Customer Reviews

The John Wooden Pyramid of Success: The Authorized Biography, Philosophy and Ultimate Guide to Life, Leadership, Friendship and Love of the Greatest Coach in the History of Sports

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I am a licensed psychotherapist practicing in San Francisco for the past twenty years. I am always looking for books that give people a healthy and motivational structure for living life.
John Wooden's Pyramid of Success is one of those books that I recommend to my clients. This book was recommended to me and although I did not know much about John Wooden, I was very inspired by his life and his work. His ability to educate, and help others build character, gain wisdom and expand their capacity to live a life of integrity, service and love is remarkable.
Most people come into therapy because there is some area of their life that they are dissatisfied with. Therapy is about bringing into consciousness deeper emotional truths that can keep us from achieving a truly satisfying and meaningful life.
The Pyramid clearly defines the actions we are taking and the decisions we are making when we are living life to the fullest. John Wooden is an important role model and teacher for us all. This book is an excellent resource for living on purpose and for reaching the upper limits of what is available to us all in life.

Basketball fan or not, this is a good read. Even better if you are. John Wooden's Pyramid is a pattern for successful living with tools that provide the means & inspiration to guide you to a more worthwhile and fulfilling life. Teamwork is the foundation for success in any team effort, on or off the court. This would be a great gift for teenagers invloved in sports. Coach Wooden's teams proved you don't have to be a "glory hound" to gain recognition.

This is the best book to date on Coach Wooden. He is an outstanding person who was able to motivate his players to be their best, without putting undue pressure on them. The Pyramid of Success can be helpful for business people, athletes, teachers, students, and just about everyone looking into learing a new philosophy on life. Great book. Highly recommend it.

Now in its revised second edition with an extended biography section and more "Woodenisms" (maxims and sayings) added, The John Wooden Pyramid Of Success is very highly recommended as being the only authorized biography of the famous UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. Compiled and written by nationally prominent entertainment and media attorney Neville Johnson, The John Wooden Pyramid Of Success offers the solid biography of a life well lived, enhanced with interviews, recollections, and comments from many who knew Wooden well, and offering the reader a profusion of unique insights into the world of basketball.

Really enjoyed reading what is author Neville Johnson's labor of love to acknowledge perhaps the greatest sports coach of all time and Woodens legacy in that he is truly at heart an outstanding teacher for the ages. The detail, background info, and interviews on Coach Wooden are perhaps unmatched when it comes to chronicling coach's life and how coach Wooden developed his Pyramid of Success over the years and how you can apply that to your life!

The subject of this book, legendary Coach John Wooden, deserves to have a better book written about him than this. This book goes all over the place.

I would have liked for the book to have more of a logical progression.

Also, we read this book in our book club and all of us decided that this book was just plain boring. Our next book is the one written by Wooden himself, and I am not sure why we just didn't start with that one.

I think Mr. Willingham is reviewing the first edition of this book. I have seen a copy of that and there are many typos in that edition. I should know as I am a professional proofreader. But I have a copy of the second edition, the one that has the cover shown on this page, and I have found very, very few typos, and most of those small grammar things that you might find in any book. Considering this book is well over 400 pages I think it is presented very well. I do agree with Mr. Willingham that this book gives a lot of new information about the people around Coach during the Wooden Era. All in all, I find it an excellent read and a must for any Wooden follower.

Technically, much improved over the first, I highly recommend the second edition of this book. The author, Neville Johnson, presents a wide variety of interviews with family members, friends, former players, and others associated with John Wooden throughout the coach's influential life. Mr. Johnson also takes great effort in presenting a "balanced" look at Mr. Wooden's philosophy embodied in the Pyramid of Success and its effect on the friends, family, and players who know "Coach". The interviews (which cover at least half the book's content) are candid and revealing. The interviews alone are worth the purchase price. Many years of work went into the research for the book and the reward is for those who read it. Each reader will discover information about John Wooden and his philosophy of life not found anywhere else. I would not describe this as a "how-to" book, but, rather, a very deep look at a man who has influenced more people than he will ever know. The insights gained may well translate into a practical outlook on all aspects of individual lives.

This is by far the most comprehensive book on Wooden yet. About half the book is interviews with former Wooden players, with Wooden's family, his friends, and even his former teachers. These interviews prove Wooden truly walks what he talks. The biography section is as in-depth as anything I've seen on Wooden and the amount of new information revealed is daunting. If you are a Wooden fan, or want to learn more about the former UCLA coach, this is the book for you.

Great Book. Excellent history of the great coach. The Pyramid really touches everyone and every aspect of life.