Customer Reviews

Sixth Man, The: A Season Inside the NBA Playground

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1 star:		(7)

 

 

This "book" with large type and few pages can be read in one sitting and does not live up to its billing as a look behind the scenes of an NBA season. All this book actually amounts to is a short synopsis of an NBA season with little interaction between the players the author is supposed to be introducing us to and himself. At points it comes across as ego stroking on Palmer's part dropping names of all the people who know him and how he gets into all the parties at All-Star weekend. The premise of this book has potential, unfortunately Palmer does not deliver what it is billed as.

i just purchased this book and im glad that i got it at a 99 cents store.
im amazed that mr palmer makes a living WRITTING.
the mechanics used by the author are similar to the ones teenagers use in social network websites.the book seems to be nothing more that a long twiter.
i started writting a book a few years ago,in spanish my first language,and i stopped thinking it was not good enough.reading mr palmer WORK has giving me new hope.i mean, if he got published,why not me?

I could have read Slam magazine or watch MTV cribs to get the information in this book. He wrote 3 paragraphs about the players he was suppose to follow for a season. All he talked about was what type of cars the players drove and which celebrities he saw. I thought it would be an updated version of Larry Platt's Keepin' It Real. Larry actually wrote about the players.

I realize the book doesn't portray itself as a hard nose expose or anything like that, but what it amounts to is a writer name-dropping and basically mentioning the perks of being an ESPN writer. There is no in-depth character study of any of the players and the disconnect displayed makes the book very uninteresting. I know nothing more about any of these players than what I have seen already during Sunday Sportcenter pieces. If you're looking for a glimpse into the life of players, this book will keep you waiting, just like the writers are kept waiting by the players. The author definitely left on a miss with this one.

Chris Palmer's book on his year following the National Basketball Association, "The Sixth Man," has two large issues. One can be dismissed pretty easily, the other really can't.

First, the easy one. Palmer is definitely "new school" when it comes to journalism. He's trying to follow the NBA from the inside-out, rather than the outside in. Toward that end, he has tried to become close to some of the players.

Palmer apparently was a pretty good player in high school, and is infatuated by basketball. Since he never came close to the league, he has to be content with getting a thrill out of having NBA players' phone numbers on his cell phone directory. He also writes in a street-smart style that is not exactly traditional.

Now, this improved access comes with a price -- it's a little difficult to be objective when you are close to your subjects. So if you want hard-hitting commentary on the NBA's 2004-05 season, look elsewhere.

But ... the rules are changing when it comes to journalism these days, particularly on line. While Palmer's point of view isn't traditional, you could argue that "The Sixth Man" adds a different perspective and thus has its value. OK, fine.

However, there's the problem of reconciling the matter of what Palmer wanted to write and what he actually wrote.

Palmer's idea was to get close to five different NBA players during the course of a season, and spend a day per month with each of them in order to see what they were like. If you throw out the objections above, this could be interesting.

But Palmer spends close to the first half of the book (which comes in diary form) trying to convince players and agents of the value of such a project, and really gets nowhere. Instead, this is more about Palmer than the players.

Therefore, the actual finished project really has no point. There's some name-dropping, and the revealing of a little behind-the-scenes stuff. Learning about a writer's computer problems or toothache just isn't that interesting. And Palmer only hurts himself when he talks about taking the gift of a pair of shoes from an NBA player, something that any responsible journalist would never do.

I was afraid while reading this that being a middle-aged guy would hurt in my perception of this book. Therefore, I was happy to see that most of the reviews on Amazon.com liked it about as much as I did. Which is, not much.

"The Sixth Man" is a quick enough read, and young people might get a kick of a few sections of it. Otherwise, it's about worth what I paid for it. Clue: I bought it in the dollar store.

I read this book about 6 years ago, but I will always remember how bad it was. The whole purpose of the book was to give insight on how NBA players live their lives, but I am pretty sure in the conclusion he said he couldn't get real insight because it was impossible to get in contact with them. Basically, his conclusion contradicts the entire purpose of the book.

I found this in a discount book store, and was hoping that it would be an interesting, behind-the-scenes look at how NBA players live when they're not playing a game. Instead, it was basically Palmer's tale of trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to get access to a handful of players, but reaping the benefits of swimming in their wake. I agree with most of the other reviews about this book, and found it a chore just to finish it. Not something I would recommend.

I got this book at the dollar store, even for $1 I feel ripped off. Most of the narrative is about players avoiding Chris Palmer, Palmer going to the wrong address, Palmer's notes flying out the window or getting stolen, Palmer getting a toothache, Palmer's hard drive crashing. This shoddy book reads like an extended excuse for why he didn't write a decent book.

Chris Palmer's insight into the world of the NBA is about as revealing as George Michael's Sports Machine.

This is probably one of the worst books I have ever read. It provided no insight into the players inside the NBA culture. All the author wrote about is how he gets shafted every time he tries to go out with the players after games. It is very clear that the players wanted no part in a writer witnessing their lives outside the court. Instead all we get is an inside look at how a writer travels in the NBA and trust me, it is not exciting!!! Don't waste your money.