Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made by David Halberstam
A good overview of Michael Jordan's basketball career, up through his second retirement in 2008. Halberstam is an excellent historian (see, for instance, The Reckoning). Maybe that's why this book struck a bit of a discordant note with me; it reads like a book about sports written by a historian. There's a distance or lack of intimate feel for the small details of the game. Too, like many sports books, it includes too many locker room- type quotes; frankly "we're so *%$#@! great" just doesn't come across as well in the written word as it might in the verbal heat of the battle. Another quibble I have is that the book is not written in a linear fashion. There is a lot of back and forth, past to present. While useful at times, it feels like a gimmick. A book on the Bulls' last season, Blood on the Horns, while not nearly so comprehensive, is a much more enjoyable read.
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