Spike Lee: Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Spike Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 1997

The game, the players, yesterday and today, along with on- and off-court anecdotes, engaging reminiscences, and controversial opinions, The Best Seat in the House shares with readers the memories of avid Knicks fan Spike Lee over the past three decades. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is filmmaker Spike Lee's reminiscences of his love affair with basketball (make that the New York Knicks), from the time he was a child growing up in Brooklyn, New York, to the present. While it's a kind of history of the game, from its long-ago status as a not-quite professional sport (which seems unbelievable in this day of multi-million-dollar salaries and prime time television exposure), it's also a very personal journey. Lee paints an evocative portrait of growing up in Brooklyn in the 1960s with his four brothers and sisters, remembers his high school years and time at Morehouse College in Atlanta, and his start as a filmmaker. Film fans will find a special treat in this book--Lee's account of the creation of the character Mars Blackmon, who appeared in She's Gotta Have It, and several commercials for Nike.

From Library Journal

Against the backdrop of basketball, provocative filmmaker Lee discusses the events, work, success, and people in his life so far. Spice is added in the form of interviews with coaches, players, and other celebrity fans, such as Woody Allen, conducted by the author, who is regularly visible courtside at New York Knicks games. Lee seems especially drawn to coaches, whose work is clearly similar to film directing. Not surprisingly, race plays a large role in the views expressed in this memoir, but we also observe what Lee values most highly: creativity, hard work, dedication, and pride. All types of libraries will want this book, which is engaging and vernacular in style.
-.?John Maxymuk, Robeson Lib., Rutgers Univ., Camden,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 327 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (May 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 060960029X
• ISBN-13: 978-0609600290
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, January 11, 2001

By 

PaulB "pbanik" (Saskatoon, SK Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir (Paperback)

Even though I'm not a New York Knicks fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Spike Lee, for all the movies he made, I enjoyed his foray into the world of being an author. This book mixes his life from the time he was a child to the time he was an adult with memories of his beloved Knicks, past and present. It was cool to hear about Monroe,Barnett,DeBusschere,Reed,Frazier,Russell (Cazzie, not Bill, but he mentions Bill too I think) and others as well. He also talks about stars of previous eras and comparing them to ones in more current eras. It's really two books in one, combining his life (an autobiography) with his love of the Knicks. We get to learn about both subjects.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Spike's Best Work, But Still Entertaining, June 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Spike Lee: Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir (Hardcover)

Although perennially overlooked by the Motion Pictures Academy, Spike Lee long ago proved that he is a thoughtful and engaging filmmaker (and not a racist, as some reviewers will lead you to believe). Unfortunately, his filmamking skills do not crossover to the world of books. While Best Seat in the House does provide an insighful look into the world of professional basketball, especially the New York Knicks teams of the early-1970s, it seems as if this book was written off the top of Mr. Lee's head, haphazardly putting to paper stories he recollects. If you are a Knicks fan, you'll enjoy this book. If you are more interested in Spike Lee, rent Do The Right Thing, Crooklyn, or any other of his provocative films

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 20, 2008

By 

R. Bao "book review" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir (Paperback)

Give you an example: It seems Spike had issue with Scottie Pippen. He mentioned Scottie privately said Pennny was a better player than MJ once a while.
Obviously it's a personal experience, which makes this book unique.