Coaching IRA [Paperback]

Adam D. Shandler (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris Corporation (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401041728
• ISBN-13: 978-1401041724
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,079,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Story was clever, funny...but too short!, August 28, 2003

By 

Audrey Haan (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coaching IRA (Paperback)

Someone told me about this book and thought it would be great reading for my kids who play Jewish youth group basketball. It was! I really enjoyed Coaching Ira. Shandler cleverly weaves all the nuances of American Jewish culture together in this cute and funny book. It's great how the author plays with the theme of community: the community that his USYers form as a team and the community of Langston, the town in which these kids live. The characters speak like normal kids would speak - something you don't get out of a lot of books and TV shows these days - and you really feel yourself winning and losing with the team. The introduction of Ethiopian-Jewish all-star Abraham was a great plot point that turns the whole book around and educates the reader about a little-known group of Jewish people. The only flaw of the book - a little too short. I was hoping for just a little more story and for some of the issues to not be resolved so quickly. You gotta keep us in suspense! Overall, terrific messages and a story that suburbanites - Jewish or not - can relate to. Will there be a sequel?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, good speaker, April 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Coaching IRA (Paperback)

I heard Shandler speak at a convention in San Francisco in March. He's a down-to-earth, approachable guy and I enjoyed hearing about the origins and inspiration of his book. Coaching Ira ain't Hemingway, but it is a funny, quick, enjoyable read that I finished on two short plane trips. I especially liked the exciting conclusion -- a championship game between the USY team and the Orthodox champion. Despite the intensity of the moment, humor was dropped in throughout. Would make a great movie, with someone like Friends' David Schwimmer in the lead role!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun read!, October 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Coaching IRA (Paperback)

Didn't quite know what to expect with a "Jewish basketball novel", but Shandler makes it work. Reminded me of my own days playing in the Jewish youth league. The snapshots of teenage life in suburbia are dead on and the characters are, well, caricatured, but very well-developed. Funny, entertaining and a quick read.