Customer Reviews

Elevating the Game: Black Men and Basketball

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On the one hand, this book is an important one, given the scarcity of serious discussions of the role of race in basketball history. On the other, the renown and talented critic of jazz music and insightful commentator on black culture does not here comfortably wear the cloak of a sports historian. This book is full of dozens upon dozens of errors and infelicities (uncorrected from the first edition) of both a typographical (excusable if bothersome) and historical (inexcusable) nature. For an opening taste I note only the following: Jabbar was not traded to the Lakers in 1977 (it was 1975), Bernard King did not play for the Lakers (though he did for just about everyone else), Harold Seymour wrote a classic baseball (not basketball) history, Phog Allen did not coach at Kansas for only one decade, Cincinnati did not finally win the NCAA crown in 1962 (it was 1961), it was the NBA Chicago Packers (not Zephyrs) in 1961, Jordan played (not missed) only 18 games in 1985-86, it was Miss State and not Ole Miss that broke racial ground against Loyola in the 1963 NCAAs, UK's Baron Rupp won 3 not 2 NCAA crowns, Jackie Robinson was a baseball and not basketball hall-of-famer, Hank Luisetti pioneered one-handed shooting and not jump shooting, Frank McGuire is not Al McGuire's uncle, the NY Rens joined the NBL and not the ABL as the Dayton Rens, Guy Rodgers starred for Temple and not Villanova, and James Thurber certainly did not write his poem "The Big O" about Oscar Robertson. And this is just for starters. George's social conclusions are sometimes open to serious question, given the sloppiness of his historical research.

Nelson George is a brilliant, articulate, sardonic, insightful author and a wonderful man. Anyone who has a profound appreciation of minority history and/or the game of basketball will thoroughly enjoy this well-written, well-researched masterpiece. Amen.

An insightful overview of the African-American in basketball and how the game has thus changed forever. The information on the old teams like The Harlem Renaissance was fascinating. They were a black-owned pioneering team from the 1920's, known as the Rens that paved the way for the superstars of today. The history of the Harlem Globetrotters is chronicled as well and the influence on basketball and the players who made the jump to the NBA like Nate "Sweetwater" Clifton. There are sections that detail the inroads African-American players made, such as Chuck Cooper who was the first black Boston Celtic. All the great old players are discussed , including Bill Russsell, Wilt Chamberlain, Connie Hawkins, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Dr. J, Elvin Hayes, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and "Magic" Johnson amongst others. The role of others in basketballs development includes such b-ball dignitaries as Larry Bird, Bill Walton, Red Auerbach and John Wooden are also mentioned. The history of the NBA is not very detailed but suffices for the novice to the sport and includes the merger of the ABA and the NBA and it's stars. The unique aesthetic of the black athelete and the relationship to music and entertainment is also discussed. Presented in a style that is very easy to read this book would be good for high school students of the game. This book is a good educational tool for students to learn the history of the game and how it has evolved.

On the one hand, this book is an important one, given the scarcity of serious discussions of the role of race in basketball history. On the other, the renown and talented critic of jazz music and insightful commentator on black culture does not here comfortably wear the cloak of a sports historian. This book is full of dozens upon dozens of errors and infelicities (uncorrected from the first edition) of both a typographical (excusable if bothersome) and historical (inexcusable) nature. For an opening taste I note only the following: Jabbar was not traded to the Lakers in 1977 (it was 1975), Bernard King did not play for the Lakers (though he did for just about everyone else), Harold Seymour wrote a classic baseball (not basketball) history, Phog Allen did not coach at Kansas for only one decade, Cincinnati did not finally win the NCAA crown in 1962 (it was 1961), it was the NBA Chicago Packers (not Zephyrs) in 1961, Jordan played (not missed) only 18 games in 1985-86, it was Miss State and not Ole Miss that broke racial ground against Loyola in the 1963 NCAAs, UK's Baron Rupp won 3 not 2 NCAA crowns, Jackie Robinson was a baseball and not basketball hall-of-famer, Hank Luisetti pioneered one-handed shooting and not jump shooting, Frank McGuire is not Al McGuire's uncle, the NY Rens joined the NBL and not the ABL as the Dayton Rens, Guy Rodgers starred for Temple and not Villanova, and James Thurber certainly did not write his poem "The Big O" about Oscar Robertson. And this is just for starters. George's social conclusions are sometimes open to serious question, given the sloppiness of his historical research.

I can concur with the previous reader, there are too may factual errors to allow for this book to be considered great. I have followed Nelson's career for sometime now and I have found his writings to be very good and factual. However, I am a firm believer that writers should stick to topics/subjects that they are more familiar with. It is obvious from the many errors, that Nelson doesn't have a firm grasp of the history of African-Americans in basketball.

Additionally, I found the first half of the book, up to chapter six, to be the most interesting. As for the remaining four chapters, the information Nelson wrote about has been communicated via the many mediums of media (television, print, radio) over and over again. I consider myself to be an avid basketball fan and historian, however, I would still like to learn something new and that didn't happen with the last four chapters.

Overall the book is a good buy for the average basketball fan but not for the novice, in particular, African-Americans.

Like my book "SKY KINGS", this is a valuable resource of how basketball came to be associated with Black males. If you enjoy stories of vitnage players such as Oscar Roberston and Elgin Baylor' it's all here. Also discusses the style of the game. Bijan Bayne, author "Sky Kings".