A major theme in the great horror author, Stephen King’s, highly acclaimed book, On Writing, is that writers need to write. If you are a writer, you should write every day. I would bet that if John Feinstein does not write every day, he comes pretty darn close. This is evident by his 42 books written over a career that spans 40 plus years. Feinstein is a giant in the world of sports related literature. His first book, A Season On The Brink, was an instant classic, and is probably the most famous sports book of all time. His topics are varied and diverse. You can learn more about Feinstein’s career HERE, or check out his home page, HERE.
While I have recently read The Legends Club– which was fantastic- and his latest book, The Back Roads to March, is on my reading list, I wanted to highlight a different book for this post. A Season Inside, came out not too long after A Season on the Brink. It follows a similar theme in that as John did with Season on the Brink, he took a season long journey into the college basketball world. The major difference was that instead of centering his focus on just one team, in A Season Inside he tells the story of the overall 1987-1988 Division I college basketball season. And it’s one heck of a ride.
What it’s not
Not an instructional book.
Will not teach you how to shoot a free throw or make a lay up.
Will not draw out SLOB or BLOB plays for the final seconds of a game.
It’s not fantasy. This is the all too real story of the 1987-1988 division I college basketball season.
What it is
A Season Inside chronicles the the 1987-1988 season in all of its tragedy, comedy, drama, and conquest. The back cover quotes The Sun as claiming it is, “A hoopaholic’s delight.” I would have to agree. Feinstein does an unbelievable job of exploring the college hoops landscape during this unforgettable season. If you lived through the 1987-88 season, you would do well to take a trip back and relive all of the moments captured in this book. And if you haven’t lived through that season…well, you got some learnin’ to do youngster!
A Season Inside is brimming with a range of personalities from the College hoops world of the 1980’s. You can check out the ph
oto of my notes for this book review to get the idea. But the personality that steals the show, the personal story that in my view has allowed this book to take on even more meaning as it has aged, is the story of a young Steve Kerr.
Reading A Season Inside today, you almost get trapped into thinking that Feinstein knew what would transpire in the young Steve Kerr’s basketball career down the road. But, of course, Feinstein had no crystal ball. He just had the present. And a story in the Arizona guard unlike any other. This by itself is worth the read.
Steve Kerr went on to grind out a young career in the NBA as a 3 pointer specialist. He eventually ended up on the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan, and won 3 championships there as a player. He won two more championships with the San Antonio Spurs. He is currently the head coach of the Golden State warriors, where that team has won three championships with Kerr at the helm.
Steve Kerr is not in the Basketball Hall of Fame and he should be. Members of the selection committees would be doing a service to go back and read A Season Inside.
Overtime
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