The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden

The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball

A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBAâ€™S GLORY DAYS, AND THE RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERA

In the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sportâ€™s chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled Americaâ€™s biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences. The game was played â€œabove the rimâ€â€“and the most marketable of its high-flying stars were black. The credit for this remarkable transformation largely goes to two giants: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.

In The Rivalry, award-winning journalist John Taylor projects the stories of Russell, Chamberlain, and other stars from the NBAâ€™s golden age onto a backdrop of racial tensions and cultural change. Taylorâ€™s electrifying account of two complex menâ€“as well as of a game and a country at a crossroadsâ€“is an epic narrative of sports in America during the 1960s.

Itâ€™s hard to imagine two characters better suited to leading roles in the NBA saga: Chamberlain was cast as the athletically gifted yet mercurial titan, while Russell played the role of the stalwart centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Taylor delves beneath these stereotypes, detailing how the two opposed and complemented each other and how they revolutionized the way the game was played and perceived by fans.

Competing with and against such heroes as Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor, and playing for the two greatest coaches of the era, Alex Hannum and the fiery Red Auerbach, Chamberlain and Russell propelled the NBA into the spotlight. But their off-court visibility and successâ€“to say nothing of their candorâ€“also inflamed passions along Americaâ€™s racial and generational fault lines. In many ways, Russell and Chamberlain helped make the NBA and, to some extent, America what they are today.

Filled with dramatic conflicts and some of the great moments in sports history, and building to a thrilling climaxâ€“the 1969 final series, the last showdown between Russell and Chamberlainâ€“The Rivalry has at its core a philosophical question: Can determination and a team ethos, embodied by the ultimate team player, Bill Russell, trump sheer talent, embodied by Wilt Chamberlain?

Gripping, insightful, and utterly compelling, the story of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain is the stuff of sporting legend. Written with a reporterâ€™s unerring command of events and a storytellerâ€™s flair, The Rivalry will take its place as one of the classic works of sports history.
Country USA
Brand Ballantine Books
Manufacturer Random House Publishing Group
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780812970302
Color Black
ReleaseDate 2006-09-26
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780812970302

Country	USA
Brand	Ballantine Books
Manufacturer	Random House Publishing Group
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780812970302
Color	Black
ReleaseDate	2006-09-26
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780812970302

The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball

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