Customer Reviews

Eagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska

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Every man or woman who has been privileged to bounce a basketball in earnest, and every person who has been privileged to cheer their efforts, should appreciate this vivid and edgy tale of what a love of sport can mean -- especially to players whose moments away from the court are so steeped in peril.

D'Orso has defined the razor's edge where humanity's playing fields and emotional fields intersect. And he's offering a front-row seat. Grab a ticket, you won't regret it.

There are a lot of books out there on high school sports and its impact on their community (the mid-90s "Friday Night Lights" remaining a prime example of HS football and its impact on a far-flung Texas community).

"Eagle Blue" (323 pages) chronicles the 2004-05 season of the Fort Yukon HS basketball team. The previous year, the team made it to the 1A state final (the small schools, with 50 or lesser HS students). The team looks to be loaded and ready to make another run at the state title. The best part of the book is the first half, in which author Michael D'Orso paints the main characters and the environment in which they live. There is coach Dave, and what brought him to live in this far away community, and the challenges he goes through in managing the team. Can you imagine a HS team have to fly to its away games? There is Matt, the senior star of the team, and the temptations he goes through. There is Doc, the principal of the school understanding so well how much the basketball program matters to the kids AND the community.

The second half of the book is less riveting, as it mostly recounts the games in which the team makes it to the State games for a record 7th year in a row. The end may surprise you, as it did me. Separate from the basketball aspects of the book, the author goes into detail how many challenges these far remote Alaska communities go through, dealing with alcoholism, drug-addiction, and the like.

This book was a page-turner for me from the beginning. I happen to love HS sports myself (although here in Cincinnati HS football remains king), but the way which D'Osro was able to paint the Fort Yukon community and its love-affair with (and dependence on) its HS basketball team is outstanding. Highly recommended!

What a season. I started this book on first day of vacation and read it before going to sleep at night and got up early to read before my family awoke.

My family is from the Blackfeet Reservation and I couldn't help but think I was reading about some of my own relations ~{;0

Before I read this book, I didn't know much about this tribe, area or concerns (such as ANWAR). Now that I have, I have taken an interest in what matters to them. For instance, there was a show on public television about the Gwi'ichan and how (ANWAR would affect them) that was on during the same time as the NBA playoffs this last weekend. I surfed to that show during commercial break and never went back to the game. I hope to invest more time and energy in the ANWAR issue because of this book.

The author did a great job of making the story about the boys and the people and not about him.

Roger

Eagle Blue by Michael D'Orso is story about a high school's basketball team's journey through their season. When a teacher decides to help out a high school basketball team the boys skills, reputation and endurance are put to the test. As the team moves on through the season they discover there strengths and weaknesses on and off the court. I personally am not a big fan of heroic sports stories were the main team wins every single game. This however has got to be one the greatest books I've ever read. Read eagle blue and get captured in a wonderful story about a team, a tribe, and a basketball team in artic Alaska.

Two books led up to my getting this book. Nick Jans "The Last Light Breaking" which introduced me to the phenomenon of Alaska's Native or bush basketball, and Velma Wallis' Raising ourselves which introduced me to Fort Yukon in an intimate way. When I found that there was a book that brought both of these together, I knew I needed to get a copy.

I couldn't have been happier with the result. This book is a great piece of writing. Anyone who loves prep sports, Alaska, or humanity in general should read this book. D'Orso has captured and shared a fascinating and hidden story. It is a gripping piece of sports writing as well as a coming of age book for the boys on the team. You will have problems putting this book down.

When I saw this book displayed at the local library, I thought it looked like it might be an interesting tale about Native small school basketball in arctic Alaska.

I was wrong.

This is a truly exceptional book about the life of the Native Gwich'in people in Fort Yukon. Yes, the story revolves around the local high school basketball team. But there is so much more to the story than basketball - this book is really about the lives of the town's people.

A compelling read.

Fans of basketball won't want to miss EAGLE BLUE: A TEAM, A TRIBE, AND A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SEASON IN ARCTIC ALASKA: it tells of a small, remote Alaskan village's craze over basketball, its village team, and the events of an entire season as the team went to the State Championship Tournament. The special issues affecting the Alaskan team of Athabascan Indian boys and their families includes their cultural struggles as well, showing how these issues affect their interactions on the basketball court and in the village. An outstanding blend of sports and social issues evolves.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I've been a sports writer for 28 years and I bow to Michael on such a perfect effort. Every word is productive. You feel like you know everyone in the tribe and the entire season after reading this book. This is way more than a sports book. It's about life. A great vacation book because you will be consumed to finish it.

There have been a lot of books on how the sports teams from what we might call disadvantaged schools have triumphed over all kinds of adversity to win the championship. And most of these books are pretty good. The all make you understand just a bit more about human culture and the drive to succeed, especially when a gifted and dedicated coach is involved.

This book has all that, but also a lot more. The more comes from the location of the school in Alaska, eight miles north of the Arctic Circle. For this is a story of the community as well as of the team. This is a community that lives in a stark environment. For instance there is the story of Chris McCandless, a visitor from the 'Lower 48' that decided to live off the land in Alaska. He was found later dead of starvation. The attitude of the students, what do you expect for someone so ill prepared and unwilling to learn.

Between the sports team and the country, this is a fascinating, well written book.

Eagle Blue is a compelling and suspenseful novel by Michael D'Orso, as he follows the season of fourteen high school athletes in artic Alaska. The author uses many excellent sensory details to describe the journey, from the first practice, to the last play-off game. He gives the reader the ability to travel with the team as they compete in gyms around the ice-capped state.
D'Orso keeps the reader very informed regarding the emotions and intentions of each character through his brief, yet in depth,interview process. I, as a reader enjoyed this technique, because it provided me with evidence regarding the reality of the plot line, and allowed me to better understand each character. However, I did not care for the way he notes all the character's family connections and relatives' thoughts. I found them extremely uneventful and bland.
The author does an excellent job in building the suspense of each game. He analyzes each moment, play by play through the triumphs and setbacks of the Eagles' many competitive encounters. He brings out the true feeling of the game with his writing, particularly when talking about the loss and evindent disapointment in the final play off game. These analyzations are his greatest skill as an author, and I found that the games were often my favorite parts of the novel.
The end of the novel was very disapointing because of the outcome of the last game, but it did wrap up all the odd ends, so to speak, and left me with no lingering questions. The ending, however, was my least favorite part because of the intense sadness and regret the whole team feels. I, as a basketball player, was able to relate to these feelings, and I had hoped that Fort Yukon would not have to face them.
Overall, Eagle Blue was an amazing and eventful read, and I would reccomend it to all sports fans.