[.ca] When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback (ISBN 0743254279)

When Nothing Else Matters: The REAL Michael Jordon:
I wanted to tell everyone how much this book rocked. This is so revealing about what Michael Jordon thought, did, and wished he could of done, over the 2 seasons that he came back into the NBA. This is a quick read, and it tells an amazing story. This is a 100x what you get from any other sports book, and especially from anything you could ever see on NBC. Michael Leahy is an amazing writer who has a nack for getting the stuff that people really want to read. You want to know the real Michael Jordon? Then read "When Nothing Else Matters", by the acclaimed Wasington Post writer, Michael Leahy.

When Nothing Else Matters: The REAL Michael Jordon:
I wanted to tell everyone how much this book rocked. This is so revealing about what Michael Jordon thought, did, and wished he could of done, over the 2 seasons that he came back into the NBA. This is a quick read, and it tells an amazing story. This is a 100x what you get from any other sports book, and especially from anything you could ever see on NBC. Michael Leahy is an amazing writer who has a nack for getting the stuff that people really want to read. You want to know the real Michael Jordon? Then read "When Nothing Else Matters", by the acclaimed Wasington Post writer, Michael Leahy.

Well written but too negative for me.:
I really enjoy sports books, but I found this to be just too negative. I actually stopped reading it halfway through. Leahy reports only the negative aspects in Jordan's comeback. His view is one of contempt. Maybe it's inevitable when you're around a bunch of spoiled millionaire athletes? I don't know. But as a basketball fan, I casually watched the comeback when it happened. It seemed a little sad sometimes, as MJ wasn't the player he once was. But at other times it was amazing - just to see him back, see the fans enjoying his performance, and seeing him rise to the occasion against the NBA's new stars. Leahy doesn't seem to see the magic that occurred here, and after each session reading I was left feeling depressed. Why would someone write so negatively about another human being? There is really no positives in the book at all. If Jordan scored 50 points one night, Leahy would find a reason why that was a horrible thing. That's not cool, and not for me.

Honest and absorbing:
The Michael Jordan story always seems to be told in extremes. Either he is heralded as an icon so mindlessly that the storytelling appears uninteresting or he is vilified, as previous writers knew the value of tearing down an icon. When Nothing Else Matters is a portrait of a man that feels honest, Jordan is neither vilified nor overly praised; instead Micheal Leahy has given us a view of a man experiencing his only real failure in his career as a professional basketball player. A failure that is proven by the simple fact the Washington Wizards, with Jordan in a powerful position off, then on the court, never ascended the heights of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Eastern Conference. It is a fascinating look at the world's most famous basketball player, during a time period where he seemed unable to transition his on the court reputation and success, to a career in management. Jordan, the man, had grown comfortable being an icon and as his skills faded and his team missed the playoffs, Leahy reveals someone whose disconnect from the world around him made him unable to finesse his way to off the court success. Therefore his last games for the Wizards are revealed to have been one last chance to court the spotlight as a prime-time player, as the chances to move forward off the court didn't exist, Leahy lays out these realities, and Jordan's apparent blindness to them, that shows Jordan as a very accomplished yet out-of-the-loop figure who couldn't overcome his last challenge in the N.B.A. It also makes clear what Micheal Jordan was to the Washington Wizards management, a cash infusion. Leahy's even handed treatment may prevent When Nothing Else Matters from being extreme in its presentation, but it doesn't prevent it from being an extreme success as it stands as a historical document for basketball fans to turn to when looking at a honest portrait of life in the N.B.A.