn the blue--from Michael Jordan to Grant Hill, from Phil Ford and Ray Felton to Bobby Hurley and Dick Groat. It is all here--the circus, the madness, the spendid agony, the wonder. It is a basketball phantasmagora of a book. Enjoy. Eli Evans,lifelong fan. NYC; Durham, NC; USA

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blue Blood is Excellent, November 22, 2005

By 

Annemiek D. Gersten "Annemiek" (NYC, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops (Hardcover)

Blue Blood will be fascinating reading for any Blue Devil or Tar Heel sports fan; or anyone who loves college hoops regardless of school affiliation. Art Chansky has been fair to both schools, showering praise where due and bringing up "dirt" where appropriate (and often "poop" not before public).

The narrative is compelling and memories flood back to mind as well as many new insights. Frank McGuire, Coach Smith and Coach K are are revealed, running the gamut from what made them great to their personality quirks and motivational techniques. I especially enjoyed the early times and the Art Heyman-Larry Brown history/rivalry-but anyone who began following this rivalry much more recently will have much to enjoy and learn.

Great book!!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, January 10, 2006

By 

Book Girl (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops (Hardcover)

Art Chansky says in his forward that he has made an effort to be as unbiased as possible in the writing of this book. I think he has accomplished this goal and gone beyond. I didn't feel any favoritism for one team or the other as I read this book.

At any rate, the book is vividly written, and there is a lot of action. Chansky writes so well that you can literally feel the tension between the two schools just by reading the book (amusingly, many of the players get along very well off the court).

I grew up as a Duke fan and attended college at UNC, now being a diehard Tarheel. It made me remember how I felt at different times when each team won their championships.

I do feel that you have to be a part of the rivalry to really get the most from the book, but regardless, it will be an interesting adventure for anyone who reads it. It's a five-star book all of the way.