
Black Ball
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation That Saved the Soul of the NBA
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Narrated by:
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Xenia Willacey
About this listen
A vital narrative history of 1970s pro basketball, and the Black players who shaped the NBA
Against a backdrop of ongoing resistance to racial desegregation and strident calls for Black Power, the NBA in the 1970s embodied the nation’s imagined descent into disorder. A new generation of Black players entered the league then, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Spencer Haywood, and the press and public were quick to blame this cohort for the supposed decline of pro basketball, citing drugs, violence, and greed. Basketball became a symbol for post-civil rights America: the rules had changed, allowing more Black people onto the playing field, and now they were ruining everything.
Enter Black Ball, a gripping history and corrective in which scholar Theresa Runstedtler expertly rewrites basketball’s “Dark Ages.” Weaving together a deep knowledge of the game with incisive social analysis, Runstedtler argues that this much-maligned period was pivotal to the rise of the modern-day NBA. Black players introduced an improvisational style derived from the playground courts of their neighborhoods. They also challenged the team owners’ autocratic power, garnering higher salaries and increased agency. Their skills, style, and savvy laid the foundation for the global popularity and profitability of the league we know today.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Theresa Runstedtler (P)2023 Bold Type BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
In this powerful new history, New York Times bestselling author Max Wallace draws on groundbreaking research to reframe Helen Keller’s journey after the miracle at the water pump, vividly bringing to light her rarely discussed, lifelong fight for social justice across gender, class, race, and ability. Peeling back the curtain that obscured Keller’s political crusades in favor of her “inspirational” childhood, After the Miracle chronicles the complete legacy of one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary figures.
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Excellent book
- By steve on 05-31-23
By: Max Wallace
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The Wrong Stuff
- How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
- By: John Strausbaugh
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories—starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following--that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power. But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story.
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Fun and insightful story
- By ryan allison on 05-15-25
By: John Strausbaugh
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Hollywood Pride
- A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film
- By: Alonso Duralde
- Narrated by: Alonso Duralde
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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On the eve the 20th century, in Thomas Edison’s laboratory, one of the earliest attempts at a sound film depicted two men dancing together as a third plays the violin. It’s only a few minutes long, but this cornerstone of early cinema captures a queer moment on film. It would not be the last. Hollywood Pride is a tale spanning from “pansy craze” of the 1930s to the New Queer Cinema of the 1990s, all the way up to today.
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A lot of supposition
- By Pink Amy on 05-10-25
By: Alonso Duralde
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Boundless
- The Rise, Fall, and Escape of Carlos Ghosn
- By: Nick Kostov, Sean McLain
- Narrated by: Sam Devereaux
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Carlos Ghosn always wanted more. Born in the Amazon, raised by a well-off—if scandalized—family in Beirut, and educated in Paris, Ghosn rose to prominence at Michelin in the United States, Renault in France, and Nissan in Japan. Along the way he earned monikers of Le Cost Killer, for his incisive business savvy, and Mr. 7-Eleven, for the hours he devoted to his work.
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Better than Broken Alliance
- By Amazon Customer on 03-08-23
By: Nick Kostov, and others
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The Great Successor
- The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un
- By: Anna Fifield
- Narrated by: Olivia Mackenzie-Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Anna Fifield reconstructs Kim's past and present with exclusive access to sources near him and brings her unique understanding to explain the dynastic mission of the Kim family in North Korea. The archaic notion of despotic family rule matches the almost medieval hardship the country has suffered under the Kims. Few people thought that a young, untested, unhealthy, Swiss-educated basketball fanatic could hold together a country that should have fallen apart years ago. But Kim Jong Un has not just survived, he has thrived.
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Great book
- By WPD on 06-26-19
By: Anna Fifield
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A Game of Birds and Wolves
- The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II
- By: Simon Parkin
- Narrated by: Elliot Fitzpatrick
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral, "contributed in no small measure to the final defeat of Germany." Rich with unforgettable cinematic detail and larger-than-life characters, A Game of Birds and Wolves is a heart-wrenching tale of ingenuity, dedication, perseverance, and love, bringing to life the imagination and sacrifice required to defeat the Nazis at sea.
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A lost story thrillingly revealed
- By Maudiemanding on 02-18-20
By: Simon Parkin
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Homer and His Iliad
- By: Robin Lane Fox
- Narrated by: Steve John Shepherd
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The Iliad is the world’s greatest epic poem—heroic battle and divine fate set against the Trojan War. Its beauty and profound bleakness are intensely moving, but great questions remain: Where, how, and when was it composed and why does it endure? Robin Lane Fox addresses these questions, drawing on a lifelong love and engagement with the poem. He argues for a place, a date, and a method for its composition—subjects of ongoing controversy—combining the detailed expertise of a historian with a poetic reader’s sensitivity.
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Masterful!
- By J. C. Weaver on 01-08-24
By: Robin Lane Fox
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Altamont
- The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day
- By: Joel Selvin
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In this breathtaking cultural history filled with exclusive, never-before-revealed details, celebrated rock journalist Joel Selvin tells the definitive story of the Rolling Stones' infamous Altamont concert in San Francisco, the disastrous historic event that marked the end of the idealistic 1960s.
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I was there...
- By Marcheta on 08-29-16
By: Joel Selvin
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Stolen
- A Memoir
- By: Elizabeth Gilpin
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Gilpin
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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At 15, Elizabeth Gilpin was an honor student, a state-ranked swimmer, and a rising soccer star, but behind closed doors, her undiagnosed depression was wreaking havoc on her life. Growing angrier by the day, she began skipping practices and drinking to excess. At a loss, her parents turned to an educational consultant who suggested Elizabeth be enrolled in a behavioral modification program. That recommendation would change her life forever.
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Insightful, heartbreaking look into abuse of the TTI
- By Queen City Mom on 08-02-21
By: Elizabeth Gilpin
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Serving the Servant
- Remembering Kurt Cobain
- By: Danny Goldberg
- Narrated by: Danny Goldberg
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Danny Goldberg explores what it is about Kurt Cobain that still resonates today, even with a generation who wasn’t alive until after Kurt’s death. In the process, he provides a portrait of an icon unlike any that has come before.
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Good Perspective Danny but you left some stuff out
- By Amazon Customer on 07-12-19
By: Danny Goldberg
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Beast
- John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin
- By: C. M. Kushins, Dave Grohl - foreword
- Narrated by: Matthew Wolf, Chris Abell
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The first full-length narrative biography of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, considered by many to be one of the greatest drummers in rock history, and a genuine wild man of epic (and sadly fatal) proportions.
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In-Depth and Entertaining
- By Amazon Customer on 09-09-21
By: C. M. Kushins, and others
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Better Faster Farther
- How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women
- By: Maggie Mertens
- Narrated by: Maggie Mertens, Lauren Fleshman - introduction
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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More than a century ago, a woman ran in the very first modern Olympic marathon. She just did it without permission. Award-winning journalist Maggie Mertens uncovers the story of how women broke into competitive running and how they are getting faster and fiercer every day—and changing our understanding of what is possible as they go.
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Well researched, covered vast history and viewpoints
- By FJ83 on 10-25-24
By: Maggie Mertens
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The Inside Game
- Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves
- By: Keith Law
- Narrated by: Rhett Samuel Price
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In this groundbreaking book, Keith Law, the ESPN baseball writer and author of the acclaimed Smart Baseball, offers an era-spanning dissection of some of the best and worst decisions in modern baseball, explaining what motivated them, what can be learned from them, and how their legacy has shaped the game....
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Narrator is negative value compared to replacement
- By Daniel W. Franzen on 11-28-20
By: Keith Law
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How to Be a Patient
- The Essential Guide to Navigating the World of Modern Medicine
- By: Sana Goldberg
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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From registered nurse and public health advocate Sana Goldberg, RN, a timely, accessible, and comprehensive handbook to navigating common medical situations. From the routine to the unexpected, How to Be a Patient is your ultimate guide to better health care.
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More like “How Being a Patient Should Be”
- By Anonymous User on 01-04-24
By: Sana Goldberg
Important book
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The problem with the text is that it’s almost too encyclopedic for its own good. It also sometimes relies on facts that turn more into opinions in the last two or three chapters. The narrator is almost formulaic in her delivery, which completely drains any emotion the author sought for the reader/listener. By the end, that detracted from the enjoyment of the book.
Still would recommend for those that are NBA fans who don’t understand - or are aware of - the history of the 70s malaise and 80s growth of pro basketball.
Almost too emotionless
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