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Rating: 
Summary: A sports drama brought to life in the pages of a great book
Review:
...can there be any better way to spend a few hours of reading time?
I have seen other positive reviews of Mr. Guffey's book: they are well-deserved!
"The Milan Miracle" is one of those sports legacies as big as the world of sports itself. To think that the characters Mr. Guffey writes about are real--and to know that the story he tells actually happened--makes this book an even more compelling read.
With the arrival of the 50th anniversary of this milestone sports event comes another occasion to remind ourselves of the sheer joy provided by the greatest all-American game!
Perhaps it is the fact that I live in Indiana that I can relate to this book's underlying themes of fundamental human emotion: through the telling of this true David-and-Goliath story (and a fast-forward to the lessons learned in the meantime), we encounter the doubt, the disbelief, the sheer grace of high school sports the way it existed 50 years ago.
If this book merely retold the tale in order to wax eloquent about the 1950's as a "time of innocence," I could not recommend it as highly.
But here is a story that's more than a story...it's a history of a simpler time when the values of hard work, perseverance and dogged determination could carry a small-town kid to the pinnacle of achievement.
Most importantly, Mr. Guffey's book provides the encouragement that these values still exist--and are worthy of pursuit.
There is much to be said in favor of Mr. Guffey's writing style. There is an underlying respect for the characters in this book. Having seen some of the recent ESPN coverage of the 50th anniversary ceremonies, it is evident that many of the individuals Mr. Guffey interviewed are from social backgrounds as varied as their Hoosier drawls. Whether conveying the voices of the townspeople or the Milan players themselves, Mr. Guffey writes with a real respect for the characters. It's an important element of his obvious respect for the "Milan Miracle" and high school basketball in general.
I look forward to Mr. Guffey's next work!
Rating:
Summary: A sports drama brought to life in the pages of a great book
Review: The one class state basketball tournament. I miss it and I am not even from Indiana. I miss it despite the fact that I have never watched a single game of Indiana high school basketball. I miss it even though in Texas I have never known anything but multi-class basketball.And reading a book like Greg Guffey's "The Greatest Basketball Story Ever Told" is a big part of why I miss the single class tournament. The story of the two-season run by the overwhelming underdog Milan Indians in 1953 and 1954 is not only the greatest basketball story ever, but maybe the greatest sports story ever. Everything I love about small town America is here. The spirit, the hope, the despair and even the pettiness. Reading this book made me wish I was from Milan and made me wish it was 1954. I was fascinated by the follow up stories of the players; each of them a success in life in their own way. I was deeply moved to find out that Marvin Wood, the coach, had lost a battle with cancer at around the same time of the change to a multi-class basketball tournament. I really enjoyed this book. I'll read it again. And when I do, I'll be in the stands at Butler Fieldhouse watching Bobby Plump realize the ultimate high school dream in the ultimate American era. Read it, and you'll know what I mean.
Rating:
Summary: How Can You Not Love This Story...??
Review: The one class state basketball tournament. I miss it and I am not even from Indiana. I miss it despite the fact that I have never watched a single game of Indiana high school basketball. I miss it even though in Texas I have never known anything but multi-class basketball. And reading a book like Greg Guffey's "The Greatest Basketball Story Ever Told" is a big part of why I miss the single class tournament. The story of the two-season run by the overwhelming underdog Milan Indians in 1953 and 1954 is not only the greatest basketball story ever, but maybe the greatest sports story ever. Everything I love about small town America is here. The spirit, the hope, the despair and even the pettiness. Reading this book made me wish I was from Milan and made me wish it was 1954. I was fascinated by the follow up stories of the players; each of them a success in life in their own way. I was deeply moved to find out that Marvin Wood, the coach, had lost a battle with cancer at around the same time of the change to a multi-class basketball tournament. I really enjoyed this book. I'll read it again. And when I do, I'll be in the stands at Butler Fieldhouse watching Bobby Plump realize the ultimate high school dream in the ultimate American era. Read it, and you'll know what I mean.
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