FROM OUR EDITORS

Our Review
Hoop Dreams
Ever imagine Red Auerbach as a general? Pat Riley as a commander? Absolutely, says Secretary of Defense William Cohen. In Court Vision, bestselling New York Times writer Ira Berkow interviews movers, shakers, celebrities, dancers, poets, and even a renowned chef on basketball. These uncommon observers share a common connection to hoops, often beginning when young. Distinguished and accomplished now as adults, they all glory in hardwood athleticism, personalities, and rivalries, their various perspectives revealing a true love of the game.

Abstract painter Frank Stella, even more than most, sees artistry in basketball: "There is a famous Caravaggio painting in which the head of Holofernes is held right out in your face. It's the same way that Michael Jordan used to hold the ball out in front of him, palming the ball, and tantalizing his defender."

Woody Allen, longtime Knicks aficionado and Madison Square Garden courtside resident, speaks of his own motivations as a fan. "Drama," says Allen, is what he values most. "Drama and aesthetics. I'm more interested in those aspects than in who wins or loses."

Meanwhile, the late Walter Matthau cared very much for who won and lost, particularly when he had money on the game: "I find working -- acting in a film -- easier than when I'm in the middle of a bet. When making a movie, you can have a number of takes to get the scene right. Whereas in a bet, it's that day, and you either win or lose. There's no fooling around. Yeah, it's a rough number."

Novelist Erica Jong, ever the sensualist, sees basketball a bit differently: "It's sexy to see these gorgeous young hunks jumping around for your benefit. I don't think Woody Allen would say that. But I think most women would. And I think there's something really visceral about getting that ball in the basket."

If not attending the games, many of the interview subjects prefer to watch basketball at home while listening to classical music. The players' movements and the music synchronize. Basketball, in turn, informs musicians' work. An orchestra conductor, glancing at a soloist, sees himself as a point guard.

Comparing the conditioning of basketball stars with ballet stars, celebrated dancer Edward Villella singles out the grace and agility of Kobe Bryant. "This guy is so economical in his moves, so smooth. He's got timing. He can change direction. He can go in two directions at the same time, which is another thing that ballet dancers work really hard at." His further analysis of Bryant's athleticism is downright mesmerizing.

Berkow's subjects, all from beyond the realm of professional sports, offer fresh metaphors and comparisons, far livelier than the hackneyed prose filling column inches in the sports section. Sharon Stone likens the chemistry between Magic Johnson and Pat Riley to that between Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese. A famous psychiatrist contemplates Freud's reaction to Dennis Rodman. Meanwhile, Chris Rock boldly contrasts Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal: "I think Allen Iverson is the best player in the game. You can say Shaq, but he's a center. Playing center is like hitting home runs from second base."

Though split on their opinions of Iverson and Rodman, the interviewees unanimously (save for chef Julia Child) deify Michael Jordan. "A person should act as an inert projectile once he's left the floor," explains Nobel Prize-winning chemist Kary Mullis. "Michael Jordan just might be floating."

The late film critic Gene Siskel, a season-ticket holder with front-row seats to Bulls games, recalled, "One time Jordan made a fantastic clutch shot against the Miami Heat, and their coach, Pat Riley, called to Jordan as he ran past him, 'You rat!' It was like something out of an old James Cagney movie."

As for Child, she lost interest in the game after her playing days ended and has never been to the Boston Garden or the Fleet Center to sample their cuisine. However, she does have a culinary critique of Fenway Park franks: "They were very good, but the bun had no character. The bun was kind of mushy, not very good at all. Oh, I had everything on it, but it still didn't improve the bun."

Brenn Jones is a freelance writer in New York City and a frequent contributor to Barnes & Noble.com.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Nobel laureates on the fast break? Symphony orchestra conductors on the Alley-Oop? Astronauts on the free throw? Bestselling New York Times writer Ira Berkow presents a unique look at America's premiere sport—and its fans—through interviews with a remarkable cross section of widely known and extraordinarily accomplished individuals in a variety of fields who explain what the lure of basketball is for them. Berkow probed the hearts of Woody Allen, Tom Brokaw, Saul Bellow, Walter Matthau, Nikki Giovanni, Donald Trump, Frank Stella, Grover Washington, Jr., Seiji Ozawa, and Sharon Stone, among others, to uncover fresh, funny, controversial, and often surprising opinions about the teams and players who make the game intriguing. The interviews also offer compelling insight not only into what makes basketball transcendent, but how these luminaries view the world of basketball from their own particular expertise, and learn from it.

About the Author:

Ira Berkow is a sports columnist for the New York Times and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary. He has written numerous books, including the national bestseller Red: A Biography of Red Smith, and most recently, a memoir, To the Hoop: The Seasons of a Basketball Life. He lives in New York City.

SYNOPSIS

Nobel laureats on the fast break?Symphony orchestra conductors on the alley-oop?Astronauts on the free throw?

Bestselling New York Times writer Ira Berkow presents a unique look at America's premier sport—and its fans—thorugh interviews with a remarkable cross section of widly known and extraordinarily accomplished individuals in a variety of fields, who explain what the lure of basketball is for them. Berkow talked with Chris Rock, Woody Allen, Tom Brokaw, Saul Bellow, Johnnie Cochran Jr., Walter Matthau, Nikki Giovanni, Donald Trump, Julia Child, Frank Stella, Erica Jong, Grover Washington Jr., Seiji Ozawa, and Sharon Stone, among others, to uncover fresh, funny, controversial, and often surprising opinions about the teams and players who make the game intriguing. "My height was insufficient for a serious career. But to this day, if I play in a game with kids eight years old and under, I'm a tremendously effective shot blocker."—Woody Allen "A basketball game is a two-hour version of life, and that's the beauty of it. You have a start, you have a middle, you have a finish. The nice part is that you don't have to go eighty years."—Donald Trump"I always say that the most dangerous play in basketball is the open white man. It's because there is nothing more surefire... . A white guy open behind the arc is frightening." —Chris Rock

The interviews also offer compelling insight not only into what makes basketball transcendent, but these luminaries view the world of basketball how their own particular expertise and learn from it.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

True basketball lovers will use any opportunity to expound on the meaning of the game. In this light-hearted collection of interviews with popular personalities, Berkow, New York Times sports columnist and author of To the Hoop: The Seasons of a Basketball Life, revels in the chance to make as many connections as possible between the life of the game and the game of life. He talks to an amazing array of cultural forces, from some obvious fans of the game, like Woody Allen and Mario Cuomo, to some surprising sources of hoops wisdom, such as writer William Goldman and conductor Seiji Ozawa. At their most philosophical, the conversations reveal how basketball models creativity and can mirror society and life. The banter hits the zone when the talk turns to players, coaches and opportunities taken and lost. Berkow misses a few opportunities of his own here. In particular, his conversations with women (only three of 27 subjects) feel perfunctory; his focus on the NBA cuts out the ripe women's game; and the seemingly verbatim and repetitious q&a format gets tiresome and doesn't allow for thematic synthesis. He turns to the same topics too often, especially when he repeatedly brings up Sprewell's nasty temper, Rodman's general badness and Jordan's perfection. Still, this is an entertaining gathering of strong, interesting opinions--and real fans of the game will love the give and go. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal