Customer Reviews

Hang Time

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It took a tragedy for their paths to cross, but once it did, something changed in both men. Bob Greene is an excellent writer, published author, and a syndicated columnist. He covered a tragic story about a young boy in Chicago named Cornelius Abraham. Someone in the Bulls' management read the story, contacted Mr. Greene, and sent a few tickets to an upcoming basketball game. Along with something to make the child's day even more memorable: A personal meeting before the game with Michael Jordan. But what Mr. Greene didn't know was that Michael Jordan would make the day as memorable as his legendary performances on the hardwood.

During the game, young Cornelius sat next to Mr. Jordan on the bench. When the game was over, Bob Greene went into the locker room to personally thank Michael Jordan for his kind gesture. Mr. Jordan appeared surprised that someone would actually thank him. He invited Mr. Greene, who was not a sportswriter, to attend future games. The allure was addicting, and Mr. Greene became a regular in the press area at Chicago Stadium.

This story is compelling, honest, candid, and without any pretenses. It demonstrates an unlikely, but thoroughly understandable, friendship that developed between two men from very different worlds. Bob Greene paints a picture of Michael Jordan that clearly defines the inner man, and not the icon that the public sees during 48 minutes on the basketball court. Or during countless television appearances.

Mr. Greene chronicles two years in the life of Mr. Jordan. He describes the lack of privacy that permeates his life, along with how few of us can properly appreciate or understand what Mr. Jordan does on the court. But this story has more depth than merely describing basketball feats or mega celebrity status. There are many poignant tales in this beautifully written book that will surprise the reader. Michael Jordan is a man of integrity, honor, and vast compassion. It is a shame that it took a chance meeting by a non-sports writing journalist to tell us the true story.

I came away feeling that despite all of his fame, fortune, and incredible athletic prowess, Mr. Jordan never lost sight of his roots in small town North Carolina. Nor did his fame blind him to the plights and struggles of those much less fortunate then he. Whether it was taking a pair of his shoes to a dying young man who would never walk again, inviting a crippled young woman to a celebrity dinner as his personal guest, or meeting four young men in a dangerous Chicago neighborhood after every game, he never advertised these incredibly unselfish random acts of kindness. For me, that demonstrated his true character. Very few people, knowing they have the power to do so much good, ever take the time that Mr. Jordan did to impact so many lives.

For me, one story sums up the whole book and character of the protagonist. Mr. Jordan described in vivid detail how he felt after being cut by his high school basketball coach. It wasn't the detail that impressed me, nor the depth of his feelings about the incident. He never named the coach. Obviously, those who knew the full story could determine the name of the coach. But Mr. Jordan did not humiliate the man, when for most of us, the temptation would have been overwhelming. Especially if you were the best basketball player in the world.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

I am an avid reader, especially books on Michael Jordan. From the first time I read this book I was moved by the portrait of Michael Mr. Greene portrays: not as Michael "Air" Jordan, but simply as Mike the person. Never has an auhthor captured the humaness of an athlete such as Mr. Greene was able to do in his book. It is a MUST read for all Michael Jordan fanatics. Even if you are not a Jordan fan or even a basketball fan, I would still encourage you to read this book. You will not only learn intimate things about the life of Michael Jordan, you will learn a lot about life itself.

Wow, this seems like so long ago. Just thinking about where each man (Jordan and Greene) have gone since makes my head spin. This is the story of the greatest player during one of his greatest periods in basketball.
Greene is not a sports writer and perhaps that helps make this book even better. He does appreciate sports. He certainly appreciates Michael Jordan, especially after getting to know him, while working on this book.
Michael is not perfect and this book reveals that, but does not concentrate on that for sensationalism. The book relies on facts (or at least facts as seen by Greene).
Greene is a wonderful writer and Jordan a magnificent player. Their union for this book comes off smoothly. Perhaps each developed enough respect for the skills of the other that something special occurred. Whatever the case, this book is special.
Even 10 plus years later, after everything that has happened to both men, it still comes off as an enjoyable, insightful book.

The book reveals Michael Jordan as he shapes his life. Jordan is a sensitive person careful of his actions and aware of his flaws. He looks upon his good fortune and his responsibilities to it.I enjoyed this book greatly and expected more about Jordan.However-- the construction of the storyline was a pleasant departure from a jock/athlete book.Bob Greene has two Jordan books to his credit and they are a must for those interested in athletic genius. Michael Jordan is a hero for his time.

This book not only introduces you to Michael Jordan in a way never before, but also introduces you to the gift of Bob Greene. Greene interweaves the book with inspiring and emotional tales of Jordan, the Bulls team, and the fragility of all humanity (even the superhero Jordan). I was already a fan of Jordan but came away a fan of Greene as well! A must read--sports fan or not!

I am writing this review in response to "A reader from usa"'s very biased view of Michael Jordan.

The author Bob Greene writes this book in the perspective of a story teller instead of just vague praise of Jordan. You read this book you'll get the whole story of who Jordan is instead of how many points he can score.

"Michael Jordan got all kinds of special treatment while he was in the NBA...bogus calls" To that bias comment, Bob Costas of the NBA on NBC commentator said it best, "when you're a great player, you deserve the benefit of the doubt", he said that in response to Kareem Abdul Jubbar's critical free throw that won the championship when Bill Lambier made just a little bit of contact that doesn't warrant a foul call. The laker then went on to win the series & championship.

"Magic told Larry not to stand too close to Michael or they might call a foul. In front of reporters and television viewer..." That's a lighthearted moment when Bird, Magic & Jordan are taking a picture for the DreamTeam, and Magic Johnson meant for it to be a joke, and I think that you interpreted wrong. I'm sure as a great player, Bird & Magic get away with lots of foul too when Jordan response to Magic's Joke, "when are you ever foul out of a game, how can you talk?".

For all that think that Jordan don't deserve that much free throw, go get the tapes of jordan's game & play it in slow motion. You will see that he's simply unstoppable, most of the time people either get out of the way or have to bear-hugged him in order to stop him from scoring.

As for the Reggie Miller & Michael Jordan fight, because Reggie Miller started the fight, and I think there's a rule in NBA that punish the player instigated a fight with more harsh punishment.

"I am not too impressed that the bulls beat the lakers in the NBA finals... Bill Wennington stopping Kareem? Ha!" Well, like it or not, the Bulls are a great team with Jordan, when you're a winner you are a winner, it doesn't matter your opponents are injure or healthy. Even with all healthy lakers, there just isn't anyway to stop Jordan, the bulls would win anyway. You should compare the teams by overall strength & weakness. Even though the Bulls has so-so center, and the lakers have great center in Kareem, that doesn't mean the lakers can beat the Bulls. Jordan & Pippen's talent alone are far more superior than many of the lakers combined. Michael Jordan never has as much talented teammates as Magic and Bird has. Bird practically has a whole teams of hall of famers, Magic has Worthy, Jubbar, Scott,etc. In a sense, Jordan works much harder for his rings than either of these two great players.

"One of the moments picked was Mike beating the Jazz in the final minutes of his last game... obvious call", like it or not, Mike deserves to win that championship. Tell me who else could have done what he's done in that game, carrying his team throughout 48 minutes in his age, make all the right plays and makes no mistakes when the game's on the line. Before this last shot, whatever the bulls need, he gives, no matter how tired he is, he's the guy that gives his all. At the waning moment, he puts in a quick layup over several Jazz players, then he stole the ball from Karl Malone so he would have a chance to win the game by one point. And he made the shot. Whatever the Referee does, it's Referee's job, not Mike's fault.

I don't think Michael ever said Larry & Magic not good on defense. Personally, I think Magic & Larry is not as good a defensive player as Jordan is. Jordan has been defensive player of the year while leading the league in scoring too. (In the same year, he has very good steal & shot blocking stat). Larry & magic are never as quick as Jordan when he want to steals the ball. As for Shaq, he's no doubt a really dominate player with lots of skills, it's obvious he will never be as good as even Wilt Chamberlain. No other players can be as focus & mentally tough as Michael Jordan.

"Mike's corporate poster boy behavior is laughable...", we all know that superstars make commercials, as way of earning a living. Just like everybody else, that doesn't mean Mike has to be any different. Lately, he has been more selective in what commercial he does. Michael did use his influence to do charity commercial like the Anti-Drug ad & Aids awareness for Magic Johnson. Nike's labor practices are Nike's problem, people should not blame the stars that make the commercial, instead do something more usefull like pressuring Nike to change his practice.

"Players like Mike & Barkley soured me on the NBA..." That's most outrageous comment I read so far in Amazon's generally good review on books. It's player like Mike that allows people to dream, brings basketball to new height & make basketball popular globally. It's sad that we will never have someone as great an athlete ever again. Barkley is a great player that really deserve to wear a ring, he's just unlucky player that never get as great teammates magic & bird has, and he's in the same era that known as the Bulls dynasty, like many other hardworking great players, they just simply can not do anything about Mike & the bulls.

People should find something better to do than attacking Jordan for no apparent reason, when they expects Michael Jordan to be perfect yet he wants to find every little things to attack him however naive & laughable they are.

Bob Greene was not a reporter writing a story about Michael Jordan. He was Michael's friend. As a result, this book really lets the reader get to know Michael as a person. It is not just commentary on Michael. There is also a lot of actual dialog.

This is the best book written for Michael Jordan fans.

hang Time is a biography on Michael Jordans life and how he got the place in his life today. The author of the book was Al Green and he got the privalge to meet Michael him self, listen to his stories and write the book on his life.

The book explains Micheal's deepest secrets and his hartship. I enjoyed this book because Micheal Jordan is my favorite basketball player and I can look up to him, plus basketball is my favorite sport and I enjoy reading about it. I would defenetly reccomend this book to my freinds because all of my friends like basketball.

A lot of people have written here attacking MJ...if you don't want to buy the book then don't buy it! This section is for critizing the BOOK, NOT MICHAEL! Besides, MJ, great as he is is also a human being who is not perfect but did his job well. How many players can you find in the NBA who has a lot of potential but never lived up to it because of drugs, women, etc.? Although no one will waste their time writing a book about you, if someone will, whose story and character will the readers' prefer? Yours or Michael's?

I am an avid reader, especially books on Michael Jordan. From the first time I read this book I was moved by the portrait of Michael Mr. Greene portrays: not as Michael "Air" Jordan, but simply as Mike the person. Never has an auhthor captured the humaness of an athlete such as Mr. Greene was able to do in his book. It is a MUST read for all Michael Jordan fanatics. Even if you are not a Jordan fan or even a basketball fan, I would still encourage you to read this book. You will not only learn intimate things about the life of Michael Jordan, you will learn a lot about life itself.