Values of the Game [Hardcover]

Bill Bradley (Author), Phil Jackson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

"In many ways basketball was a lens through which I looked at life—I had learned to make judgments about character from what I saw players do on the court."—Bill Bradley

Bradley, former U.S. senator and presidential candidate and member of two championship New York Knicks teams, returns to the scene of his first career, and first passion, in Values of the Game. In ten esssays, filled with personal observations and reflections, he illustrates how the "right stuff" on the court—risking a last-second shot, staying in shape and playing hard, making the unselfish pass, not giving in until the final buzzer—is a proving ground for the "right stuff" in life. More than one hundred dramatic photographs of the best of the NBA—from legends Elgin Baylor and Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, to such stars as Kobe Bryant and Grant Hill, to the greatest ever, Michael Jordan—exemplify the power of courage, discipline, selflessness, respect, and fair play.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Forget for a moment the hype, the overmarketing, the exorbitant ticket prices and salaries, the bad behavior, and the greed. Instead, return to the simple basics of basketball: a court, a hoop, a ball, and a young shooter, sweating to make certain that no one is ever more prepared or confident when the game is on the line. Strip all else away, and you come to the core of the game. It's something of a sacred place for Bill Bradley, and after a decade in the NBA and three terms in the United States Senate, it's a place he revisits with real ardor and reverence in 10 gracefully illustrated essays that cohere into a marvelous reflection on essentials and values.

"The game is still full of joy and the lessons learned from it stay with you," he insists, "even though the game has changed, the old values still flow through it." The values he writes about may indeed seem antique beside the frenzied glitz of the NBA, but antiques like passion, discipline, selflessness, and responsibility continue to form the basis of character on and off the court. Of course, Bradley, with possible eyes on the White House, is writing about much more than basketball here. In some ways, this is a clear statement of his political philosophy: a country that can understand, instill, and pursue the values he's praising is a country that can work together. It's in these values that he finds the antidote to the tawdriness and partisanship that's managed to sully the level of the national debate. --Jeff Silverman

From Library Journal

Former U.S. senator and New York Knick Bradley has written often and quite eruditely about the two things he knows best: basketball and politics (e.g., Time Present, Time Past, LJ 1/96). This latest (and handsomely illustrated) book addresses both areas. On the first level, it views basketball from a nearly metaphysical height, as he describes what he sees as the basic values of the game: passion, discipline, selflessness, respect, perspective, courage, leadership, responsibility, resilience, and imagination. For each of these values, he describes illustrative incidents from his career and the game's history, and through each there is also a veiled criticism of pro basketball as it exists today. On the second level, the reader can project these virtues onto life itself, and this is perhaps the book's greatest value: as a map of conduct. In his introduction, Bradley rightly recommends that this fine book be shared by parents and children. Highly recommended for school and public libraries.?William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Artisan (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157965116X
• ISBN-13: 978-1579651169
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #476,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bradley's book reminds us how we can all be champions, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Values of the Game (Hardcover)

In this inspiring book, Bradley demonstrates the values that have helped shape him as a person, and enabled him to achieve excellence. The book is a colorful and creative collection of eye-catching basketball photos interlaced with chapters on values of the game.

In describing ideals that have helped him and other champions to succeed both on and off the court, he encourages us all to pursue excellence in our own lives- whatever our life circumstances may be.

He names ten core values that he has found meaningful in his development as a player and a person. They are: passion, discipline, selflessness, respect, perspective, courage, leadership, responsibility, resilience and imagination.

Bill Bradley has demonstrated here that he is truly a man of the people. He wants to encourage every American to celebrate the gifts, abilities and values that give them meaning and hope in their lives.

I highly recommend this book to everyone with the courage to reach beyond their grasp and strive for excellence in their lives. The pictures and stories are great, and the essays are even better. Pick it up today, and also, be sure to make your vote count in November- your opinion matters and deserves to be heard!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving Without the Ball, December 23, 1998

By 

Eastman (Charlotte) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Values of the Game (Hardcover)

When I was 10, my father gave me a thin book written by John McPhee called, "A Sense of Where You Are," which was based on his New Yorker feature articles about college basketball's player of the year, Bill Bradley of Princeton. McPhee's title was based on Bradley's observation that an experienced and perceptive player should know where he is on the court at all times, and be able to know where his teammates are, and anticipate Where They Will Be, at all times. McPhee described teammates disappointed in themselves because Bradley would find them with a pass when they were just getting open, and before the teammate was even aware he had beaten his man and was ready for the ball. McPhee observed an exceptional young man, not just a ball player, who had a remarkable sense of where he was in life and where he was going. Bradley has never lost this quality.

Later, with the Knicks, Bradley sacrificed his individual game completely within the Knicks system. His specialties were instantaneous touch passes to teammates breaking to the basket, and moving without the ball to disrupt the opponent's defense and create an open shot.

Bradley is still "moving without the ball." He could have been senator for life from New Jersey, but gave up his seat voluntarily to study and prepare himself more (for the Presidency?) His new book provides basketball fans (and anyone else who appreciates physical excellence, mental discipline, and high moral character, beautifully illustrated and described) with a portrait of what the sport can be at its best, and a lesson about what success takes (and costs). His message connects on all levels, the visual, because of the magnificent collection of photographs, the intellectual, because of the powerful and effective prose (even the photo captions are eloquent), and emotional (especially for the basketball fans reliving the great achievements).

As in the book I received as a child, Bradley quotes the lesson he learned at youth camp from "Easy" Ed McCauley, otherwise famous as the answer to the trivia question, "Who did the Celtics trade to get Bill Russell?" McCauley, a great teacher who obviously worked hard to make it look so "easy," told the young Bradley to always practice, because someday he'll meet someone in competition with roughly equal abilities, and the better prepared will win.

I have a feeling Bradley is practicing right now for the year 2000. With the mess we have in Washington (as well as the NBA) right now, the values he describes are refreshing. I put down the book (a cover to cover read in less than 2 hours) full of hope.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Values of the Game extend life beyond the hardwood., June 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Hicksville, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Values of the Game (Hardcover)

VALUES OF THE GAME

There is complete silence in Madison Square Garden; suddenly "swish" Bradley leads the Knicks to another victory and the crowd is in complete pandemonium. Bill Bradley is no longer portrayed simply as a basketball player and a US Senator, he is now seen as a prolific writer. In his most recent book, Values of the Game, Bradley returns to the scene of his first career and is first great passion, basketball. Values of the Game is a wonderfully written book that is filled with some of Bradley's most intense personal reflections. Bradley revisits the basketball court with the fire of a competitor but, with the mind of a writer. Of course things have changed since Bradley's playing days, the shorts are longer and the salaries are higher but, what separates the winners form the losers remains very much the same. No collection of players no matter how good, can win unless a team is formed. No team can succeed unless they share certain values. Among these values that are displayed throughout the book are courage, resilience, discipline, respect and the most notable the pure love for the game. Bradley also discusses other qualities of the game such as the individual courage to risk the last-second shot, to face a hostile crowd, to say "I blew it." The responsibility to teammates, coaches and the fans in honoring the game. Values of the Games is also illustrated with dramatic photographs of players, coaches and archetypal games. Pictures range from legends such as Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Cousy; through the brilliant Magic Johnson and Larry Bird years and the greatest player ever, Michael Jordan. Even if you are not a NBA or college basketball fan the book has references associated with other aspects of life. It is filled with life long lessons that doesn't necessarily deal with professional athletes but, things that mundane people can identify with. The quote "Fame, you learn, is like a rainstorm-it come-on fast and then goes just as quickly, often leaving behind a certain amount of destruction" refers to how one should have the right perspective on themselves. One must realize that in life sometimes you will be the hero but, other times you will be the scapegoat. Bradley lets the reader in on basketball's secrets, which turns out, extend to life beyond the hardwood court.

Joe Reed