Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He MadeInPlaying for Keeps, David Halberstam takes the first full measure of Michael Jordan's epic career, one of the great American stories of our time. A narrative of astonishing power and human drama, brimming with revealing anecdotes and penetrating insights, the book chronicles the forces in Jordan's life that have shaped him into history's greatest basketball player, and the larger forces that have converged to make him the most famous living human being in the world. FromThe Breaks of the GametoSummer of '49, David Halberstam has brought the perspective of a great historian, the inside knowledge of a dogged sportswriter, and the love of a fan to bear on some of the most mythic players and teams in the annals of American sport. With Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls he has given himself his greatest challenge, and produced his greatest triumph. The book is rich with Halberstam's professional signature: incisive, carefully woven human portraits of the major figures. We see the various players and teams the Bulls must overcome on their long, hard journey to six world championships, including Larry Bird and the Celtics, Isiah Thomas and the Pistons, and Magic Johnson and the Lakers. We get a rare insider's view of the dynamics between Jordan, the star, and the others who played critical roles in the championship seasons, including the shrewd, thoughtful Phil Jackson, the enigmatic Scottie Pippen, and the curiously shy Dennis Rodman. In addition, we see the bitter divisions between players and management on the Bulls, and the NBA's interior pressures and conflicts as basketball grows during Jordan's reign into a phenomenally successful big-time celebrity sport. This book is, as well, about fame in America, the forces that create it and its consequences. Among other things, we see how David Falk and Nike launched the campaign that sold Jordan to the world, abetted by a small Oregon ad agency, Wieden and Kennedy, and a struggling young Brooklyn filmmaker named Spike Lee. The product of tireless on-the-ground reporting suffused with the wisdom and imagination of one of our greatest writers, Playing for Keeps is a book that, in defining Michael Jordan, also helps to define America in the Jordan Era. |
Contents
Paris October 1997 | 3 |
Wilmington Laney High 19791981 | 17 |
Chicago November 1997 | 23 |
Copyright | |
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ability all-star asked assistant coach athlete ball baseball basket basketball basketball player became best player better Bulls Buzz Peterson called career Carolina Celtics championship Chapel Hill Chicago Chuck Daly Collins contract court Daly David Falk deal Dean Smith defense draft Drexler dunk early Ebersol fans Finals going Grover guard hard high school Horace Grant James Worthy Jerry Krause Jerry Reinsdorf Johnny Bach kids kind knew Knicks Krause's Kukoc Lakers Larry Bird later league locker room loved Magic Johnson Malone Michael Jordan million never night Nike offense owners Phil Jackson pick Pistons play playoffs practice professional rebound Reinsdorf Riswold Rodman Roy Williams score Scottie Pippen scouts season seemed sense shooting sneaker someone star sure talented talk teammates television thing thought told took tough Utah wanted watching young player