About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherGrand Central Publishing

ISBN-101401309720

ISBN-139781401309725

eBay Product ID (ePID)69556742

Product Key Features

Book TitleBreaks of the Game

Number of Pages416 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2009

TopicBasketball, Essays, Sports

GenreSports & Recreation, Biography & Autobiography

AuthorDavid Halberstam

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height1.8 in

Item Weight15.2 Oz

Item Length8.2 in

Item Width2.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2008-051121

Dewey Edition22

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Decimal796.323/640979549

SynopsisA New York Times bestseller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. The Breaks of the Game offers an unparalleled glimpse into the gritty, high-stakes world of professional basketball during the late 1970s, including fascinating profiles of legendary superstars Bill Walton and Kermit Washington. Through the lens of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1979-1980 season, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam explores the intense pressures faced by players, coaches, and team owners as they navigate the emerging complexities of the NBA. Readers gain a deep understanding of the psychological, emotional, and physical challenges that define the lives of professional athletes. Halberstam also delves into broader societal issues such as race, class, and the evolution of basketball from a sport to a commercial spectacle, backed by rigorous research and insightful analysis. For those fascinated by the inner workings of sports, the triumphs and tribulations of athletes, and the business behind the game, The Breaks of the Game is an essential read. Experience the raw, unfiltered truth of the NBA's most transformative era and understand the game beyond the court., More than 6 years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his ground-breaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them bestsellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves. The New York Times bestseller, now with a new introduction The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed. It's about the influence of big media, the fans and the hype they subsist on, the clash of ethics, the terrible physical demands of modern sports (from drugs to body size), the unreal salaries, the conflicts of race and class, and the consequences of sport converted into mass entertainment and athletes transformed into superstars--all presented in a way that puts the reader in the room and on the court, and The Breaks of the Game in a league of its own.

LC Classification NumberGV885.52.P67H34 2009