[.ca] Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made (ISBN 0767904443)

From Amazon.com:
One of the finest nonfiction writers in any lineup, Halberstam likes to alternate what he's deemed his serious work--books like The Best and the Brightest, The Fifties, and The Children--with his sporting interludes, though in his hands, sports are much, much more than fun and games. Books like The Breaks of the Game and October 1964 use sports as a prism. Culture, race, society, and history are all filtered through it, and Halberstam refocuses--and interprets--what comes out the other side. That he would now turn his considerable abilities to exploring Michael Jordan is not surprising. Halberstam loves hoops, and Jordan not only defines the game, he defines an era. His fame crosses international borders as easily as he dribbles past half-court lines. In focusing on Jordan--as athlete and force of nature--and his osmosis from a young hoop dreamer to product pitchman to the world, Halberstam is really examining intangibles like myth and legend, celebrity and fame, wealth and image, excellence and genius, race and style, the qualities of heroism and the pursuit of perfection. "That there had been even one Michael Jordan seemed in retrospect something of a genetic fluke," he writes, "and the idea that anyone would arrive in so short a span of time and do what he did both on and off the court seemed highly unlikely." But the phenomenon that is Jordan did just that. Understanding, even admiring, what he did, how he did it, and what it means in a basketball context and a larger one is Halberstam's goal, and, despite Jordan's lack of cooperation--or maybe because of it--Halberstam's muscular prose and thinking scores powerfully. Yet, there is a wistfulness, in the end, to Playing for Keeps; the game doesn't seem as much fun and collegial as it used to for Halberstam, and Jordan, great as he may be, emerges with less of the historic grace exhibited by Jackie Robinson, Ali, and Arthur Ashe than with a quality that Halberstam deems the athlete-explorer "in terms of going beyond previously accepted limits of what was humanly possible, and somehow by dint of physical excellence and unmatched willpower, pushing those limits forward that much more." Dazzling, certainly, but not necessarily heroic. Playing for Keeps is also available on audiocassette. --Jeff Silverman

The best sports book I have ever read:
This book doesn't just tell you why Michael was such a great athlete, it tells you why. From his ultra (and I mean insane) competitiveness to his landmark athleticism. I began to understand that Michael Jordan is an argument for theism. There seems to be no way Jordan could have existed without God specifically forming him to be a basketball player. Many people talk about Jordans jumping ability but few speak about his olympic-type speed. Combine that with the ulitmate desire to win and you have a guy that could remain the greatest ever for a LONG period of time. But David Halberstam is in no way offering a book full of praise to Michael Jordan. There were times in the book where I felt almost sick to my stomach reading how incredibly psycho Jordan can be. But you come out realizing that Jordan is indeed the best and there is good reason for it. What I like most about the book is that it reads at times like a scouting report. It tells of Jordan in high school when he was cut from Varsity. He dominated on JV, and when he moved up to Varsity, he dominated on varsity. Scouts are quoted in the book as saying that Jordan was the best high school player they had ever seen. So he wasn't as much a late bloomer as a well-kept secret. Then it goes into college and we know the rest of the story. This is most informative and intelligent book on basketball I have ever read. Highly recommended.

Playing for Keeps Michael Jordan and the Wolrd He Made:
This book is the best Jordan book I ever read. Lots of great details about JOrdan was included. This is also my first time reading David Halberstam's book. After I read "Playing for Keeps Michael Jordan and the Wolrd He Made" I think I will read more books by David Hablerstam. This book not only showed about Michael Jordan's life but also mention about how NBA change over time in the 80's and the 90's. This book is just amazing so i highly recommand people to buy this book and read it!

One of the best Sports books in recent years by a master!:
When David Halberstam undertakes any subject, you can be absolutely sure that it will be exhaustively researched. Having read several other books by Mr. Halberstam I can tell you that once again that he maintains his excellent standards. He is more than fair to all parties concerned. Mr. Halberstam takes us to the board rooms, playgrounds, press rooms, restaurants hallways, corridors and offices where things were set in motion. This book covers so much more than Michael Jordan and the Bulls. He brings to light so many different people and faithfully traces the current sports scene and it's precipators to the source. He does all this in a fascinating manner. This was compelling reading. He covers angles missed entirely in other sports books. You are introduced to the major and the bit players, who are no less compelling. If you enjoyed "The Fifties" and "Breaks of the Game" and are a sports fan. If you want to really know things got to where they are now. This is the book to read. Mr. Halberstam is one of the literary treasures of our time.

Good Book About the Greatest Ever to Play the Game:
Any Jordan fan will enjoy this wordy tribute to His Airness. Halberstam loses a star for some stupid factual errors, which are unforgivable for a journalist to make. The most annoying example was his description of the final game of the Bulls 2nd championship where Paxon hits the 3 for the come-from-behind win. Halberstam inexplicably re-writes history and omits Horace Grant's block at the buzzer to preserve the win. Nitpicking aside, I highly recommend!

Fascinating non-fiction even for non-fans:
I'm not a basketball fan. A friend of mine who is gave me this book as a present. Nonetheless it is an excellently written and riveting look at a very influentual aspect of American public life, society and culture. Halberstam delineates on-court and off-court intrigues expertly in a way that makes even the unitiated understand their significance. Jordan's early years are convincingly narrated as are powerful figures in his life, his dad, North Carolina coach Dean Smith, and Bulls coach Phil Jackson, compellingly portrayed. This isn't a private life though. Halberstam stays away from the wife and kids.