Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Read for NBA History Buffs, January 15, 2004
I heard about this book in a Sports Illustrated capsule. The subject matter has always fascinated me -- despite the fact they were defending champs and had won 10 of the previous 12 years, I still consider them the most unlikely (and for that reason compelling) champs in NBA history. The subject matter is no secret: the Celtics had won most improbably in 1968 by overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the defending champion Sixers - who still had Wilt, and were one year removed from their unbelievable 1967 season, which was arguably the greatest team ever assembled. In '69, the Celtics failed to win their division for the fourth straight year and were in fact the lowest seed in the playoffs. Not only were the Sixers still a force but Baltimore and New York were very much improved. Faltering down the stretch and injury-riddled, the team pulled together for one last run, culminating in an unthinkable game 7 win over Wilt, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and the Lakers in LA. Russell retired on top (and STAYED retired), as so few other athletes ever have. The book is well-written and the author does an excellent job of setting the tone of the era and the city, particularly its indifference to the Celtics and the racist environment that existed. Additionally, the principals' background information was interesting and informative. In short, if you are interested in NBA history in general or want to read an inspirational story of people working together to reach a common goal, get this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This was the Celtics' most enduring triumph, May 21, 2004
By A Customer
As a native Bostonian, I can say that a book on the Celtics' most enduring triumph is more than welcome. Anyone who grew up in Boston in the 1950's and 1960's knew that the Celtics were just about at the end of their championship run. After Philadelphia ran the Celtics out of the 1967 playoffs in five games, it was clear that a power shift of major proportions had taken place between the two teams, with Boston on the "down" elevator. The 1968 title was, at the time,their most improbable, their defeat of the 76ers after trailing in the East Finals 3-1 an unprecedented achievement. Their 1969 title dwarfed the noble 1968 entry, and Thomas Whalen has submitted a welcome and long-overdue work on the subject. As an African-American, having attended regular-season and playoff games at the Boston Garden, I can say that Mr. Whalen, if anything, muted the issue of race in Boston. The Garden could be quite an unhospitable place for people of color, not only for spectators, but for visiting and Celtic players as well. Boston's entire history of race relations was prologue for the city's Ragnarok in the 1970's when the buses rolled into the "wrong" neighborhoods. Boston was a tense place after Martin Luther King's assassination, an event which figured largely in the early stages of the Celtics-76ers' playoff series between April 5-19, 1968. The 1968-69 Celtics seemed worn out, a Frank Sinatra opening the show for someone else. Mr. Whalen does a commendable job of taking the reader through the successive stages of the playoffs. I wish, though, that he had devoted more space to the Boston-New York Eastern Conference Final, especially the nerve-wracking sixth game. The Celtics' reward was to be an historic pairing with the "greatest team ever assembled": the mighty Los Angeles Lakers with Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West. How could L.A. lose? An entire chapter devoted to the great seventh game would have been the cherry topping on the sundae. The flaws in the book may be relatively few, but they are, unfortunately, glaring. On page 114, the author writes that the pass stolen by John Havlicek which elevated him to icon status on April 15, 1965 "was intended for [Wilt] Chamberlain." That's a major error of fact. The Celtics were leading the Philadelphia 76ers 110-109 with just four seconds showing on the clock. Hal Greer's pass was intended for Chet Walker. Chamberlain was posted along the baseline, guarded by Bill Russell. Philly had basically four options on the play, including a return pass from Walker to Chamberlain for an easy, series-clinching dunk. Mr. Whalen also writes that the Celtics' late-season 108-73 humiliation to the Lakers occurred at the L.A. Forum; wrong: it was at Boston Garden, where the 14,171 who showed up jeered the Green mercilessly. The mis-spellings of names [Bob Pettit and Dave Gavitt are two] should never occur in a major work; it's the kind of carelessness which forces the casual [or dedicated] reader to wonder if the author is as conversant with his subject as the book's jacket implies. Another drawback is the overwhelming use of footnotes. They are the scholar's tool, but forcing the reader to keep two places in the book, constantly jumping from the text to the source and back again, severely hampers one's reading enjoyment. After more than 100 pages, I simply gave it up and stuck to the text. I also found the writing derivative, lapsing into the "sportspeak" of the 1950's and 1960's magazines, like Sport and Sports Illustrated. It is probably unfair to compare Mr. Whalen, an academic, with David Halberstam, a professional historian, who, in my opinion, has written the two-finest books on pro basketball: "The Breaks of the Game," and "Playing For Keeps." In the latter, Mr. Halberstam crafted a splendid account of the Chicago Bulls' final NBA title without the benefit of a promised interview with Michael Jordan. Mr. Whelan interviewed only one-third of the 12-man Celtic roster; why not the others, or, at the very least Russell, Sam Jones, and Havlicek, plus Red Auerbach? For those who remember that grand spring of 1969, however, the book is more than a worthwhile read, and for the millions of Celtic "fans" who weren't aware of the team before Larry Bird hit town in the fall of 1979, this book can serve as a gazetteer about the NBA's whistle-stops in its early manifestation; an on-point but far-too-brief analysis of an unhappy city and its tortured history of race relations; and a documentary about American sport's most majestic team as it stared down its Gotterdammerung in an epic struggle in a seventh game far, far from the Boston Garden, on May 5, 1969.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
REAL Basketball, July 29, 2004
In an era when the NBA is about individuals (Kobe, Shaq), reading a book about a true team is very refreshing.
To a man, the players on the 1968-69 Boston Celtics talk about defense, rebounding, and meshing their abilities with those of their teammates. Not one of them is concerned about how many points he scored on a given night, only about whether the team won.
It's also very interesting to read about an
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
