looking up stats

I am enjoying this book immensely in the first few pages. I can see one of my activities during my reading will be looking up the stats of the players that Halberstam is describing. The first of these is Greg Bunch, though his stats are sparse, 12 games with the Knicks. These stats are available at http://www.basketball-reference.com/. It really is like looking at the documentation behind history. So much is different when you really look at what happened. I remember the coverage more then the stats. Many times players were better then I remember because certain columnists had maligned them. Not that stats can't lie as well.

I love looking at these names that I don't remember. This book is written for the 1979-80 season, at that point I am just getting into the NBA, so many names are unfamiliar.

As with so many books, this one sounds like it could be describing today's game. Political books are the same. And yet, experts blather on and on every night as if they possess secret decoder rings. They are truly saying nothing new.

With new technology, everything is more accessible and more pervasive, but the descriptions given then could easily pass for commentary about today's nba game, or presidential election.

Friday Night Lights

I finally got around to reading this book. I had read Three days in august earlier this year. Both were well done. I suppose I like Lights better.

Bissinger is a good writer, and takes you into issues you usually don't get into in a sports book. I was surprised how old the book is. The movie just came out a few years ago. I thought it was a late nineties book, but it actually captures the 1988 season.

Its funny, I read like Halberstam wrote. I like to tackle a book about politics and history, followed by a well-done sports book. Right now, after finishing Manhunt I'm going to start The Breaks of the Game. I've been trying to buy this book for a while. It isn't available anymore, out of print. The only copies I've been able to find are high priced collector's editions. I did the only sensible thing, I checked the MSU library and borrowed it and The Powers that be. I should read these over Christmas break.

Hopefully I'll remember to record some of my thoughts as I read.

Manhunt

Just finished the book Manhunt. Good book, diverting. Not much more. I didn't know much about the hunt for Booth, but to tell you the truth, while I feel like it was a pretty well written crime novel, I didn't get much more out of it.

Readable, but put-downable as well. That is good for my sleeping, but does not necessarily speak well of the book.