Rating: 
Summary: Response to several negative reviews
Review: I wrote an early and positive review of Feinstein's book and today decided to take a look at what others had to say. Among the various one-star reviews were many written by people who openly stated that they did not like Feinstein because of his views as expressed in frequent appearances in the media. That, of course, is their right, and all commentators feel compelled to take strong stands, which is what they are paid for. So it is not surprising that there are a number of people out there who dislike, perhaps despise, Feinstein, just as Jim Rome, Tony Kornheiser, and other sports pundits have their admirers and detractors.What I have trouble believing is that people who hated the author would spend money to buy his book. A number said that he is biased (who, pray tell, isn't) and for that reason wrote a fictional account and nothing he said is to be believed. Don't you think it's far more likely that Feinstein-haters never actually read "The Last Amateurs? And doesn't it seem more likely that their opinions about it are even more likely to suffer from bias? On another issue, I certainly agree with those who said that it is hard to remember who played for or coached whom. Several readers asked why he didn't focus on one or two teams only. While I agree that this might have made the book an easier, perhaps more satisfying, read, it would have caused a practical problem: in such a balanced league, he could not have known who would vie for the league title in the climactic tournament final. Who would be satisfied reading a book about a team in an unknown conference which culminates in that team getting eliminated in the first round of the league's post-season tournament? (For all you Georgetown fans, what if he had written a book about a year in the Big East focusing on Georgetown? While you might have found it interesting, what with the description of Georgetown's non-conference tilts with the likes St. Leo, Bethune-Cookman, and Maryland Eastern Shore, the rest of us would not.) No, Feinstein was forced to cover the entire league to guarantee building the reader to the logical climax. While it does seem that there were certainly enough stories on the Lafayette campus to have focused on the previous year's champion, there was certainly no guarantee that they'd go all the way. In fact, the league standings show that the Leopards are near the bottom of the pack this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Up To Par With Feinstein's Other Books
Review: There used to be a time when I would anxiously wait to read Feinstein's latest book. Although this book is not bad, it certainly is nowhere near as compelling as some of his other works like "A Good Walk Spoiled" and "A Civil War." The Patriot League is an interesting subject to write on and you have to admire many of the players. But this book was easy to put down, in fact I didn't read a page for about a month. I do think that Feinstein could lay off the Duke references, we all know he's a Blue Devil grad. For college basketball fans looking for one of Feinstein's better works, check out "A Season On The Brink" and "A March To Madness."
Rating: 
Summary: Still A Game
Review: The Last Amateurs by John Feinstein is another example of outstanding work by the best contemporary sportswriter in America today. Reading about a Division 1 program that stresses academics above basketball is an incredibly unique idea in today's culture. Feinstein exhibits his uncanny ability to introduce us to scores of players and coaches making us actually care about them personally as well as their respective teams. Whereas institutions such as Colgate, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell, Army and Navy are not known for big-time hoops ala Dick Vitale, the play is of high quality with a deep commitment of members of all seven programs. The conference games are extremely competitive and the fight to qualify for the one available spot in the NCAA tournament makes one actually feel the pressure these kids are under. Players such as Chris Spitler, Josh Sankes and Brian Ehlers make the reader feel what they are going through on a daily basis from the rigors of the classroom to the competitive zeal that runs through them. Unlike Season On The Brink these kids are student-athletes rather than basketball players registered to attend classes. This book is a hard to put down read that shows off the unique writing style of Feinstein separating this book from the clichéd ridden sports books of today.
Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: John Feinstein portrays the Patriot League perfectly in this book. The stories of the players and coaches are well told, and definetly worth reading. What makes this book even better for me, is that since I worked in the Lafayette SID office during the season, I am very familiar with the league, especially the Leopards. So reading the book brought back many fond memories of their championship season. If you are not affiliated with the league in any way, and are just reading this book as a basketball fan, I do see how it would be difficult to keep track of which players he is talking about and what team the player plays for. But overall it is a very good book and I recommend it to any college basketball fan.
Rating:
Summary: The Way College Hoops Ought To Be
Review: This book was a bit of a change of pace for me; I don't read too many sports books anymore. However, I was a fan of Feinstein's previous college hoops books -- "A March to Madness" and "A Season on the Brink" -- and this struck me as an uncanny subject. Although the book ostensibly chronicles the 1999-2000 season, Feinstein actually transports us back in time. The Patriot League is college basketball the way it used (and ought) to be -- before TV and avarice transformed the sport into a proving ground for the NBA and a cash-cow for the universities. The kids in the Patriot League play not to audition for the pros, but for the love of the game and the challenge of the competition. Feinstein brings to life the excitement that small-time college basketball can generate -- every bit as electric as the ACC and Big Ten.
Rating: 
Summary: Amateur ball players and amateur writing
Review: I played four years of Division III college basketball so I know all about playing for "the love of the game". Many years ago, I also devoured John Feinstein's book, "A Season on the Brink", so I first opened "The Last Amateurs" with very high hopes. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by the time I finally closed it. My first issue is that by choosing to cover an entire league for an entire season, Feinstein bit off far more than even an avid basketball fan can chew. With seven Patriot League teams offering their coach and top seven (or so) players, I was constantly trying to recall which of the 56 (or more) main characters was the current focus, which team he played on and what his story was. Due to the shear number of individuals Feinstein incorporated, character development was out of the question. The reader gets to know a couple coaches and a couple players in their one-dimensional basketball role, but that's it. Apparently, I was supposed to be satisfied with knowing a player's hometown, his college major and GPA, as well as perhaps one short anecdote on his life. Instead of all the pages describing each game, shot-by-shot, Feinstein would have been well advised to develop deeper portraits of the characters. Feinstein must realize that his writing does little to engender feelings of warmth or admiration toward his characters, so he shamelessly begs the reader to like them. They are REAL student/athletes. They are nice guys. They get good grades. They are all either saints, or scholars, or both. I can recall only one brief reference to adversity in which Feinstein paints the alcohol induced near-death experience of a Navy player as harmless right of passage that somehow got out of hand. I would have more respect for these players and coaches if I knew some more of their human frailties. Feinstein had no qualms in exposing such details in "A Season on the Brink". Why is he holding back now? In addition to liking the players because they go to class, Feinstein asks the reader to condemn "big-time" college basketball for all of its faults. Money. Coddled athletes. Arrogant coaches. TV. Agents. Shoe contracts. More money. All of it is bad, while the Patriot League remains so pure and simple. Even if it all was true, how can Feinstein expect the reader to believe his frustratingly one-sided view? Every ball player in this book is amateur, but so is the writing.
Rating:
Summary: Life Can be Fun
Review: I have had the opportunity to read all of Mr. Fienstein's work and while I do not think it is his best in terms of story telling because of the amount of people introduced to the reader, the message is an uplifting one for anyone of us who have ever dreamed of playing sports. I will admit to playing at one of the schools featured (many years ago and in a different sport), but what Mr. Feinstein captures is exactly the reason that to this day I think that there will always be a place for the Patriot League. The indivudual stories within the book give the reader a glance of how difficult it is to even participate on a college team, let alone ones that have high academic standards. Irrespective of those high standards, the object is the same as at any other program and that is to win. But the difference is that at the end of the competition, real life still must go on-studies, social life, job interviews, career choices, etc. This is the essence of this very entertaining and courageous book. Yes, there could have been more character development with fewer characters to have arrived at the same message, but the fact that seven schools with ideals as high as these have competed atheletically against the giants of the game and still maintain their academic integrity allows for some overindulgence in exposing the reader to as many of these student atheletes as possible. It's a great book to share with with your children, particularly those who love the game, but also know the games place in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: good description of lesser known basketball programs
Review: John Feinstien was written a very engaging book about the teams of the Patriot League. Mr.Feinstien makes the players , coaches, etc. seem like real people and not performers who seem to live in a different world. These colleges managed to turn out players, who for the most part stay all four years, not many "big basketball" schools, only a select few Indiana can lay claim to that statistic. I will be secretly pulling(I am in Tarheel and Blue Devil country as i am writing this) when the NCAAs roll around.
Rating:
Summary: 3-stars only because I'm an alum...
Review: As graduate of Bucknell, I was very pleased when I heard that John Feinstein had decided to focus his next book on the Patriot League. For all Patriot basketball fans, I think the book provides a certain degree of vindication - The Patriot League does play entertaining basketball on the outskirts of the big time, without the felonious behavior and coddled athletes of the larger conferences. Better still, once a season we get to see ourselves on ESPN, in the conference championship. I'd venture that all of the Patriot schools quietly root for whoever makes the NCAA tournament in hopes finally getting that first elusive upset. That said, is Feinstein's book a good read? For me, as an alumnus it was great to hear a respected journalist's perspective on the conference. However, when friends that didn't know anything about the Patriot League asked me about the book, I found it hard to recommend it. It occasionally reads like a long Sports Illustrated article, and the descriptions of game play are quite repetitive by the season's end. I bought the book as a gift for my college roommates from way back when, but I don't know if it could hold the attention of someone who wasn't as familiar with the league.
Rating:
Summary: College basketball, the correct way
Review: Feinstein has made a career selecting specific sports stories for in-depth analysis and a subsequent book. This time the story is a lowly Division 1 basketball conference that was formed under the premise of not issuing scholarships, therefore the title of the book. This book is at it's best examining personal stories of individual players. How they got here, family issues effecting college educations, and the personal motivation that keeps kids playing basketball without significant minutes or monetary reward are covered in detail with brillance. Of course, the most famous is the worst player on the worst team in the worst conference in Division 1a basketball who uses that as a pick-up line. But many more stories are just as funny or touching including the stories of the coaches. The author is at his best telling these individual stories or commenting on how these true amatuers play for the challenge of competitive sports. You find yourself wishing all college sports could go back to true students who are athletes. Where the author failed was in overlaying these stories and moral questions around the complete season covering all the teams. There are just too many names and too many teams to keep track of. My first thought was that he should have had a diagram page in the center section showing the players on each team and where they finished the year. But that might not have cured the problem. Maybe he should have selected a couple of teams and overlayed their seasons with short stories of the other teams as they were played. Or maybe he should have written more in short story form with each chapter covering a team. Irrespective, it's just too much data for a reader looking for enjoyment. I do recommend this book and found the good outweighs the bad. Just be forwarned of the confusion, particularly in the middle of the book. As a matter of disclosure, I did not attend nor have any interest in any of the colleges mentioned in the book as many previous readers have had.
|
