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The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.323092
EAN: 9781400061143
ISBN: 1400061148
Label: Random House
Manufacturer: Random House
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: October 11, 2005
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: October 11, 2005
Studio: Random House
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Editorial Review:
A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBA’S GLORY DAYS, AND THE RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERAIn the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sport’s chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled America’s biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences. The game was played “above the rim”–and the most marketable of its high-flying stars were black. The credit for this remarkable transformation largely goes to two giants: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. In The Rivalry, award-winning journalist John Taylor projects the stories of Russell, Chamberlain, and other stars from the NBA’s golden age onto a backdrop of racial tensions and cultural change. Taylor’s electrifying account of two complex men–as well as of a game and a country at a crossroads–is an epic narrative of sports in America during the 1960s.It’s hard to imagine two characters better suited to leading roles in the NBA saga: Chamberlain was cast as the athletically gifted yet mercurial titan, while Russell played the role of the stalwart centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Taylor delves beneath these stereotypes, detailing how the two opposed and complemented each other and how they revolutionized the way the game was played and perceived by fans. Competing with and against such heroes as Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor, and playing for the two greatest coaches of the era, Alex Hannum and the fiery Red Auerbach, Chamberlain and Russell propelled the NBA into the spotlight. But their off-court visibility and success–to say nothing of their candor–also inflamed passions along America’s racial and generational fault lines. In many ways, Russell and Chamberlain helped make the NBA and, to some extent, America what they are today.Filled with dramatic conflicts and some of the great moments in sports history, and building to a thrilling climax–the 1969 final series, the last showdown between Russell and Chamberlain–The Rivalry has at its core a philosophical question: Can determination and a team ethos, embodied by the ultimate team player, Bill Russell, trump sheer talent, embodied by Wilt Chamberlain? Gripping, insightful, and utterly compelling, the story of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain is the stuff of sporting legend. Written with a reporter’s unerring command of events and a storyteller’s flair, The Rivalry will take its place as one of the classic works of sports history.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Winning vs. Stats
I bought this book as a nice summer read for a Celtics fan. When I started following the NBA, Bill Russell had just retired 2 years earlier and Wilt Chamberlain was just about done, although his Lakers were making the NBA Finals almost every year. Big Men still ruled the NBA (Reed, Unseld, Cowens and a young Abdul-Jabbar.) It was a great era for the league. This book describes how it came to be.
I was expecting a rehash of Russell's championships with Boston vs. Chamberlain's stats. ... Read More
Rating:  - A Surprising Glimpse at Early NBA
As "old-school" fans cringe at the ever-increasing pyrotechnics of arena presentation and the changing style of gameplay in the NBA as unprofessional, Taylor uses the Chamberlain/Russell rivalry to tell the story of an early NBA that makes the recent theatrical release of "Semi-Pro" seem like a documentary and should set those "old-school" fans straight about the professionalism of the early NBA.
Taylor tells the story of a league that would make Slap Shot's Reggie Dunlop proud. The NBA ... Read More
Rating:  - Russell and Chamberlain
Silly for me to say this but on the paperback cover, there is a picture of Chamberlain shooting over Russell, and it looks like Wilt is smiling as he shoots. I think the difference between the two men was that Chamberlain was pursued when he was a boy whereas Russell was a walk-on at USF - that most likely made Russell work harder for everything he got and made him more determined to prove himself to the world - in a word, Chamberlain was coddled all his life. I have always wondered why Wilt's playoff ... Read More
Rating: - The Rivalry
David Letterman talked about this on his talk show and I placed it on "My Wish List". I just received it and I am sure it will be a very good read.
Rating: - Excellent book on a legendary era
Having read many basketball books, I find this as one of the best. Well-written, thoroughly researched, it captures the era of the 50s and 60s from the perspective of two of the greatest players ever, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Thankfully, Taylor does not go into play-by-play detail of games, instead captures the flavor of the era, everything from coaching, basketball styles, management, to racism. It is fascinating and truly an outstanding read. I highly recommend it.
* I usually stay away ... Read More
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