Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court

Its hard for me to put into words how much joy I felt reading this books. Both coach wooden and Kareem are scholars of not just basketball but also life. Stories span across a critical time in human history for sports but also freedom of rights. Thank you Kareem for sharing. It would be wonderful if you could stop by London to meet some of your fans :-)

A really good and enjoyable read, exploring friendship, life, development and the challenges of America over the past 50 years.

Anyone buying this book will probably only do so because they know of Kareem and Coach Wooden. Whilst many stories revolve around basketball, it is the friendship and admiration that a young black teenager and a middle aged american white man from totally differing backgrounds have for each other that shines through, and therefore could be read by those who do not necessarily know about basketball

In this well-written account, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar describes his life-long friendship with one of the best coaches ever, John Wooden.

Excellent item vr well received

Very good account of the various stages in their relationship. Some vignettes of the Power Memorial and UCLA days, as well, including his recruitment (Alcindor, that is). I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Abdul-Jabbar and/or Wooden.

NBAレジェンドで、最近は知識人、ライター、アメリカの良心として注目されているKareem Abdul-Jabbar。NBA時代のコーチWooden氏との出会いや関係について書かれた一冊。バスケットボールについてまったく知らない私でも、十分に楽しめました。コーチと学生、友人として、2人がどう関係を築いていったのか、その時代背景とともに描かれています。終盤は、彼のコーチに対する優しいまなざしに、泣けて泣けて仕方がありませんでした。 英語は高校の教科書レベル。多読をしたい、1冊読み通してみたいと考えている高校生、大学生、もちろん一般の方にもおすすめです。

This book goes well beyond basketball. I really recommend it.

Un libro excelente, bien escrito y que narra la amistad de por vida entre uno de los mejores jugadores de la historia del baloncesto y el nombrado mejor entrenador de Estados Unidos de cualquier deporte. Una obra muy recomendable para todo aquel que quiera profundizar en una relación muy interesante que trasciende los límites de la cancha y deja muchas lecciones para la vida.

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.