Read Coach Wooden and Me Our 50Year Friendship On and Off the Court eBook Kareem AbdulJabbar

By Nelson James on Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Read Coach Wooden and Me Our 50Year Friendship On and Off the Court eBook Kareem AbdulJabbar





Product details

  • File Size 50669 KB
  • Print Length 321 pages
  • Publisher Grand Central Publishing (May 16, 2017)
  • Publication Date May 16, 2017
  • Language English
  • ASIN B01LYJI4UO




Coach Wooden and Me Our 50Year Friendship On and Off the Court eBook Kareem AbdulJabbar Reviews


  • You might think the book would be lightweight and predictable, but the story goes beyond expectations and really resonates in today's world of intolerance. The book also elevated me spiritually. Kareem's skill as a writer, and hard work to get at the truth of his relationship with Coach Wooden is evident. I first read about Coach Wooden in the 1980s and came to appreciate his work ethic, honesty, and leadership. And I also had a lot of respect for Kareem, first watching him play for the Lakers, and then his later success as a historian and writer. So, I knew the book would be worthwhile, but it went beyond those expectations two people from different races, different religions, and different parts of the country, several decades in age difference, and they come together with mutual respect for each other, a teacher and his student, and both learn from each other for a lifetime. I definitely feel inspired and enriched after reading this book.
  • Books about John Wooden should be required reading. You always come away learning something. What I enjoyed most about this one is how Kareem demonstrates how 2 thoughful, well intentioned people can have different views based on their life individual experiences, and be able to learn from each other's perspectives.
  • I've followed Kareem since he was Lew Alcindor in college. While one of my all time favorite athletes I'd always perceived a type of radical-ness that acted as a bolder, disrupting water in my river of perception. This book pulverizes that bolder. I believe it was misinterpretation on my part.

    I've read nearly all of the books written on Coach. Kareem tells stories I've never heard before. This is a special tale about two people's lives that intersected for decades, each having a profound effect on the other.
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabber is an amazing writer. His respect and love for Coach Wooden is movingly communicated in this awesome book. Coach Wooden is shown to be a man who had flaws but never stopped trying to be a better person and trying to instill strong principles and values to others during his amazing life! Mr Abdul-Jabber tracks the growth of his personal experience with Coach Wooden from his being coach to his enduring life long friendship!!! Great insight from one of the greatest players of all time who is now one of the most thoughtful writers we have today!!!!
  • My eyes filled with tears at the end of this book. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did such a fine job of capturing the profound importance of his relationship with John Wooden that I shared his grief when Coach dies in the final pages. Abdul-Jabbar always struck me as a fiercely intelligent, complex and thoughtful guy. But his often stoic public demeanor prevented me from realizing how deeply sensitive, introspective and warm he is as well. This wonderful book put an end to that. It is brimful with emotion, often self-effacing but always remarkably candid and open. Both of these remarkable men factored heavily in my basketball fandom. That the most important dimensions of each of them are not actually directly related to their prodigious accomplishments on the court is remarkable. That the unique and life-long friendship they forged transcends all of it is, too.
  • I just finished reading the E-book version. I couldn't stop reading it. OUTSTANDING. Thank you Kareem so much for sharing your times about a wonderful man to us.
  • Like many sports fans, I admired the long, successful careers of John Wooden and Kareem Abdul Jabber. What I didn't know is what is revealed in this book the nature of their friendship, a friendship that can be a model for all of us to strive for.
  • Kareem Abdul Jabbar is one of our most intelligent athletes ever and has always followed a different drummer. Now a committed author with books and opinion pieces in papers like The NY Times. As a fan of John Wooden I had to read this book with low expectations. They were FAR exceeded.

    Jabbar is a very good writer and has quite a story to tell. How could a thin, tall athlete with left leanings maintain such an intimate relationship with a much older, conservative MidWesterner? How could these two opposing personalities meld until Wooden was in his 90s? And how could this amazing athlete write such a touching, compassionate story of the love and respect shared between Jabbar and Wooden? It's all here in these pages. Abdul-Jabbar was a GREAT basketball player, clearly intelligent. Most don't get a great chance at a second career. But Jabbar is a great writer/activist that deserves our attention. He's led an interesting, reflective life.

    Truly a special book that I could not recommend higher.