Rating: 
Summary: Unfair expectations?
Review: Larry Bird was one of the greatest forwards to ever play the game. He was blessed w/great physical skills as well as an unbelievable work ethic. He shares his life story about his humble origins to his rise to worldwide celebrity. Unfortunately the book is poorly organized and poorly written. It's written in an overly simple manner and needed more personality. It reminded me of Larry's game, solid and fundamental but not overly flashy. I guess I was looking for a more entertaining book, and not a simple recounting of his life. The book could use more personal anecdotes and behind the scenes sharing. Overall, I was disappointed and wanted much more.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome novel, Basketball fans should read it...
Review: Larry Bird- Drive: The Story Of My Life Larry Joe Bird was born in West Baden, Indiana on December 7, 1956. Although Bird was born in West Baden he grew up in French Lick. He had three siblings: One sister, Linda and two brothers, Mark, and Mike. As Bird grew older he realized that he was falling in love with the game of basketball. He attended High School at SpringsValley (which was in French Lick). After High School he went to Indiana University for about 3 months and played basketball but then dropped out because he thought that the schoolwork was tough. He went home for about 2 months but tried college again but attended Indiana State University instead and thrived there at the game of basketball. The Boston Celtics drafted him in 1979. He went on to win 3 championships for the Celtics and played from 1979 to 1992. He was and still is one of the greatest all-around players the game has ever seen. I liked this book a lot because of the way it was written. It was pretty easy to read and understand. I liked how Larry Bird wrote the book in that he explained how he became good at basketball. He would get up every morning before school at about 6 a.m. and shoot free throws on his basketball court. He even got to the point when he was at school of sneaking in the gym in between class and shooting some jumpers. It also had a lot of comical stories in the book. For example, there was one story that made me crack up. I quote: Once I was coming down on the (fast) break and pulled up for an eighteen foot jumper and my basketball coach yelled, "No, no wait for the other guys!" Just as I released the ball I said, "Too late, coach." The ball hit nothing but net. K.C. Jones just sat down. I disliked this because of Larry Bird's life when he was growing up. When he a little boy his family did not have that much money. His father was lucky if he made $120 in one week. So he did not a lot of things he would have liked to have. When he was 19 years old he was starting at I.U. and he learned that his dad committed suicide. When he went to I.U. he only brought about 5 pairs of clothes because he did not have much money. His buddy, Jim Wisman who he was rooming with said, "You can borrow all of my clothes if you want." And Larry did end up wearing all of Jim's clothes. One last thing that I did not like was all the mistakes I found in the book. I found about 6 fragments. But, other than that it was a great novel.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome novel, Basketball fans should read it...
Review: Larry Bird- Drive: The Story Of My Life Larry Joe Bird was born in West Baden, Indiana on December 7, 1956. Although Bird was born in West Baden he grew up in French Lick. He had three siblings: One sister, Linda and two brothers, Mark, and Mike. As Bird grew older he realized that he was falling in love with the game of basketball. He attended High School at SpringsValley (which was in French Lick). After High School he went to Indiana University for about 3 months and played basketball but then dropped out because he thought that the schoolwork was tough. He went home for about 2 months but tried college again but attended Indiana State University instead and thrived there at the game of basketball. The Boston Celtics drafted him in 1979. He went on to win 3 championships for the Celtics and played from 1979 to 1992. He was and still is one of the greatest all-around players the game has ever seen. I liked this book a lot because of the way it was written. It was pretty easy to read and understand. I liked how Larry Bird wrote the book in that he explained how he became good at basketball. He would get up every morning before school at about 6 a.m. and shoot free throws on his basketball court. He even got to the point when he was at school of sneaking in the gym in between class and shooting some jumpers. It also had a lot of comical stories in the book. For example, there was one story that made me crack up. I quote: Once I was coming down on the (fast) break and pulled up for an eighteen foot jumper and my basketball coach yelled, "No, no wait for the other guys!" Just as I released the ball I said, "Too late, coach." The ball hit nothing but net. K.C. Jones just sat down. I disliked this because of Larry Bird's life when he was growing up. When he a little boy his family did not have that much money. His father was lucky if he made $120 in one week. So he did not a lot of things he would have liked to have. When he was 19 years old he was starting at I.U. and he learned that his dad committed suicide. When he went to I.U. he only brought about 5 pairs of clothes because he did not have much money. His buddy, Jim Wisman who he was rooming with said, "You can borrow all of my clothes if you want." And Larry did end up wearing all of Jim's clothes. One last thing that I did not like was all the mistakes I found in the book. I found about 6 fragments. But, other than that it was a great novel.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome novel, Basketball fans should read it...
Review: Larry Bird- Drive: The Story Of My Life Larry Joe Bird was born in West Baden, Indiana on December 7, 1956. Although Bird was born in West Baden he grew up in French Lick. He had three siblings: One sister, Linda and two brothers, Mark, and Mike. As Bird grew older he realized that he was falling in love with the game of basketball. He attended High School at SpringsValley (which was in French Lick). After High School he went to Indiana University for about 3 months and played basketball but then dropped out because he thought that the schoolwork was tough. He went home for about 2 months but tried college again but attended Indiana State University instead and thrived there at the game of basketball. The Boston Celtics drafted him in 1979. He went on to win 3 championships for the Celtics and played from 1979 to 1992. He was and still is one of the greatest all-around players the game has ever seen. I liked this book a lot because of the way it was written. It was pretty easy to read and understand. I liked how Larry Bird wrote the book in that he explained how he became good at basketball. He would get up every morning before school at about 6 a.m. and shoot free throws on his basketball court. He even got to the point when he was at school of sneaking in the gym in between class and shooting some jumpers. It also had a lot of comical stories in the book. For example, there was one story that made me crack up. I quote: Once I was coming down on the (fast) break and pulled up for an eighteen foot jumper and my basketball coach yelled, "No, no wait for the other guys!" Just as I released the ball I said, "Too late, coach." The ball hit nothing but net. K.C. Jones just sat down. I disliked this because of Larry Bird's life when he was growing up. When he a little boy his family did not have that much money. His father was lucky if he made $120 in one week. So he did not a lot of things he would have liked to have. When he was 19 years old he was starting at I.U. and he learned that his dad committed suicide. When he went to I.U. he only brought about 5 pairs of clothes because he did not have much money. His buddy, Jim Wisman who he was rooming with said, "You can borrow all of my clothes if you want." And Larry did end up wearing all of Jim's clothes. One last thing that I did not like was all the mistakes I found in the book. I found about 6 fragments. But, other than that it was a great novel.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: Straight forward, and nothing bad about that. I play basketball regularly. After reading this book, it REALLY encouraged me to practice more to become a better baller. Larry Bird mentions that he wasn't gifted with ups, but he practiced his tail off to compensate for his weaknesses. Bird also mentions and I quote, "I play the game to have have that one moment where I just take over the game..." That and his work ethic served as a foundation for me to aspire to become good at basketball. In fact, the form of my jumpshot is emulated/dedicated to him. Thank you Larry Bird.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for anyone
Review: The book "Drive" is an autobiography on one of the greatest basketball players and legends to ever step on the court and play the game of basketball. This book is about how Larry Bird grew up in the small, poor town of French Lick, Indiana. His father, Joe Bird, was a hard worker who bounced around from job to job just to keep his family above water, while Larry's mother, Georgia Bird, worked and took care of the family. Both parents worked eighty to ninety hours a week for $100 to $150. This was hard for Larry growing up because he wasn't able to spend time with his parents in his childhood. His parents were soon divorced so they wouldn't need as much money for the family with his dad gone. They would now have money from child support and money coming in from Georgia Bird's two jobs. Among the entire family troubles, Larry's father, Joe Bird, committed suicide in his parent's house with a shotgun.
When Larry was younger he never really liked the sport of basketball. He was more interested in baseball and football. The two sports never ended up working out for him in the long run. Larry didn't start to take an interest in basketball until he was about thirteen years old when he was shooting around with some kids from his grandmother's neighborhood. He realized that basketball was his true love when he wona big game for his team as a sophomore in high school. By his junior and senior year in high school he was nery successful, scoring 40 points a game. He was the team's savior. After high school, Larry went to Indiana University and after a few weeks of being there he left. A while after being out of school he was invited to work out with the Indiana State University's basketball team and decided to go. He instantly knew he would fit in with the teammates and knew it was going to be good competition, which is what he liked. He later enrolled himself there. At the end of his junior year in college the Boston Celtics Franchise chose him sixth in the 1978 NBA draft. He decided to stay in school and graduate instead of going to the NBA. During his senior year, he led his team to the NCAA championship game against Michigan State University and his soon to be rival Magic Johnson. His team lost the game. Larry was the first Bird to graduate from college. After graduation he negotiated a contract with the Boston Celtics Franchise. During his career he won numerous amounts of MVP awards and several championship rings with the Celtics.
This book had many things that made it great, but at the same time there were also things that took away from its greatness. In the beginning the chapters were very short but had a lot of detail of how he grew up and the problems he faced. As for the words he used and the flow of the sentences, it was well written. There are quite a few misprints in this book but it is still easy to understand and follow. Overall this book was very easy to understand and Larry describes the things him and his family and team went through thoughtfully. It was well thought out and had great detail.
As I said, there were things that worked and things that didn't. The thing that irritated me the most about his writing is that in the second half of the book when he is talking about his career, he talked too much about the other great players in the league. Sometimes, full chapters at a time. The last thing that didn't work was that he wouldn't state what year he was talking about in his career. For example he would be talking about his rookie season and then wold go to talk about a season five years down the road and you wouldn't even know it until a few chapters later.
Overall, this was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone. I would recommend it to not only athletes but also non-athletes because it shows how if someone works hard and has good work eithic and determination that it will help them succeed in life. Larry Bird thought that when he was resting someone, somewhere, was working hard to be better than he was. So he was always working to be the BEST.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for anyone
Review: The book "Drive" is an autobiography on one of the greatest basketball players and legends to ever step on the court and play the game of basketball. This book is about how Larry Bird grew up in the small, poor town of French Lick, Indiana. His father, Joe Bird, was a hard worker who bounced around from job to job just to keep his family above water, while Larry's mother, Georgia Bird, worked and took care of the family. Both parents worked eighty to ninety hours a week for $100 to $150. This was hard for Larry growing up because he wasn't able to spend time with his parents in his childhood. His parents were soon divorced so they wouldn't need as much money for the family with his dad gone. They would now have money from child support and money coming in from Georgia Bird's two jobs. Among the entire family troubles, Larry's father, Joe Bird, committed suicide in his parent's house with a shotgun.
When Larry was younger he never really liked the sport of basketball. He was more interested in baseball and football. The two sports never ended up working out for him in the long run. Larry didn't start to take an interest in basketball until he was about thirteen years old when he was shooting around with some kids from his grandmother's neighborhood. He realized that basketball was his true love when he wona big game for his team as a sophomore in high school. By his junior and senior year in high school he was nery successful, scoring 40 points a game. He was the team's savior. After high school, Larry went to Indiana University and after a few weeks of being there he left. A while after being out of school he was invited to work out with the Indiana State University's basketball team and decided to go. He instantly knew he would fit in with the teammates and knew it was going to be good competition, which is what he liked. He later enrolled himself there. At the end of his junior year in college the Boston Celtics Franchise chose him sixth in the 1978 NBA draft. He decided to stay in school and graduate instead of going to the NBA. During his senior year, he led his team to the NCAA championship game against Michigan State University and his soon to be rival Magic Johnson. His team lost the game. Larry was the first Bird to graduate from college. After graduation he negotiated a contract with the Boston Celtics Franchise. During his career he won numerous amounts of MVP awards and several championship rings with the Celtics.
This book had many things that made it great, but at the same time there were also things that took away from its greatness. In the beginning the chapters were very short but had a lot of detail of how he grew up and the problems he faced. As for the words he used and the flow of the sentences, it was well written. There are quite a few misprints in this book but it is still easy to understand and follow. Overall this book was very easy to understand and Larry describes the things him and his family and team went through thoughtfully. It was well thought out and had great detail.
As I said, there were things that worked and things that didn't. The thing that irritated me the most about his writing is that in the second half of the book when he is talking about his career, he talked too much about the other great players in the league. Sometimes, full chapters at a time. The last thing that didn't work was that he wouldn't state what year he was talking about in his career. For example he would be talking about his rookie season and then wold go to talk about a season five years down the road and you wouldn't even know it until a few chapters later.
Overall, this was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone. I would recommend it to not only athletes but also non-athletes because it shows how if someone works hard and has good work eithic and determination that it will help them succeed in life. Larry Bird thought that when he was resting someone, somewhere, was working hard to be better than he was. So he was always working to be the BEST.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for anyone
Review: The book "Drive" is an autobiography on one of the greatest basketball players and legends to ever step on the court and play the game of basketball. This book is about how Larry Bird grew up in the small, poor town of French Lick, Indiana. His father, Joe Bird, was a hard worker who bounced around from job to job just to keep his family above water, while Larry's mother, Georgia Bird, worked and took care of the family. Both parents worked eighty to ninety hours a week for $100 to $150. This was hard for Larry growing up because he wasn't able to spend time with his parents in his childhood. His parents were soon divorced so they wouldn't need as much money for the family with his dad gone. They would now have money from child support and money coming in from Georgia Bird's two jobs. Among the entire family troubles, Larry's father, Joe Bird, committed suicide in his parent's house with a shotgun.
When Larry was younger he never really liked the sport of basketball. He was more interested in baseball and football. The two sports never ended up working out for him in the long run. Larry didn't start to take an interest in basketball until he was about thirteen years old when he was shooting around with some kids from his grandmother's neighborhood. He realized that basketball was his true love when he wona big game for his team as a sophomore in high school. By his junior and senior year in high school he was nery successful, scoring 40 points a game. He was the team's savior. After high school, Larry went to Indiana University and after a few weeks of being there he left. A while after being out of school he was invited to work out with the Indiana State University's basketball team and decided to go. He instantly knew he would fit in with the teammates and knew it was going to be good competition, which is what he liked. He later enrolled himself there. At the end of his junior year in college the Boston Celtics Franchise chose him sixth in the 1978 NBA draft. He decided to stay in school and graduate instead of going to the NBA. During his senior year, he led his team to the NCAA championship game against Michigan State University and his soon to be rival Magic Johnson. His team lost the game. Larry was the first Bird to graduate from college. After graduation he negotiated a contract with the Boston Celtics Franchise. During his career he won numerous amounts of MVP awards and several championship rings with the Celtics.
This book had many things that made it great, but at the same time there were also things that took away from its greatness. In the beginning the chapters were very short but had a lot of detail of how he grew up and the problems he faced. As for the words he used and the flow of the sentences, it was well written. There are quite a few misprints in this book but it is still easy to understand and follow. Overall this book was very easy to understand and Larry describes the things him and his family and team went through thoughtfully. It was well thought out and had great detail.
As I said, there were things that worked and things that didn't. The thing that irritated me the most about his writing is that in the second half of the book when he is talking about his career, he talked too much about the other great players in the league. Sometimes, full chapters at a time. The last thing that didn't work was that he wouldn't state what year he was talking about in his career. For example he would be talking about his rookie season and then wold go to talk about a season five years down the road and you wouldn't even know it until a few chapters later.
Overall, this was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone. I would recommend it to not only athletes but also non-athletes because it shows how if someone works hard and has good work eithic and determination that it will help them succeed in life. Larry Bird thought that when he was resting someone, somewhere, was working hard to be better than he was. So he was always working to be the BEST.
Rating: 
Summary: Larry Bird Drive The Story of my Life
Review: The book called Larry Bird Drive and it is by Larry Bird . This book is great because it gives great information on Larry. Also this is a great book to do a report on because of all the information. It is very good because you can really get into it and it helps you pass the time if you like to read about sports legends just like Larry bird. This book Larry Bird Drive by Larry Bird is a very good book and i hope a lot of people will be able to enjoy just like I have.
Rating: 
Summary: Larry Bird Drive
Review: The book Drive by Larry Gird starts off by talking about his close friends and what is was like for him to grow up. It also discusses certain issues about how growing up was hard. Larry let me know that hard work pays off and nothing good came easy. The book also talked about many of his memorable moments throughout his basketball career and all of his triumph's that brought him fame. Towards the end he gave us some personal thoughts about what he thought of himself and his relationship with his family. One of the things that I liked about the book is that he earned what he got due to hard work and dedication. I liked him because he put in the time to become the man that he is now and he wasn't stuck up or anything despite his great skills. I also liked the kind of life style that he said he lived. It described all of his fame and what he had to go through in order to have fun and still keep his normal life. One of the things that I didn't like about the book is that he wasn't that organized with the serious of events that he arranged the book, plus sometimes he went a little too much into detail in something simple like just shooting a basketball shoot.
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