Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions [Hardcover]

Peter May (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2008

I’m on top of the world,” shouted NBA Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett, after the Boston Celtics clinched their league-leading 17th NBA championship over their archrival, the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers.

In Top of the World, Peter May chronicles the remarkable 2008 championship run of the team in green—their first in over twenty years. With the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history, the Celtics went from the second-worst record last year to the best record this year. May charts the pivotal moments: from losing out on the Number 1 and Number 2 pick in last year’s draft lottery to swinging trades for future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen; from winning Game 4 of the Finals with one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in NBA Finals history to capping off their remarkable season with another championship banner.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dan Shaughnessy, 11/08
"Does a nice job telling the story of the 2007-08 Celtics."

Bob Ryan, 11/08
"If you're a dedicated Celtics fan, or if you now a dedicated Celtics fan who's on your Christmas Bar Mitzvah or birthday list, have I got the book for you...Peter May's the man for the job....It's all here: everything you want to know...If you're interested in this topic get this book. I don't know how I can be clearer than that."

"Providence Journal," 11/2/08
"An excellent account of last season's Celtics journey."

About the Author

Peter May covered the Boston Celtics for nearly 25 years for the Boston Globe and the Hartford Courant. He is the author with Kim Mulkey of Won’t Back Down. He lives in Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306818108
• ISBN-13: 978-0306818103
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #896,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Basketball > Professional

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1986 Is No Longer "The Last Banner", December 25, 2008

By 

Eric Mayforth (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions (Hardcover)

Peter May's "Top of the World" relives the Celtics' drive to their first NBA championship in 22 years and their seventeenth overall. May tells the story of how the 2008 Celtics were assembled and paints a brief background sketch of coach Doc Rivers and of each of the key members of the title squad. The author takes the reader through the highlights of the team's 66-16 regular season and describes Boston's playoff conquests of the Hawks, Cavaliers, Pistons, and Lakers.

The book's only drawback was the fact that it contained a half-dozen or so factual errors concerning scores or years, and it also falsely asserted on page 219 that the Lakers were playing in the L.A. Sports Arena, not the Forum, in 1969. While the book was good overall, it seemed that no one proofread it. Still, it will be eagerly devoured by any Celtic fan, and May himself must be as pleased as anyone that the title of one of his earlier books, The Last Banner, is now obsolete.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top of the World, December 2, 2008

By 

Joseph Barba (Pollock Pines, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions (Hardcover)

Top of the World provides a great insight into the 2008 Celtics' championship season. You get to know the players and their backgrounds better. The book is well written, easy to read, sustains interest, and hits the important issues. It is a great companion to the DVDs of the playoffs and the team. Highly recommended for true Celtic fans.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celtics story offers obvious parallels for life, December 1, 2008

By 

Rob Byrnes (Geneva, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions (Hardcover)

Rather than simply retell the details of specific games of the season, Peter May offers rare insight into the on and off-court orchestration of a championship season. From ownership to management to coaches to the players themselves - a near complete change from major loser to NBA champion - and here's how it was done in only one season !! It also is a great story of how maximum effort and selfless team play in basketball can produce a champion with obvious parallels for life. Any true sports fan - not only Boston fans - will find this a memorable and rewarding read and one that celebrates teamwork over the ever so prevalent "me-first" attitude in sports today.