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Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game

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Since John Feinstein's debut book, 1987's unexpected breakout smash-hit "A Season on the Brink", he has been cranking out about one book a year, a veritable franchise! "Let Me Tell You a Story" is his 16th book, albeit credited to co-writer Red Auerbach. I am neither a Celtic fanatic, or even a big NBA fan for that matter, but I am a sucker for a good story teller, and boy, I was not disappointed.

"Let Me Tell You a Story" (346 pages) grew from Feinstein attencing the weekly luncheon get-togethers that Auerbach holds every Tuesday in a Chinese restaurant in Washington DC. One thing lead to another, and before we know it, we have a book containing many of those fun and entertaining stories of hoe Auerbach broke into basketball, got into coaching at the NBA when the league was started, and eventually coached and later general-managed the Celtics into the league's powerhouse. I didn't know that Auerbach's life was centered in Washington, even when he coached the Celtics. As a George Washington U. graduate myself, it was fun to find out how big a supporter Auerbach is of the GW basketball program (Auerbach is an GW alum himself, class of 1940). The story about how he had GW finally get some really good hot dogs at the games nowadays, is hilarious.

Auerbach is an impressive person, with a memory of steel. His recollections of the early days are priceless, and Feinstein writes them up in an effortless and entertaining way. Is this a "deep" book? Of course not, but it sure makes for a great read.

Boston Celtic basketball circa 1963:

Russell blocks a shot with his right hand and deflects it to himself. He immediately throws a left-handed outlet pass to Cousy at the hash mark. Cousy sees a streaking KC Jones up the opposite sideline. He executes a one-handed diagonal push-pass to Jones who catches it foul line extended. Jones, on the run, catches it in full stride, sees John Havlicek sprinting to the basket. In one motion, he throws a behind-the-back bounce pass to Havlicek who lays it in with no resistance with his left hand.

Two points Celtics. Three seconds off the clock.

This was Red Auerbach basketball.

Auerbach is the patriarch of the most successful professional franchise in sports. He was the coach or general manager of 16 NBA championships. Many say he was an innovator. I just think he simply used logic. His basketball philosophy: The more easy baskets the better chance of victory.

It wasn't complicated. It was just Celtic basketball.

Through the years, Auerbach targeted players who could create the best opportunities for easy baskets. Bill Russell was the first he coveted. Others thought Russell would have a difficult time scoring in the NBA, Auerbach correctly assessed Celtic opponents would have an even more troublesome experience trying to put the ball in the hoop.

Auerbach was right. Russell won 11 championships in 13 years.

In the book, "Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game", Red Auerbach, through the words of John Feinstien, recounts many thoughts and reasoning behind some of his personnel moves and general philosophy of the game.

Though some of the stories have been told many times, it's still wonderful to read about how Auerbach just treated the other NBA executives like little boys.

We all know he stole Bird by drafting him as a junior in college, how he maneuvered to get Parrish and McHale for essentially nothing, how he moved up in the draft to get Russell, how he fooled others in to believing he didn't like Cowens after he walked out early on a scouting trip, how he got Danny Ainge from the Toronto Blue Jays, and how players like Bill Walton begged him to trade for him so he could be part of the Celtic organization. The stories are retold again in the book, but to true Celtic fans, it never gets old.

The book, most importantly, dips into Auerbach's personality. The loyalty he gives to people who reciprocates the same. Auerbach is a stubborn man. Yet, brilliantly, he did not treat everyone the same. Some players needed to be yelled at, while others needed to be coddled. Either way Auerbach was in charge.

Anyone who wants to be involved with teaching the game of basketball needs to read everything they can on Red Auerbach. He taught basketball the way it should be played: Easy baskets wins championships. Unfortunately, the NBA has somehow lost this philosophy (along with its players skills).

Red Auerbach to me is a man who possess common sense and the guts to follow through with his convictions.

This is one of two books which I have recently read, the other being Jeff Davis' Papa Bear: The Life and Legacy of George Halas. Both Auerbach and Halas were obviously great coaches but also outstanding CEOs, each building a successful and profitable franchise while playing a key role in a multi-billion dollar professional organization. In this instance, the National Basketball Association.

Although generally viewed as a sportswriter, Feinstein has always seemed (to me, at least) to be a cultural anthropologist who works very hard to understand not only major sports figures and events but also their social context. This is especially true of A March to Madness: A View from the Floor in the Atlantic Coast Conference, The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball, A Civil War: Army Vs. Navy (A Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry), and A Season on the Brink, a detailed account of the Indiana University men's basketball team's 1985-1986 season.

What we have in this volume is Feinstein's account of his close association with Arnold ("Red") Auerbach over a four-year period during which Feinstein was included among a select few who regularly met with Auerbach for lunch almost every week at the China Doll restaurant in Washington (DC). What emerges is a multi-dimensional portrait of Auerbach as revealed by his and others' reminiscences and observations. Feinstein also includes relevant information from his extensive research on Auerbach, the N.B.A., the Boston Celtics teams Auerbach coached, and their opponents.

By all accounts, he was a ferocious but highly-principled competitor. Agreeing with Sun Tzu that every battle is won or lost before it is fought, Auerbach drove his carefully selected players hard during the pre-season (and whenever the N.B.A. schedule allowed a practice) but then allowed them to play to their individual talents while insisting that they do so as a team. He expresses contempt for coaches who draw attention to themselves during a game in progress as well as for selfish or lazy players. All of his favorite coaches (notably Dean Smith, Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, and Morgan Wootten) were/are dedicated teachers as well as strict disciplinarians and relentless taskmasters, renowned for developing individual talent while never allowing team integrity to be compromised. It is no coincidence that these same coaches are also among those whose teams have won the most games as well as numerous conference and national championships.

Of greatest interest to me are Auerbach's self-revelations, most of which preceded by "Did I ever tell you about....?" or "Let me tell you about...." He seems eager to share stories about everyone he has known, with two exceptions: Len Bias, the University of Maryland All-American who died of a drug overdose immediately after being drafted #1 by the Celtics, and, Reggie Smith who was the Celtics captain when dying of a massive heart attack during a pickup game. "Both names bring a cloud to his face, a look of sadness. They are, without question, the two most tragic figures in the history of the Celtics." Feinstein provides a wealth of information about the sad circumstances in Chapter 8, "Dark Days."

Auerbach continues to have many close friends and countless admirers, not only in basketball or even in the sports world but throughout almost all elements of American society. For whatever reasons (Feinstein suggests several), he retains a certain mystique...especially for those who recall all the great Celtics teams and their N.B.A. Hall of Famers which include Auerbach; also Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Frank Ramsey, Bill Russell, and Bill Sharman.

Perhaps Auerbauch's closest personal friend in the media, the Boston Globe's Will McDonough offers these comments about him. "First, he's smarter than you, he's smarter than me, he's smarter than just about all of us. He's got an amazing feel for people. That's what made him a great coach. People say he had great players. Who do you think chose those players? [Auerbach's Celtic teams won nine league championships in ten years with talent which he fully developed.] Every one of those guys is in the Hall of Fame. But every one of them listened to Red and did whatever he told them they had to do in order to win. That's why he always said that he never `handled' players. He never tried to handle anyone. He was completely honest with them, told them what was expected of them, and gave them a choice: my way or the highway. There was never any ambiguity."

Many of us who read this book will be somewhat envious of Feinstein because he was able to have lunch almost every Tuesday with Auerbach and his cronies, privy to what must have been exceptionally lively, often confrontational conversations. But we are also grateful that he shares so much of those conversations as well as much of what was revealed to him during interviews of hundreds of others who also had a close association with Arnold ("Red") Auerbach, arguably the greatest basketball coach ever and without doubt one of the most interesting human beings I have as yet encountered.

If your sports memories are in black and white TV format, and go back to Gus Johnson, Jack Marin, and The Pearl twirling it for the Washington Bullets, Wilt (Russell's Trademark Foil) and Hal Greer lurking up in Philly, Elgin and the Cabin Creek Commando waiting Out West...with The Good Guys - Bill Russell and Bailey Howell and Hondo and Heinsohn and Don Nelson and all the rest - looming above it all, then you'll want to hear every story Red Auerbach has to tell.

There are few more annoying individuals in print than Jr. Feinstein; at some point, you realize whatever he's writing is "about him"... but I've not yet been able to resist his chatty, insider trading approach to sports biography, beginning with A Season on the Brink. Feinstein has a great ear for the way people speak, an insatiable curiosity for how folks got where they are, and delights in the web that brings people together. That's never more apparent as he unravels what brought each man to the China Doll, each Tuesday, at 11am SHARP!

This is a loving, smart tribute (with some of Feinstein's trademark tattle tale snide stuff sprinkled throughout) to a loving, smart man. It's also a great tale of friendship, and a reminder of how those of us with mentors must never squander a chance to spend time with them. Coach Knight keeps a note on his desk to call Red once a month; we'd all be well served to do the same to keep in touch with those who still have much to give.

I am not a big fan of basketball, but I do remember Red Auerbach when he coached the Boston Celtics. Red and many of his friends have weekly Tuesday get-togethers at the China Doll Restaurant in Washington, D.C. where they swap stories with one another. Red gives his opinions on coaches today who he feels overcoach their team and often play to the cameras and fans by jumping up and down and screaming with their team up by 20 or 30 points with a minute or two in the game. Red's rule for winning is simple: Get good players who are good people and you will have a winning team. People say Red was a great coach because he had great players. But, the author adds, "Who do you think chose the players?" Red always has had a good relationship with Bobby Knight. Knight said, "He (Red) was nice to me for no reason years ago and he never stopped." A pet peeve of his is P.A. announcers who mumble the names of the visiting players during introductions and then boost up the P.A. system when the home team is introduced "as if they just saved the planet." Red finally gave up coaching at the age of forty eight due to exhaustion. Dealing with having to scout and being a general manager and keeping the team's talent pool coming had worn him out. Reading this book is a learning experience for coaches on all levels, and I am proof you don't have to be a basketball fan to enjoy the book.

Every Tuesday at 11:00 A.M. at the China Doll restaurant in Washington D.C, a group holds a weekly get-together to tell stories. The group is led by legendary Celtics head coach Arnold "Red" Auerbach. John Feinstein tells the story both of Auerbach's life and how the group came to be, who the members are - of which the author is part of, how they joined, and their connection to Auerbach.

The story of Auerbach's life is fascinating. From his beginnings, and his pioneering in the early days of the NBL (a NBA predecessor) and how he built the Celtics dynasty and his life after he resigned from coaching. Since this is vintage Auerbach, he has an opinion about everything and you read many of them, but he is a well-educated opinion on all things basketball and an interesting opinion on things not-basketball.

The book also tells of Auerbach's celebrity, such as the President of the United States making Bill Gates wait so that he could talk basketball with Auerbach. As an added bonus, Feinstein paints interesting tales about the others involved at the luncheons.

I rate basketball books based on how they compare to each other, so a 5-star book is in the top 1/5th of all of them that I have read.

I initially purchased this book due to being a lifelong basketball fan as well as someone who has enjoyed John Feinstein's books. Almost from the beginning, I was treated to both the fascinating reminiscences as well as wisdom of one of America's true treasures, Red Auerbach. I am hard-pressed to remember any book that I enjoyed as much and especially delighted in his stories and tales involving George Washington University, our shared alma mater.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a treasure trove of basketball history wrapped around a love for Red Auerbach by his limitless universe of friends who gather weekly at a Washington Chinese restaurant.

My only wish is that I could attend or be a fly on the wall for one of these lunches.

What a great enjoyable book. I grew up in Philly in the 50s and 60s as a Celtics fan. Then I moved to Boston and lived there for 17 years and was a Celtics season ticket holder. Red Auerbach is a true American icon. His collaboration with the great John Feinstein on this book makes for a terrific read. Those who have been privileged to join him at the China Doll for Tuesday chow mein should be on that credit card commercial: Priceless.

The NBA today basically ignores the NBA that was home to places like Syracuse, Cincinnati and Rochester. That is why first-person recollections are so important as the history of those seasons fade with the passing away of former players and owners.

Critics can state with some credibility that Red Auerbach has had so much written on him and by him that Let Me Tell You A Story can be overlooked. But John Feinstein brings new life to old stories by piecing together biographical information with recollections by Auerbach through interviews at weekly lunches conducted by the hall of famer and friends.

For older fans, it is a travel down memory lane. The fans who started with Bird-Magic, Michael or LeBron will learn where the league was not so many years ago and how the foundation was set to make the NBA truly a world league.

Imagine being invited to lunch with Red Auerbach and having him start a conversation with that line - maybe it's Larry Bird; maybe Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell; maybe Bob Cousy. Over half a century in the game of basketball and all the stories that come with it. I'm not even a Celtics fan, but still enjoyed the stories. You can't help but just sit back and enjoy listening. Combine Red Auerbach's character with one of today's best sports writers/authors, John Feinstein. You have a great formula for a really good book. An easy and enjoyable read for any basketball fan.