Larry Bird was a professional basketball player, coach, Olympian, and television personality best known for his historic run with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s. Nicknamed "Larry Legend," Bird led his teammates to multiple divisional titles and NBA Championships. After retiring from the basketball, Bird became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, where he also experienced great success. Bird is often considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all-time.
Bird, Boston Celtic forward extraordinaire, and Ryan, Boston Globe sportswriter, here conspire to address Bird's past . The result is perhaps more interesting for what the book lacks. Presented as a memoir about ``overcoming obstacles,'' the discussions of the events that shaped Bird's life, including his parents divorce and father's suicide, his own divorce, an aborted Indiana University basketball career, and eventual superstardom, serve as mere asides to innocuous, though entertaining basketball anecdotes. The narrative is more concerned with Bird's teammates than with the motivations in his life and though the personal aspects are treated forthrightly, depth and introspection are not among the book's strengths. However, even the brief suggestions of the inner Bird make the book worth reading. Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Penthouse; Literary Guild and Dou bleday Book Club selections. (Nov)
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