Rating: 
Summary: An Honest Look at the Man and his Passions
Review: The honesty with which Kareem Abdul-Jabar's "A Season On The Reservation" is written is quite refreshing. In this age of spin control, especially when it comes to athletes and other public figures, it's nice to see a high-profile individual such as Mr. Abdul-Jabar share his insights and interactions with no noticeable smoke or mirrors. He begins his journey to an Apache reservation with hopes of uncovering some history (Mr. Abdul-Jabar has a fascination with Native-American history) and of sharing his wealth of basketball knowledge with the resident high school basketball squad. There are many bumps in the road, though, and "A Season On The Reservation" speaks eloquently about the cultural differences Mr. Abdul-Jabar encounters when dealing with the Native-American basketball players. They are not comfortable being singled out for criticism and they are not necesarily open to learning techniques that may make them better players. Over the course of the book, however, they learn from Mr. Abdul-Jabar and he, in turn, learns from them. One scene in particular, a confrontation with a player named Tony, is amazingly honest. "A Season On The Reservation" paints Mr. Abul-Jabar as a fellow human being, not a sculpture standing on a pedestal. The history lessons in the book, often drawing a parallel between Native Americans and African Americans, get a bit cumbersome occassionally, but "A Season On The Reservation" is well worth the cover price thank to its honest approach.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was terrible
Review: The one adjective the I believe most appropriate for this book is condecending...as Mr. Abdul-Jabbar shifts between random thoughts or facts about Native Americans to flat basketball game descriptions...In absolute terms, for a great view on Native Americans, I am sure there are better books...and I must say that for a better view on basketball, heck, read Dennis Rodman. RR
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This book is a must read. You don't have to be a basketball fan, African American or Native American to relate to the author or his sojourn. He touches on human issues and lets you into to his life and the lives of the White Mountain Apache. The reader gets an insight into what makes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tick and some of his passions. The reader gets to know the players of Alchesay High School through the eyes of a true basketball legend and highly intelligent man. You get to see a side of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that the world has never known. I enjoyed this book and found it hard to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Story
Review: This book is a record of Abdul-Jabbar's first season as a basketball coach. When Abdul-Jabbar's mother died, he became quite distraught and didn't know what to do with himself. One of his friends at the White Mountain Apache reservation in Arizona invited him to come to the reservation to try out coaching by working with the high school basketball team on the reservation for a season. Abdul-Jabbar found the invitation attractive for a number of reasons, and decided to give it a go. Once on the reservation, he had to learn not only how to coach rather than play basketball, but he also found himself trying to lead teenagers who weren't always looking for his directions, all while operating in an unfamiliar culture.
After reading the first chapter of the book, I stopped to re-examine the title and cover page to find out who the ghost writer was. After all, most books by sports figures are "told to" rather than written, especially books whose prose flows as well as this one. I was surprised to find that this volume had no ghost writer listed at all. As I read further along in the book, the reason became clear-unlike many other sports figures, Abdul-Jabbar has a number of academic interests and writes quite well. In reading this book, one finds that Abdul-Jabbar is a thinker, a person who brings his analytical skills to problems and new situations. He tries hard to get kids to appreciate the mental aspects of playing basketball. He is quick to pick up on the cultural characteristics that make the Apache kids react differently than other kids in mainstream America. He is occasionally carried away with emotion at games, but afterwards analyzes his inappropriate actions and chalks them up to lessons learned about coaching. Abdul-Jabbar explains how he happened to make a connection with the reservation, describes the kids on the team and the other coaches, and recounts hoop-by-hoop stories of several key games. In a few places, the tale bogs down a little in detail, but overall, it's well written and very enjoyable to read.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book!
Review: This book was very interesting and was filled with a lot of information in many ways. Abdul-Jabbar told us the history of the surroundings, the Apache tribe, and also told of his daily challenges and joys.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book!
Review: This book was very interesting and was filled with a lot of information in many ways. Abdul-Jabbar told us the history of the surroundings, the Apache tribe, and also told of his daily challenges and joys.
Rating:
Summary: A Season on the Reservation
Review: This is an excellent, easily read book about a man going through his mid-life crisis. He tries to pass along lessons of life to those who may not wish to listen or understand what he says. Congratulations, Kareem on such a fine work.
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