Rating: 
Summary: Solid analysis
Review: The debate is nil when it comes down to who was the most influential athlete in the last half of the 20th century, yet the world Michael Jordan created has never been analyzed as well as Halberstam does. I believe Halberstam's assessment that Jordan might have had more money than many countries, but he never let his basketball suffer because of it. Unfortunately, the narcissistic world Jordan created has led to "tall millionaires fighting short millionaries," referring to players constantly wanting more money from their rich owners. With the emergence of Jordan, the concept of team in the NBA has gone competely out the window. Yes, Jordan's crass behavior toward his teammates was meant as motivation. Clearly Jordan is portrayed accurately as one of the most driven athletes ever, but who was he ultimately looking out for? No. 23.
Rating: 
Summary: Sensational!
Review: If you're a MJ or basketball fan, this book is a must buy. It is arguably the best book I have ever read. It takes on the tone of a fictional tale and keeps you reading. Some moments are truly inspirational, a great tribute to the greatest athlete of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: OK, but not the best Jordan book
Review: This book might be interesting if you've never read a book on Michael Jordan before, but I wouldn't recommend it to others, simply because it's too long and tends to digress too much. It's supposed to be about Jordan, yet the author goes into every little detail about teams like the Celtics, Lakers, and Pistons. There are a couple of factual errors in the book also. Larry Bird and Dr. J's famous fight did not occur in the '86-'87 season as the author claims. It happened during '84-'85 when Charles Barkley was a rookie and had the audacity to pin Bird's arms back while Erving pummeled him. Also, in the '91 Finals, the famous up-and-under move by Jordan did not end in a resounding dunk like it says in the book. Instead, Jordan put the ball up against the glass with the flick of his left wrist after first going up with the intention of dunking the ball with his right hand. This book might be of interest to North Carolina fans as it covers the Tar Heels quite extensively, but if you want true insight into Jordan, you should check out Sam Smith's "The Jordan Rules" and "Second Coming."
Rating:
Summary: Really Allows a Person to See How Jordan became Jordan
Review: This book was well written and covered things about Jordan that I found very fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Brief Review
Review: I read this book in one day as the subject has great facination for me. It was very well organized and presented a nice chronology of Michael Jordan and his professional life. It did not delve into his life as a man and person, but I am guessing this was not the author's aim. An excellent factual redition of Mr. Jordan's career. I would reccommend this book highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Playing for keeps:Michael Jordan and the world he made
Review: I really enjoyed my book. It was a great book. I would recommend it to young adults and fans of Michael Jordan. It was worded a little unique and it is very long.It seems like little kids wouldn't like it at all. I don't think too many young adults would like the book but i would prefer it to young adults or adults.I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars because it isn't a good book for just anyone to read but it is still an awesome book. I think that there are many changes that would've made the book a lot better. I think if the book would've been shorter and written more to the point then it would be awesome. I think that the book is only exciting because the amazing things that Michael Jordan does. I think it gets more interesting in the middle because it shows pictures of him as a child, his house, and in high school. I think that adult fans should buy this book. It is great!
Rating:
Summary: If you like Michael Jordan, you'll love this book
Review: Out of the many, many, many Michael Jordan books out there, this is by far the best. David Halberstam does a great job not just capturing Jordan's life and career on paper, but the many people who were involved, such as Spike Lee, Jerry Krause, David Stern, and others. "PFK" is loaded with stories from Jordan's Carolina days, and obviously, his career with the Bulls. I think the best chapter in the book is the chapter which tells the story of a fabled scrimmage game at a Dream Team practice. That chapter was so good, they featured an illustrated version in a past issue of "ESPN Magazine". This chapter, and the entire book really shows the VERY competitve nature of Mr. Michael Jeffery Jordan, and I highly recommend this book to any MJ fan, or really any basketball fan, because as I mentioned above, this book goes above and beyond just Jordan, and is well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Lukewarm, disappointing
Review: This is better than most sports books, but worse than most Halberstam books. His reseach is clearly top-notch, but the writing is somewhat uneven. Insight into how teams are built and how the get along is great. On the whole, I'd recommend readers skim this book for the good stuff. Many parts just aren't that well done.
Rating:
Summary: A profound disappointment for Halberstam fans
Review: I am a keen admirer of Halberstam, especially his sports books. In fact, I think "Breaks of the Game" is the best book ever written on the NBA. Perhaps that raised my expectations for this book to unreasonable levels. But I don't think so. Halberstam still has many enjoyable anecdotes to share, and some readers may find them worth the price. But, as others have noted, Jordan would not sit for an interview, and that, for this book, is a killer. Because, in the end, there is nothing in the way of review or analysis that hasn't been presented elsewhere, nor is this effort particularly well written -- it has none of Halberstam's signature insights -- or edited. It feels something of a clip-and-paste job. Sadly, the most interesting part is Halberstam's author's note, at the end of the book. He discusses his own reluctance to do it -- raising the same issues as reviewers here touch on (he'd done his NBA book; was another Jordan book needed? the need to write it quickly, etc.) -- and then adds that he thought he'd have Jordan's input, even if it were limited to a couple of days of interviews. When Jordan apparently reversed himself, it was presumably too late. The best Halberstam can say is that Jordan never told his close friends not to speak with Halberstam. That's where many of the anecdotes come from. Just to be straight with readers, the author's note ought to have been put up front, to alert browsers about what they could expect. And to Dan La Batard of ESPN, who was quoted on the jacket that this is the best book he's ever read about sports, a word of advice: You should read more. Some of Halberstam's OTHER sports book, for starters...
Rating:
Summary: Best Big Picture Yet on Michael Jordan
Review: After reading this book, I can't agree with the other opinions that "it's all been told before". I think it's told more broadly and better by Halberstam who admires MJ very much and it's obvious why. Very little on the private side of MJ, only a paragraph on his wife and family. No attempt by Halberstam to destroy the hero that MJ is as he covers his reluctance to risk damaging his marketability by speaking out on social issues and the negative characterizations contained in Smith's The Jordan Rules (which I didn't think were that negative when you considered where MJ was coming from). Gambling cronies were a stain that MJ overcame and offshore Nike factories an issue that any endorser must deal with in these days of globalization. Great portraits of Jackson, Krause, Dean Smith, David Stern, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Pippen, Horace Grant, David Falk and the rise of big time agents and big time Nike and NBA contracts and spoiled young players. MJ's odyssey into baseball was a brave and wonderful thing which made MJ a more mature and appreciative person. Some sympathy for the devil in the portrayal of Jerry Krause, I thought. Would like to have seen Michael's mom and dad fleshed out a little further but how much can you cram into 400 pages? All in all a well balanced, fair minded book. Wish there was an index, though and how could only one paragraph describe MJ's great "flu" game?
|
