[.ca] The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight that ... (ISBN 0316735639)

From Amazon.com:
In 1977, Rudy Tomjanovich and Kermit Washington became entwined in a single punch that would change not only their lives, but how professional basketball is played today. Because the punch dislodged Tomjanovich's skull and nearly destroyed both men's careers, the scuffle never settled as a dusty bit of NBA trivia. Instead, it nearly superseded both men's notable achievements. The history of that punch (it could not, by any standards, be considered a fight) and the fate of the two men are the subjects of John Feinstein's The Punch. In the early days of the NBA, teams had their stars and their "enforcers." Enforcers such as Washington protected star players on the court with their willingness to mix it up. With concise prose, Feinstein reports on this era, following strings of trades, drafts, and personal relationships to their nexus. Those who do not think about basketball on a statistical level may occasionally find themselves lost, but Feinstein, ever conscious of his subject, ties the tangents neatly to the core of the scuffle that led to the infamous punch. Thorough and thoughtful, Feinstein does not make any excuses, nor does he vilify. He simply traces the web of both men's lives back to their adolescent years when it was not about the NBA, nor the punch, but about the game. Anyone who has ever wondered about these two men, or the history of the NBA, will want to read this book. --Karin Rosman

Redundant as All Get Out:
The first 40 pages of "The Punch" will have you racing to the next page- It's a great opener to a great story about the most infamous fight in basketball history. Feinstein has a great oportunity to tell the story of Rudy Tomjonavich and Kermit Washington before and after the punch, and for the most part, the book is fairly interesting. The problem is that he describes the incident and the immediate effects brilliantly in the first 40 pages, so for the next 250 pages there is a strong redundancy. At times I was amazed that I was reading the exact same paragraphs I had already read previously in the book. The book would be exceptional if the author had the trust in the reader to know that they would remember the events of the books beginning and thus cut all the re-telling. Still- I enjoyed this book because it shed a lot of insight not just into these two players lives, but also the NBA and basketball as a sport. It is definatly worth the read but be prepared to skim-

Promises the world, delivers squat:
I hadn't read a sports book since junior high school, and if John Feinstein truly is one of the best authors in the genre, this stinker may well be my last. I expected so much more, and Feinstein promised a gripping tale: One split-second mistake overshadowing a lifetime of good works, forever altering two lives and changing how basketball operates. That's a great premise, but Feinstein never comes anywhere close to proving his point. He's not even in the same zip code. What he does prove is this: Kermit Washington (the puncher) grew up poor, had a so-so basketball career, almost killed a guy, got numerous second chances, but continues to blame everyone else -- racism, other players -- for something that most have forgotten. The punchee, Rudy Tomjanovich, got his face mangled by Washington, missed a year, then had a nifty comeback and became a rich and successful NBA head coach who for some crazy reason doesn't like talking about a dark period of his life. As for the league: It added another referee. Whoop de doo. Feinstein relies heavily on cliches and writes like a freelancer for "Basketball Digest." Chapters drone on and on recapping NBA seasons from the late '70s that could be summarized in a paragraph or two. "The Punch" could have been a fairly interesting 4-page magazine article. Too bad it stretches for more than 300 pages.

Misses his own point:
In the introduction, Feinstein tells us how compelling he found this subject and how he pursued Tomjanovich and Washington rather than writing a book on golf. Then he inexplicably rushes through the book without apparent editing or proofreading. As many of the other reviewers point out, the repetition is extremely distracting. Of course, Feinstein's work never really qualifies as fine literature, but he's usually a very good sports journalist. This plainly is not his best work, which is too bad because he was right -- there was an interesting story here. Regarding that story, the author's presentation was reasonable but could have been more comprehensive. In particular, he presents the punch and it's aftermath as an unfortunate incident -- almost an accident. Although he mentions in passing that Tomjanovich came close to dying, he never explores just what that would have meant, both to Washington and to professional sports. Instead, he recounts both players' careers and alternates between sympathetic and pathetic portrayals of Washington. He seems to want us to choose sides and then tells us that there are no sides. As for Washington, it's unfortunate that this one event has overshadowed all of the good things that he has done inside and outside of basketball. But I have to agree with John Lucas that Washington has never owned up and taken responsibility for his actions. He refers to events using the passive voice. He childishly blames someone else for starting the fight. Heck, Tomjanovich takes more responsibility for what happened than Washington does. And if we use the measure that bad people are people who do bad things, for one moment at least Kermit Washington was a bad person.

Mind-numbing repetition, but strangely compelling:
If you are reading this, then you already know what the book is about, so there is no need for me to describe "The Punch" and who was involved. Unfortunately, the author does not share this belief and not only wants to tell you, but insists on telling you over and over again in mind-numbing repetition. The reason for this is clear to me: this is not really a book. It is a long magazine article masquerading as a book. Some judicious editing would have shown exactly that. But the publishers would have had to issue the book at less than one-half its length which surely would have impeded sales. It is now a respectable length thanks to the author's need to describe the personalties of both men and the surrounding cast too many times. Nevertheless and despite my carping, it is a strangely compelling story and one that most sports enthusiasts may find interesting. Give it a try if the subject interests you, but don't have high expectations.

Deja View all over again:
Like so many other reviewers, I concur with their repeated assaults on the repetitiveness of this book. I tend to read several books at a time, never having a problem picking up where I left off. However, with this book, I kept feeling that I was reading backwards with the rehashing of events and personalities time after time. A good story, yes, but a difficult read.