Rating: 
Summary: OK biography of the 1st 3 Bulls Championships
Review: ...which I did enjoy because I live in Chicago and I'm a big fan of the Michael Jordan Bulls. This was a nice narrative about Phil's experiences with the first 3 Bulls championships and the events of his life that brought him there. Plus, Phil's got a nice, authentic speaking voice and that was enjoyable, too.However, I had gotten this in hopes of getting some inspiration or ideas in how to implement his "unique" spiritual or developmental principles - the "sacred" in Sacred Hoops. There really wasn't much of that here. I was left wondering how much of his success was the principles and how much of it was being in the right place at the right time. Buy this if you're a Bulls fan but don't look for much more. This is a review of the abridged CD version
Rating: 
Summary: Great for Teachers
Review: As a teacher with only a passing interest in basketball I found this book to be very useful. His heartfelt attempts to unite larger values with coaching was an object lesson for my job. Bravo Jackson.
Rating: 
Summary: Basketball as five-man tai chi
Review: As winner of 2 three-peat basketball champions as coach of the Chicago Bulls, and now with the Lakers, you have to listen to his team approach as quest for spiritual depth in the game. Although perhaps more of interest to the basketball fan, Jackson's Zen-Christian-Lakota insights into the ego and anger of a high caliber (and $) team, and as a grand experiment with the truth (to paraphrase Thich Nhat Hanh). The use of Tex Winter's triangle offense (five-man tai chi), as a team building exercise was fascinating. His descriptions of his own awakening from a Pentecostal background, and continual striving to understand deeper principles and make mid-course correction not just to the team but himself. As he says, "Being aware is more important that being smart". A good read!
Rating:
Summary: Phil "dances with champioships" Jackson
Review: Coach Jackson has given us an enlightening look at his coaching philosophies, and where many of them originated. Throughout his days living in a strict family trying to "find" his religion, to his days as N.Y. Knick, to coaching in Cuba, to winning championships with the Bulls, Coach Jackson was truly in it for the journey and not just the destination. He continues to learn and experiment everyday, and that is what keeps him on the cutting edge of today's great leaders. I particularly enjoyed his reference to the Lakota Sioux, and how they can be studied in order to understand the framework and harmony needed to build an effective team. Everyone says that they could win with Micheal Jordan, or Shaq and Kobe, and I dare them to try it. It is not as easy as it sounds, and in this book Jackson allows us to see the trials and tribulations as well as how he got through them. As an aspiring high school coach I took many of his ideas to heart, however it takes a special person and coach to bring these ideas to life and make them work. Obviously coach Jackson is all of that.
Rating:
Summary: Sacred!
Review: Coach of the last great dynasty in pro basketball Phil Jackson writes a book about how he coached the greatest players to SIX NBA Championships. This book is more than just about basketball its about thinking and enlightening. He writes about his beleifs from growing up in North Dakota and then his knowledge gained in college. While playing for the New York Knicks Jackson begins to use his knowledge in buddhism and indian spirits to help him through the season. Jackson writes about how he used this knowledge to lead the Bulls to win after win. He produced harmony among the greatest player of all time and the rest of the team that was content to watching Michael Jordan. This harmony is rarely acheived in Pro sports, especially when you add players like Dennis Rodman to the team. Jackson used his calm and controlled style to coral Rodman and get him to play with the team. This book is not just about basketball! Its more about coming to peace with yourself and enilightening others. Basketball is just the basis for the teachings of Jackson. You do not need to be a fan of basketball nor a fan of sports in general to enjoy this book. Sared Hoops will make you think about things that you have never thought about before, you will be enlightened.
Rating:
Summary: Sacred Lessons
Review: Enlightening. Not just for basketball fans, but for people who seek sacred lessons in life. Phil Jackson juxtaposes his own life experiances, with the wisdom of Eastern and Native American philosiphy to create a pure expression of mind and heart.
Rating:
Summary: Now we know how Phil has won so many Championships
Review: Having lived in Chicago during the Bulls "Reign of Terror" I was already a fan of Phil Jacksons and aware of his zen mentality. Being an avid yoga practioner working in a cut throat business I was curious to see how Phil blended his Native American/Zen philosophy to a sport filled with egos, money and little else. What I learned was inspirational. Phil explains how he got the individulas that comprised the Bulls to stop thinking as a "me" and start thinking as a "we". How to stop worrying about personal stats and worry about the teams win/loss record. If business and the people that ran them followed more of Phils philosophy we'd probably have more productive businesses with more productive and happier employees. I strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!!
Review: I always knew there was someone who had a truly selfless coaching philosophy and I am glad he wrote a book. There is hope for the corporate world. This book captures the essence of Phil Jackson. I think this book is a must read for anyone who manages people and thinks you must brow beat performance out of them. If you have a manager like that, send him/her a copy. I felt totally at peace while reading this book. This book is a very easy read and I enjoyed it throughly. I am certain you will enjoy it too!!
Rating:
Summary: Spirituality does apply to the world of glitz and glamor
Review: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of basketball. But it is at least a sport that I can appreciate, which is more than I can say for American football. Nevertheless, this book is not really about basketball-it's about spirituality and selflessness through basketball. The author is Phil Jackson, formerly of the New York Knicks (and colleague of Bill Bradley) and, later, coach of the Chicago Bulls - the only coach in NBA history to pull of twin "three-peats" - three consecutive NBA Championships, not once but twice. Under Jackson's guidance and the leadership of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bill Cartwright, and others, the Bulls became the best basketball team in the world. But Jackson is not focused solely on success for the sake of success. He recounts his fundamentalist upbringing, his forays into Zen Buddhism and Lakota spirituality, and his efforts to bring ideas of oneness and attunement and selfless play into an NBA dominated by ego, money, cynicism, and media hype. He describes the esoteric "triangle offense" that was based on those philosophical principles. I was very impressed by this book. It takes many of the principles I've learned in other places and applies it directly to something that I would normally not think of as spiritual. Moreover, Jackson and his Bulls are a powerful and very prevalent example of how spiritual principles can be applied in the real world and made into a success. Plus, there's a foreword by ex-Senator and ex-Knick Bill Bradley, and numerous stories about Jackson playing with the Knicks and coaching basketball greats. Though I'm not a basketball fan, the magnetism of personalities still fascinates me, and these personal anecdotes only add depth to the lessons Jackson conveys.
Rating:
Summary: Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior
Review: I could not literally put this book down. It was excellent reading, I am lending my copy to friends.
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