5 comments about Hoop Roots.

1. OK, after reading the previously posted review, I admit that I am one of those readers who will read ANYTHING by John Wideman, regardless of subject- but I disagree that this book has too much roots and too little hoops. This book is fantastic. Wideman manages to discuss basketball- its history, its present, its future, and at the same time discuss race, love, music- all so eloquently that I often had to put the book down and absorb. The various stories of his family members make me wonder how John and his talented daughter Jamila managed to come out on top, when his brother and his son are so mired in tragedy. John Wideman is the best writer alive in America- I am convinced- and this book is an absolute masterpiece.



2. If you think John Wideman's Hoop Roots is about playground basketball you may find yourself disappointed -- as I was.
   Wideman is a wonderful writer. When he describes a player's drive to the basket, gliding into the air, checking out all around him, you can picture the action and feel the the excitement. When he describes the social protocols for the pick-up game he nails it When he describes the early days of the National Basketball Association, including the unique challenges for Black players, you can see it and feel it.
   Unfortunately Hoop Roots contains far too few accounts like these. This book is about John Wideman growing up in a Black neighborhood in Pittsburgh, about his relationship to his family and in particular his grandmother, about Black athletes and Black men in America. Basketball, which has played such a key role in Wideman's life, is sprinkled throughout, often in bits and pieces that left me wanting much more.
   Wideman was a star high school and college basketball player. He came the same neighborhood as NBA great Maurice Stokes and other noted stars. He played highly competitive playground basketball until he was 59, long after he had become an award-winning writer. I had so many questions for him. What was it like playing organized high school and college ball compared to the playgrounds? What were his own experiences as a playground player? What were some of his most memorable experiences in the playground game? How did he ever play until he was 59?!
   Instead Wideman gives us long passages on the different routes he took to get to the playground as a youth, oversized shorts versus short shorts, and a fable about the Globe Trotters first road trip. It's all brilliantly written. It's just not about basketball.



3. I had to read this book for a college course. Too bad for me, since it's the worst book I've had to read from cover to cover. HoRrIbLy boring, mostly incoherent, the book takes very promising themes and turns them into very stylish [material]. Loaded with clichés and overused images. Blah, blah, blah, it goes on and on. If I wasn't being evaluated on it for class I would have stopped reading it after the first 15 pages. It's the only Wideman book I've read, and of course I don't plan to read any others, but if this is proof of his best work, I hope he is a better creative writing professor than his writing would suggest.



4. I had to read this book for a college course. Too bad for me, since it's the worst book I've had to read from cover to cover. HoRrIbLy boring, mostly incoherent, the book takes very promising themes and turns them into very stylish junk. Loaded with clichés and overused images. Blah, blah, blah, it goes on and on. If I wasn't being evaluated on it for class I would have stopped reading it after the first 15 pages. It's the only Wideman book I've read, and of course I don't plan to read any others, but if this is proof of his best work, I hope he is a better creative writing professor than his writing would suggest.



5. May be the best novel about the inner experience of an aging athlete. An autobiographical novel by an accomplished writer and a complex man, Hoop Roots is a challenging read. Wideman demands something of his audience, a rarity these days, and those looking for a mindless basketball book will likely not be up to the task. As in his other books, Wideman occasionally gets carried away with his command of complex language, and some passages are a struggle even for the most commited readers. However, overall this is a first rate novel, by a first rate writer, on a subject with which he is singularly expert.

No comments about La Pirámide del Exito: Construyendo Bloques para una Vida Mejor.

No comments about Shaquille O'Neal: Center of Attention (Achievers).

1 comments about Allen Iverson.

1. The best thing about this book is the pictures. This was definitely written by an outsider with limited insight into the real Allen Iverson. The book appears to be written from news accounts with little insight into Allen Iverson and the important players in his life. If you want to get a look at who Allen really is, look elsewhere.

5 comments about Buck O'Neil and I.

1. If the reader had read the review without a jaundice eye they would have read in black and white where Mr. O'neil sat with the writer and read the book in its entirety, and gave the writer his blessings and said, it was written just as it happened. The reader obviously has a lot of personal problems and has had some kiss and tell stories of their own and they just dont have the intellegence to put it in writing. It also read like a person who may have possibly had something to do with the demise of Ms. Hurtt and Mr. O'neil's relationship. I hardly think Mr O'neil would agree with the readers opinion. If Mr. O'neil, had'nt cared for this young lady I dont beleive he would have had such a love filled relationship with her. For the reader to say that Ms. Hurtt was fulfilling her so called "trashy and stupid fantasies", truly appears to me that the reader had nothing better to write. Seems to me that the relationship was mutual. Im sure if Mr. O'neil felt this book was trashy he would not have given it his blessings. I think it was well written and It clearly lets us see that even upright, well loved people, (even our President) live very normal and human lives. To me there is no discredit to Mr. O'neil or to this young lady. I'm sure Mr. O'neil was proud to have had been graced by this beautiful,and very attractive young lady, who probably added, some much needed spice to Mr. O'neil's life. This was the anonymous readers opinion and everybody has one. To the Arthur of this book keep putting your mind to positive use, and ignore people and their meddeling ways. I personally think this reader should tend to their (DONT KISS AND TELL) business. I gave this book a 5 star cause it was well written for a first time writer.



2. Denise, I happen to be a writer and I read your book, and I thought it was special. I was in a relationship much like yours, so I can identify with some of the issues you had to deal with. People are much like computer viruses, a piece of computer language written in the same language as all the other codes but with harmful intent. Once the code is introduced it gets everything all mixed up and the computer stops producing good results. When situations seem so personal, even if others insult you directly, It has nothing to do with you. People are going to have their own opinion according to their belief system, so nothing they think or say is really about you, but it is about themselves. Their opinion is nothing but a point of view. As children we gossip and intentionally spread rumours to make a person feel bad and we did it quite thoughtlessly, but as grown-ups we become much more calculated in our efforts to bring other people down. Never mind your first review, only the truth will set you free. Good luck on your future material, I will be looking for it. I am leaving you with my e-mail so you can read my novel.



3. I salute her. An dependent woman with her own, who cared for another twice her age. She faced much adversity simply because this man was a well know Icon in the history of black sports. I think there is a message that she was trying to deliver. You can love and live without being a "gold digger". Her first book, not bad. I am a black woman, "I feel her" My salute to the lady. I am loking forward to reading her next book.



4. Why is Buck O'Neil bucking the truth. This only makes him look very foolish. Why would he give this young ladies book his blessings and turn around and say to the public that some of the things in the book a not true? he would be better off saying to the public/press he has no comment! rather than trying to make her look like a liar. It's almost as though he apprently still can not own up to the truth!! are he is trying to hide something? this young lady wrote her story and continued to have respect for Buck O'Neil by even allowing him to read her manuscript after all he subjected her two, before it was published. I beleave her story, and wish her much success and for her to remember that the TRUTH always prevails. She wrote the book to bring closure of him and all she went through in their time together and he does not even have the decency to give closure to her. Buck O'Neil really needs to come out of denial. his presnt behavoir really holds a familiar similarity upon which she had already described in her book of him (DOUBLE MINDED).



5. I was sorely disappointed. It was very poorly written to the point that as I read, I began to wonder if Ms. Hurtt had an editor. I expected more on how one deals with a May - December relationship; but instead what I got was a clothesline full of her dirty laundry.

   It is pretty evident that Ms. Hurtt orchestrated/plotted/schemed to take advantage of a financially secure old man who had just loss his wife after a long illness. And when things did not go as Ms. Hurtt had planned (get pregnant; he will marry me; then I will have his child and secure an inheritance for myself) she chose to air her dirty laundry in public with the hopes, I believe, of making money by attempting to muddy Mr. O'Neil's good name. If indeed Ms. Hurtt was 4 1/2 months pregnant when O'Neil was given the Fatherhood Award June 17, 1999 as she writes in the text, it certainly did not take her long after Mrs. O'Neil's death on November 2, 1997 to jump Mr. O'Neil "bones." I even wonder if her ploy was not begun long before Mrs. O'Neil's death.

   I came away with the distinct impression that this girl had nothing but "ill intentions" to begin with - all related to money. I am disappointed. Shame on her.
   I rate her text (it does not quality as a book) at Zero Stars.

No comments about My Losing Season.

No comments about King of the Mount: The Jim Phelan Story.

No comments about THESE DEVILS WORE BLUE: A Basketball Memoir.

3 comments about Glory Days: On Sports, Men, and Dreams-That Don't Die.

1. Bill Reynolds is certainly one of America's finest sports journalists. "Glory Days" addsto that luster.While some may dismiss it as a purely personal account of one's growing up, it is a lot more. It is a book to be read and enjoyed by all former star athletes, high school or college, who realized at some subsequent point in their life that they had to move on but did not want to let go of the one thing that they had worked at while growing up A disclaimer: Bill was a fraternity brother of mine at Brown.



2. This is the second Bill Reynolds book that I have read. Loved them both. I found his descriptions taking me back to high school and the playground. It brought back a lot of memories and also made me think about how I prioritized basketball for so many years.

   Non basketball junkies may call Bill's live experiences crazy. I dream of some of his experiences. Great book!




3. This is a book I have loaned to friends of mine and I highly recommend it. If you have played hoop, spent hours in pick-up games or shooting hoops to get better, you'll relate to this book. Reynolds does a great job at painting the picture for you. If you've been there, shared the experiences, you'll fly through this book. I particulary liked the parts where he talked in detail about biding his time on the bench as a young player, getting better, flying under the radar and then becoming an elite player.

No comments about Dusty: Journey of a High School Coaching Icon.