Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey |
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Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey
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by Roland Lazenby
Sales Rank: 485027
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Discount: 32 %
List Price: $21.95
$14.93
At Amazon
on 6-21-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 450 pages
Published by: Bison Books April 1, 2007
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0803259980
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0803259980
Book Dimensions:
8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
Weighs: 1.3 pounds
Product Review
Complex as he is colorful, Phil Jackson has led an improbable basketball life, marching to the tune of his own iconoclastic drummer and managing to win at every level along the way. He doesn't think like an average jock, nor does he approach his game like one: just ask Michael Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal, who've played better for him than for anyone else. Roland Lazenby couldn't have come up with a better title for his compelling exploration of what makes Jackson tick and how he evolved into one of the most successful and driven coaches in NBA history; for Jackson, the joy of his game is every bit as cerebral and psychological as it is physical. His aim, he says, is to help his players "strengthen the muscle of their minds."
Of course, Jackson--part shaman, part shrink, part mentor, part guide--has found some fascinating ways to strengthen his own, including LSD, meditation, Zen, Native American culture, William James's Varieties of Religious Experience, and the Grateful Dead. They are as much a part of Jackson's evolving core as pounding the offensive boards with the Knicks and warring with Bulls' management. If some of it seems contradictory, it is those very contradictions--more than the seven championship rings as a coach and two as a player--that make Jackson so interesting; they have helped him reshape and redefine the job. "Somehow," writes Lazenby, "Jackson has managed the very difficult feat of blending fun and discipline and spiritual exploration for his teams, sort of like combining a trip to the dentist with a carnival ride." No other coach has learned to walk that delicate balance so gracefully. But then, balance is Jackson's operating metaphor: keeping himself--and his teams--in balance while keeping opponents off theirs.
In Mindgames, Lazenby puts together a smart, solidly reported, and balanced portrait of a Zen master with a dark, driven side. He respects Jackson enough to not whitewash him. After all, innovators have a way of stepping on toes, and in basketball, the shoes, like the personalities, tend to be oversized. --Jeff Silverman
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Gary Dretzka, senior writer, Chicago Tribune, Books Section, December 10th 2000
"A must for any serious student of professional basketball."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long, Strange Journey (Hardcover)
Phil Jackson is one of the most complex figures in the history of American professional sports. Widely adored and held in the highest of esteem by fans in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and the world over, Jackson has built a career on finding success through a variety of unconventional approaches. Interpreting his actions and discerning his motives could easily prove a daunting task for any biographer. If anything redeems this effort, it is the insight offered by Tex Winter himself, who has granted me numerous candid interviews over the past half dozen seasons. Long known for his frankness about the high-priced stars he coaches, Winter has taken the same approach with his own boss. He admires Jackson yet never hesitates to criticize him. Jackson, for his part, seems to accept this criticism as part of his relationship with his mentor. In fact, the coach clearly relies on Winter's frankness, never mind that it frequently annoys him. "Phil would like to control me," Winter offered during an interview in February 2000. "But he knows he can't." Jackson has complained privately that I somehow duped Winter into providing inside detail for my 1998 book about the Bulls, "Blood On The Horns." Yet it was Jackson himself who volunteered most of the truly sensitive information during our interviews. It was Jackson who told me of the bathroom battles between Michael Jordan and Bulls VP Jerry Krause. And it was Jackson who revealed Scottie Pippen's drunken verbal assault on Krause on a team bus in Seattle that year. I've interviewed Jackson several times over the years and have always found him to be forthcoming about events, even when the information he provides casts himself in a negative light. By no means is this an authorized biography. As much as Jackson would prefer that I not write it, he has taken no steps to restrict my access to his team or to people who might provide information about him. As a result, Winter has offered some refreshing insight into a complicated figure. I have also drawn heavily on Jackson's own published works, especially his first autobiography, "Maverick, More Than A Game," a rawer, more daring account of his early life than his 1995 title "Sacred Hoops" provided. Beyond Winter and Jackson's own works, my effort was aided immensely by a host of interviews and published material. When all was said and done, Tex Winter read the manuscript and declared that it was excellent. Tough but excellent. For Winter's help and guidance, I'm immensely thankful.
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Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey
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Price: $14.93
Updated on 6-21-2008.
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