Rating: 
Summary: Bob Knight
Review:
Whether you love him, hate him, or are neutral toward him (I'm in the last category), Bob Knight's book is a fascinating glimpse at his personality, his Indiana basketball teams, and college basketball in general. For Indiana basketball fans (I'm an ACC fan) and college basketball fans in general (a category I fit into), this is a must read. Knight gives a lot of detail about his Indiana teams, especially those that won national championships, and discusses his point of view on the state of college basketball today.
There are really two main topics that run throughout the book - and that is Indiana basketball and the controversies that have surrounded Knight - mostly because of his volatile temper. From a basketball standpoint this is really a great inside look at the college game and the Hoosiers. Knight's detestation of losing and lack of effort are part of what gets him into trouble because he is clearly a disciplinarian and expects a lot from his players and others involved in the program. On the other hand that is also why his teams traditionally have been over achievers. In my opinion, his success in college basketball has been mostly because of his coaching talent and getting his teams to play like a team instead of selfishly.
Even though in some ways Knight claims, and I think in a lot ways rightfully so, that a lot of controversies about his temper and clashes with players, officials, or others is a result of his reputation and are undeserved. Frankly, I do believe him on this account. And he does seem contrite about some incidents that are clearly his own fault where he's lost his temper. Some may argue that he is not apologetic enough or doesn't face his own faults in some of the controversies and I can't disagree with that either. On these issues the reader will have to decide what to believe.
But either way, this is highly readable and very interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written
Review: "Knight" was written hastily and very poorly. As a basketball fan I look forward to any book that deals with the sport, and I also should admit that I am a little averse when I hear Knight's name. But the book is just another attempt to take your hard earned money out of your pockets. In the book Mr. Knight countinues to defend all of the controversial events that got him famous. He spins on the choking incident, never going into great detail, or a good reason for doing it. The type set is large, to give the appearance that there's a lot of writing. In short Mr. Knight has a severe weakness in character, and it shows with this book. I gave it two stars because it was disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Go Big Red!
Review: .To Bob Knight
From Kerrie White
Oklahoma Granny also is a Knight
Go Big Red! .
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Coach and Outstanding Book!!!
Review: A great read. One of the best sports books I have ever read. I couldnt put it down. It's about time that we hear HIS side of the stories and not JUST the media's BIASED side. Well worth it. I am now adopting the Texas Tech Red Raiders as my team!!!
Rating:
Summary: One Hell of a Coach
Review: Anyone who has shown any interest in listening to the press accounts concerning Coach Knight should be required to read this book. I'll admit it is not a great literary masterpiece but I found it to be an insightful and surprisingly touching look into the the greatest Coach of my time.
Rating:
Summary: A complex man who has lived the American dream...
Review: As a long-time college sports fan I rate this book as one of the most interesting offerings from one of the most important figures in the history of collegiate athletics. There are so many levels to Bob Knight(and this book)that it is very difficult to summarize it in 1,000 words or less. Many don't know, or fail to realize the significance, of the recruiting class Knight was a member of in the Fred Taylor/Ohio State years. He was a freshman with John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. Those three were one year behind Larry Siegfried at OSU. All four of those individuals have had an important (if not tremendous) impact on the college and pro game. The 1960-1962 run in the NCAA tournament of Ohio State has largely been forgotten here forty years later; but it was very impressive. The squad competed in three consecutive tournament FINALS, winning in 1960, and amassed a 78-6 record over three years. Knight is clearly very proud of his involvement with those teams and I enjoyed rediscovering those years (I was too young to actually remember them; I'm 44). I think one is naive to buy in to the long held notion that Knight was a seldom used reserve on those teams. Obviously he wanted to play more than he did - but Knight contributed significantly to those squads and is clearly respected by Havlicek and remembered by Buckeye basketball fans.
Knight was an outstanding high school athlete from a small town surrounded by a loving family in Orrville, Ohio. You can't overlook those early years if you want to attempt to understand Bob Knight. He has been accustomed, since infancy, to having things go his way. I don't mean that pejoratively. Knight expects to succeed, win and otherwise excel at everything he does. I imagine you can trace all of that back to the loving parents, the doting grandmother and a community (Orrville) that I suspect was/is very proud of him. He is a winner and has been since he was in elementary school. He expects a lot from himself and those around him. It all originated from his home town and that loving family. At least that is what I suspect. I particularly enjoyed his account of the early years at Army. Knight has obviously paid his dues in the coaching ranks. It sounds as though (and the evidence seems to support) he took every opportunity he could to learn, assist and befriend coaching greats like Bee, Newell, Iba etc. He sounds, in the book, like a young man aggressively trying to build a successful career in the game he loves. I would say he has achieved those objectives. Who can criticize him for that? The stories of the 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 Indiana teams were entertaining. To me the real telling point about Knight is the reverential way those former players speak of their coach. I've seen guys like Scott May, Quinn Buckner and Steve Green get moist eyes when talking about him. You simply can not ignore those kind of feelings from people who know him very well when evaluating Bob Knight. Those type of emotions from successful men who have known him for many years should not be discounted when assessing Knight. I thoroughly enjoyed Knight's observations about members of the sports writing fraternity. He opines that many sports writers are not really "sports guys". They, for the most part, really don't like, or identify with jocks, because virtually none of the members of the press have ever competed at any team sport. Yet some of his closest friends are guys like Bob Hammel, Curt Gowdy, Chris Schenkel etc. He is capable, apparently, of befriending members of the press and befriending them quite successfully. I was also amused by his views on the press's inability to accept or handle any sort of criticism OF the press. He is dead on the money. His opinion about Woodward/Bernstein's "Deep Throat" is very interesting and, I suspect, accurate. This is a book by a man's man. He has no pretense. He is a person who apparently enjoys lunch in local dive hang-outs or chain-grocery store deli's. He has cultivated a wide assortment of friendships from all walks of life. He is comfortable playing practical jokes over the telephone on coaching buddies and appreciates the humor in having such tricks played on him. It is not likely he could have built such a resevoir of friendships without being capable of displaying extreme kindness and/or consideration for others. He is certainly capable of recognizing and acknowledging acts of consideration and kindness he has received FROM others; which leads one to believe Knight himself may be kinder and more considerate than we have been led to believe (or than he will allow himself to publicly reveal). The remainder of his career will be very interesting to watch. Sounds like he loves Texas Tech and the people he works for. Sounds like he loves the Lubbock community. Sounds like he loves having his family intact in Texas. Sounds like he loves being a grand dad. And he will undoubtedly continue to love to hunt, fly fish and play golf. I suspect this could spell trouble for the other members of the Big Twelve. It will absolutely "kill" Feinstein, Lupica and those of similar ilk if Coach Knight is able to win one more national title. I would not bet against his being able to do it.
Rating:
Summary: Bob Knight's Story
Review: Bob Knight grew up in a small town in Ohio. There he was involved in other sports besides basketball, such as football and baseball. He was a highly successful athlete in all three sports that he played. He was a starter at all three.
Although he was very good in high school, he was very average in college. He was on a very good Ohio State basketball team. He didn't get to play much, but he understood how to play better than the rest. While playing there his team won the national championship. That team came close a couple of other times, but fell a little short.
After his college career, he was a high school assistant coach for a couple of years. Then he decided to take the coaching position of the freshmen at West Point for two years. After the head coach at Army left, he got the head coaching job. While he was there, his teams were pretty successful. His main goal was to win the NIT. They got close to it, but didn't. He was the head coach there for six years.
After spending eight years at Army, he left to take the head coaching job at Indiana. While there he met some extremely successful coaches. He had to "clean up" the basketball program. He won three national championships, several Big Ten championships, the NIT, the Pan-Am games, and an Olympic gold medal. His 1976 national champion team was the last team ever to go undefeated throughout the entire season. He spent an amazing twenty-nine years as Indiana's head coach, the longest by any of the other Big Ten college coaches. He was then fired under a "zero-tolerance" policy before his thirtieth season as Indiana's head coach. He is now the new head coach at Texas Tech University.
I thought this book was outstanding. What makes it so great is that it is coming straight from Coach Knight. Anyone who is interested in sports would love this book because it isn't just about basketball. It is about an extremely successful college coach and his will to win. Whether you love him or hate him, you can't ignore his number of wins. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone and every one who enjoys sports.
Rating:
Summary: Bob Knight's Story
Review: Bob Knight grew up in a small town in Ohio. There he was involved in other sports besides basketball, such as football and baseball. He was a highly successful athlete in all three sports that he played. He was a starter at all three.
Although he was very good in high school, he was very average in college. He was on a very good Ohio State basketball team. He didn't get to play much, but he understood how to play better than the rest. While playing there his team won the national championship. That team came close a couple of other times, but fell a little short.
After his college career, he was a high school assistant coach for a couple of years. Then he decided to take the coaching position of the freshmen at West Point for two years. After the head coach at Army left, he got the head coaching job. While he was there, his teams were pretty successful. His main goal was to win the NIT. They got close to it, but didn't. He was the head coach there for six years.
After spending eight years at Army, he left to take the head coaching job at Indiana. While there he met some extremely successful coaches. He had to "clean up" the basketball program. He won three national championships, several Big Ten championships, the NIT, the Pan-Am games, and an Olympic gold medal. His 1976 national champion team was the last team ever to go undefeated throughout the entire season. He spent an amazing twenty-nine years as Indiana's head coach, the longest by any of the other Big Ten college coaches. He was then fired under a "zero-tolerance" policy before his thirtieth season as Indiana's head coach. He is now the new head coach at Texas Tech University.
I thought this book was outstanding. What makes it so great is that it is coming straight from Coach Knight. Anyone who is interested in sports would love this book because it isn't just about basketball. It is about an extremely successful college coach and his will to win. Whether you love him or hate him, you can't ignore his number of wins. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone and every one who enjoys sports.
Rating: 
Summary: This time, it's his turn...
Review: Bob Knight is a complex man. The media portrays him in one primary light. We all have formed opinions of the man based upon whatever the media spews and we're at their mercy to provide unbiased facts. We also know that isn't always the case. I'm not writing to state that the words in Bob Knight's book are all true. What I am writing is that they seem to be his words. It's as if he were speaking to you directly. There are some clever stories in the book that demonstrate how the man thinks and feels and what he believes in. He certainly does entertain whether through his coaching prowess or in his dialogue. He's not flawless by any means, but as a reader who has enjoyed reading Jesse Ventura's books on his take, I would recommend this to be a good read if you want to learn more about Bob Knight's side of the story. He may be biased in it, and rightfully so because it's his voice. He finally gets a chance to have his opinion out in the public as the media rarely cares about his version. After reading this, you may change your opinion on the man and understand that he too is a mere mortal man. He just happens to be thrust into the limelight. It's a fun read at most times. There are some passages where he defends himself that seems skeptical to me. However, I take everything I read with a grain of salt. Any sports enthusiast, or those who appreciate psychology, will likely enjoy the words he's been wanting to get out since the 40's. Those who are easily duped by everything the press spews might not enjoy the book. This isn't the finest prose I've ever read, but it is certainly entertaining and worth the money!
Rating:
Summary: Bob Knight: My Story was a very motivation book for me!
Review: Bob Knight, "The General," was and still is the best all around coach you can possibly get. He is upfront with everything and lets you know what is going through his head. This book gives a life adventure with "The General" from his middle school years all the way to his first year at Texas Tech. Knight talks about every season from the good years to the bad years. When he had good years he talked about what he did well to help the team and when he had bad years he talked about how he could make it better for next year. In his books, Knight pretty much spills every coaching strategy and hint without worrying that other people will use his coaching techniques. With every mistake Knight made throughout his career, he came back to say what happen and what he thought about it. Sometimes he admits doing wrong and apologizes for it many years after it happened.
I thought that this book was awesome; it really showed what Knight was made of. If every coach reads this book it will make the college basketball scene a much better place to play and a more entertaining sport for fans to watch. It might even make high school basketball players go to college and not right into the NBA. He showed his love for both the fans and players in different ways throughout his book, making it such a well known and interesting book to read.
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