Two Books to Start 2021

 Time for the first book reviews of 2021....

This book as Christmas gift and it is loving memoir of the fifty year relationship between the famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and his greatest player, Lew Alcindor, soon to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.  This is not necessarily a sports book, although there is some basketball in it, but more the story of the relationship between two men.  A relationship that began when one was a middle-aged square of a midwestern white guy and the other a teenaged Black kid from the heart of New York City.  Abdul-Jabbar writes of how meaningful that relationship was from the start, and how it developed as he, Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar grew and matured. It is about friendship, mentorship, and mutual respect.

I know that in his later years, Abdul-Jabbar has turned to writing and has written several books on different subjects.  I have read several opinion pieces that he has authored over the years, so I was very impressed but not necessarily surprised with how well written this book was.   It makes me want to seek out some of his other books.  And as a happy coincidence, when Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year issue arrived last week, the article on LeBron James was written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and like this book, it was an exceptionally well written piece.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.

This book was also a Christmas present.  Not to me, but to my friend, Dan, who then lent it to me.  First written in 1959 and reissued recently, it is the story of the incredible journey - it took seven years from the germination of an idea for the show to Opening Night on Broadway -  of Meredith Willson and his writing of the beloved Broadway musical, "The Music Man."   Let me say right off the bat, if you are not a fan of Broadway musicals in general, and "The Music Man" in particular, this book is not for you.  Don't bother with it.  However, if you are a fan of this show, you really might want to read this one. I mean, look, whaddaya talk whaddaya talk, whaddaya talk where'dyougitit whaddaya talk?  If that last sentence made no sense to you, then you REALLY don't want to bother with this book.

Broadway shows don't just happen, and this book tells all about how one such American classic came to be.  Willson's insistence on using his folksy Iowa dialect throughput the narrative in the book got a little wearying, but other than that, The Grandstander gives this one Three Stars, but like I said, it's only for diehard fans of a two-bit thimblerigger named Harold Hill.