
Playing for Keeps
Michael Jordan and the World He Made
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
JD Jackson
-
By:
-
David Halberstam
About this listen
New York Times best seller
From a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist comes “the best Jordan book so far” (The Washington Post), the story of Michael Jordan’s legendary years with the Chicago Bulls, capped by the 1998 NBA Finals and the team’s second three-peat.
From The Breaks of the Game to Summer of '49, David Halberstam has brought the perspective of a great historian, the insider knowledge of a dogged sportswriter, and the love of a fan to bear on some of the most mythic players and teams in the annals of American sports. With Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, he has given himself the greatest challenge and produced his greatest triumph.
In Playing for Keeps, David Halberstam takes the first full measure of Michael Jordan's epic career, one of the great American stories of our time. A narrative of astonishing power and human drama, brimming with revealing anecdotes and penetrating insights, the audiobook chronicles the forces in Jordan's life that have shaped him in to history's greatest basketball player and the larger forces that have converged to make him the most famous living human being in the world.
©2012 David Halberstam (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Beatles '66
- The Revolutionary Year
- By: Steve Turner
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year that changed everything for the Beatles was 1966 - the year of their last concert and of Revolver, their first album created to be listened to rather than performed. This was the year the Beatles risked their popularity by retiring from live performances, recording songs that explored alternative states of consciousness, experimenting with avant-garde ideas, and speaking their minds on issues of politics, war, and religion. Music journalist and Beatles expert Steve Turner investigates the enormous changes that took place in the Beatles' lives and work during 1966.
-
-
Great listen
- By Tad Davis on 07-28-18
By: Steve Turner
-
Becoming Dr. Seuss
- Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination
- By: Brian Jay Jones
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive, fascinating, all-reaching biography of Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss is a classic American icon. Whimsical and wonderful, his work has defined our childhoods and the childhoods of our own children. The silly, simple rhymes are a bottomless well of magic, his illustrations timeless favorites because, quite simply, he makes us laugh. The Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, Horton, and so many more are his troupe of beloved and uniquely Seussian creations.
-
-
Good enough to read but not listen to.
- By Vetbo on 05-21-19
By: Brian Jay Jones
-
NFL Century
- The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America's Greatest Sports League
- By: Joe Horrigan
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The NFL has come a long way from its founding in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. In the 100 years since that fateful day, football has become America’s most popular and lucrative professional sport. The former scrappy upstart league that struggled to stay afloat has survived a host of challenges to produce American icons like Vince Lombardi, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady. It is an extraordinary and entertaining history that could be told only by Joe Horrigan, former executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and perhaps the greatest living historian of the NFL.
-
-
C+
- By Eryn S. McGary on 09-02-23
By: Joe Horrigan
-
The Back Roads to March
- The Unsung, Unheralded, and Unknown Heroes of a College Basketball Season
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Feinstein has already taken listeners into the inner circles of top college basketball programs in The Legends Club. This time, Feinstein pulls back the curtain on college basketball's lesser-known Cinderella stories - the smaller programs who no one expects to win, who have no chance of attracting the most coveted high school recruits, who rarely send their players on to the NBA. Feinstein follows a handful of players, coaches, and schools who dream, not of winning the NCAA tournament but of making it past their first or second round games.
-
-
A love letter to college basketball
- By Hebern on 01-27-22
By: John Feinstein
-
The Gambler
- How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History
- By: William C. Rempel
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rags-to-riches story of one of America's wealthiest and least-known financial giants, self-made billionaire Kirk Kerkorian - the daring aviator, movie mogul, risk taker, and business tycoon who transformed Las Vegas and Hollywood to become one of the leading financiers in American business. Kerkorian combined the courage of a World War II pilot, the fortitude of a scrappy boxer, the cunning of an inscrutable poker player, and an unmatched genius for making deals.
-
-
Not enough detail on his business life
- By Zahid Jafry on 06-12-18
-
The Mindful Athlete
- Secrets to Pure Performance
- By: George Mumford, Phil Jackson - foreword
- Narrated by: J. D. Jackson
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Jordan credits George Mumford with transforming his on-court leadership of the Bulls, helping Jordan lead the team to six NBA championships. Mumford also helped Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom and countless other NBA players turn around their games. A widely respected public speaker and coach, Mumford is sharing his own story and the strategies that have made these athletes into stars in The Mindful Athlete: The Secret to Pure Performance.
-
-
For the athlete to learn mindfulness....
- By Amazon Customer on 06-27-17
By: George Mumford, and others
-
Beatles '66
- The Revolutionary Year
- By: Steve Turner
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year that changed everything for the Beatles was 1966 - the year of their last concert and of Revolver, their first album created to be listened to rather than performed. This was the year the Beatles risked their popularity by retiring from live performances, recording songs that explored alternative states of consciousness, experimenting with avant-garde ideas, and speaking their minds on issues of politics, war, and religion. Music journalist and Beatles expert Steve Turner investigates the enormous changes that took place in the Beatles' lives and work during 1966.
-
-
Great listen
- By Tad Davis on 07-28-18
By: Steve Turner
-
Becoming Dr. Seuss
- Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination
- By: Brian Jay Jones
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive, fascinating, all-reaching biography of Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss is a classic American icon. Whimsical and wonderful, his work has defined our childhoods and the childhoods of our own children. The silly, simple rhymes are a bottomless well of magic, his illustrations timeless favorites because, quite simply, he makes us laugh. The Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, Horton, and so many more are his troupe of beloved and uniquely Seussian creations.
-
-
Good enough to read but not listen to.
- By Vetbo on 05-21-19
By: Brian Jay Jones
-
NFL Century
- The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America's Greatest Sports League
- By: Joe Horrigan
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The NFL has come a long way from its founding in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. In the 100 years since that fateful day, football has become America’s most popular and lucrative professional sport. The former scrappy upstart league that struggled to stay afloat has survived a host of challenges to produce American icons like Vince Lombardi, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady. It is an extraordinary and entertaining history that could be told only by Joe Horrigan, former executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and perhaps the greatest living historian of the NFL.
-
-
C+
- By Eryn S. McGary on 09-02-23
By: Joe Horrigan
-
The Back Roads to March
- The Unsung, Unheralded, and Unknown Heroes of a College Basketball Season
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Feinstein has already taken listeners into the inner circles of top college basketball programs in The Legends Club. This time, Feinstein pulls back the curtain on college basketball's lesser-known Cinderella stories - the smaller programs who no one expects to win, who have no chance of attracting the most coveted high school recruits, who rarely send their players on to the NBA. Feinstein follows a handful of players, coaches, and schools who dream, not of winning the NCAA tournament but of making it past their first or second round games.
-
-
A love letter to college basketball
- By Hebern on 01-27-22
By: John Feinstein
-
The Gambler
- How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History
- By: William C. Rempel
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rags-to-riches story of one of America's wealthiest and least-known financial giants, self-made billionaire Kirk Kerkorian - the daring aviator, movie mogul, risk taker, and business tycoon who transformed Las Vegas and Hollywood to become one of the leading financiers in American business. Kerkorian combined the courage of a World War II pilot, the fortitude of a scrappy boxer, the cunning of an inscrutable poker player, and an unmatched genius for making deals.
-
-
Not enough detail on his business life
- By Zahid Jafry on 06-12-18
-
The Mindful Athlete
- Secrets to Pure Performance
- By: George Mumford, Phil Jackson - foreword
- Narrated by: J. D. Jackson
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Jordan credits George Mumford with transforming his on-court leadership of the Bulls, helping Jordan lead the team to six NBA championships. Mumford also helped Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom and countless other NBA players turn around their games. A widely respected public speaker and coach, Mumford is sharing his own story and the strategies that have made these athletes into stars in The Mindful Athlete: The Secret to Pure Performance.
-
-
For the athlete to learn mindfulness....
- By Amazon Customer on 06-27-17
By: George Mumford, and others
-
Young Bucks
- Killing the Business from Backyards to the Big Leagues
- By: Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The electric and daring independent wrestling tag team tells their inspiring story, revealing how two undersized, ambitious amateur athletes from Southern California became the idols of millions of popular sports fans and coveted among the ranks of AEW’s elite wrestling lineup. Alternating between each brother’s perspective from chapter to chapter, this entertaining memoir is a complete portrait of what it means to grow into - and give back to - wrestling, the sport and profession they embody and love.
-
-
5 stars!
- By aaron evans on 02-22-21
By: Matt Jackson, and others
-
Cheated
- The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing
- By: Andy Martino
- Narrated by: Andy Martino
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ensuing scandal rivaled that of the 1919 "Black Sox" and the more recent steroid era, and became one of the most significant that the game had ever seen. The fallout ensnared many other teams, either as victims, alleged cheaters or both. The Los Angeles Dodgers felt robbed of a World Series title, and fended off accusations about their organization. Same for the New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox were soon under investigation themselves. The New York Mets lost a promising manager before he ever managed a game.
-
-
Take away the 2017 WS Trophy!!
- By Sonny on 07-10-21
By: Andy Martino
-
Michael Jordan
- The Life
- By: Roland Lazenby
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 21 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive biography of a legendary athlete. The Shrug. The Shot. The Flu Game. When most people think of him, they think of his beautiful shots with the game on the line, his body totally in sync with the ball - hitting nothing but net. But for all his greatness, this scion of a complex family from North Carolina's Coastal Plain has a darker side: He's a ruthless competitor and a lover of high stakes. There's never been a biography that encompassed the dual nature of his character and looked so deeply at Jordan on and off the court - until now.
-
-
horrible naration
- By Hiro on 03-27-18
By: Roland Lazenby
-
The Breaks of the Game
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A New York Times best seller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed.
-
-
Truly one of the all time great sports books
- By Ed on 03-11-16
By: David Halberstam
-
Dream Team
- How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Changed the Game of Basketball Forever
- By: Jack McCallum
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation. As a senior staff writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona.
-
-
Great insight into the great basketball team ever.
- By James O'Brien on 09-04-12
By: Jack McCallum
-
The Education of a Coach
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Tom Stechshulte
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize-winner David Halberstam's best seller takes you inside the football genius of Bill Belichick for an insightful profile in leadership. Bill Belichick's thirty-one years in the NFL have been marked by amazing success - most recently with the New England Patriots. In this groundbreaking audiobook, David Halberstam explores the nuances of both the game and the man behind it. He uncovers what makes Bill Belichick tick both on and off the field.
-
-
Good Overall. Very detailed
- By Dean on 01-17-17
By: David Halberstam
-
Eleven Rings
- The Soul of Success
- By: Phil Jackson, Hugh Delehanty
- Narrated by: Matt Walton
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During his storied career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson won more championships than any coach in the history of professional sports. This is the story of a preacher's kid from North Dakota who grew up to be one of the most innovative leaders of our time. Eleven times, Jackson led his teams to the ultimate goal: the NBA championship - six times with the Chicago Bulls and five times with the Los Angeles Lakers. This book is full of revelations.
-
-
Listener Beware
- By Robert S. Wegener on 07-12-13
By: Phil Jackson, and others
-
Showboat
- The Life of Kobe Bryant
- By: Roland Lazenby
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 21 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive portrait of Kobe Bryant, from the author of Michael Jordan. Eighteen-time All-Star, scorer of 81 points in a single game, MVP, and one of the best shooting guards in NBA league history: Kobe Bryant is among basketball's absolute greatest players, and his importance to the sport is undeniable. Third on the NBA career scoring list and owner of five championship rings, he is an undisputed all-time great, one deserving of this deep and definitive biography.
-
-
KOBE BEAN BRYANT
- By Allaeldien Abdelrahman on 12-14-18
By: Roland Lazenby
-
Barkley
- A Biography
- By: Timothy Bella
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He's one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella's Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked about icons in the world of sports.
-
-
Great insight to the big man’s life.
- By marci rodee on 07-03-23
By: Timothy Bella
-
Showtime
- Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost 300 interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles. From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end - marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV - Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.
-
-
Offended at the style used to voice black characters.
- By NP on 01-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality
- By: Mike Sielski
- Narrated by: Landon Woodson, Mike Sielski
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kobe Bryant’s death in January 2020 did more than rattle the worlds of sports and celebrity. The tragedy of that helicopter crash, which also took the life of his daughter Gianna, unveiled the full breadth and depth of his influence on our culture, and by tracing and telling the oft-forgotten and lesser-known story of his early life, The Rise promises to provide an insight into Kobe that no other analysis has.
-
-
I didn’t think I would learn a life lesson…
- By TE on 01-25-22
By: Mike Sielski
-
Unguarded
- By: Scottie Pippen, Michael Arkush
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scottie Pippen has been called one of the greatest NBA players for good reason. Simply put, without Pippen, there are no championship banners - let alone six - hanging from the United Center rafters. There’s no Last Dance documentary. There’s no “Michael Jordan” as we know him. The 1990s Chicago Bulls teams would not exist as we know them. So how did the youngest of 12 go from growing up poor in the small town of Hamburg, Arkansas, enduring two family tragedies along the way, to become a revered NBA legend?
-
-
Unfortunate
- By Lisa A Bartruff on 11-22-21
By: Scottie Pippen, and others
Critic reviews
"David Halberstam has written a remarkable book about the changes in American society over the last twenty-five years. On one level, it is about basketball and the game's greatest player, Michael Jordan. On another level, it is about how an entertainment culture envelops Jordan and makes him its own. But on its deepest level, it is a story about working to overcome the odds, honoring parents and family, and striving to become a positive social force. This book is a must read for basketball fans, admirers of Jordan, and anyone who seeks to understand sports in America today." (Bill Bradley)
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Michael Jordan
- The Life
- By: Roland Lazenby
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 21 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive biography of a legendary athlete. The Shrug. The Shot. The Flu Game. When most people think of him, they think of his beautiful shots with the game on the line, his body totally in sync with the ball - hitting nothing but net. But for all his greatness, this scion of a complex family from North Carolina's Coastal Plain has a darker side: He's a ruthless competitor and a lover of high stakes. There's never been a biography that encompassed the dual nature of his character and looked so deeply at Jordan on and off the court - until now.
-
-
horrible naration
- By Hiro on 03-27-18
By: Roland Lazenby
-
The Breaks of the Game
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A New York Times best seller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed.
-
-
Truly one of the all time great sports books
- By Ed on 03-11-16
By: David Halberstam
-
When the Game Was War
- The NBA's Greatest Season
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime—the most future Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given season—battling for the title, and for their respective legacies.
-
-
Phil Jackson accuses Red Auerbach of cheap tactics
- By Sean on 01-03-24
By: Rich Cohen
-
The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality
- By: Mike Sielski
- Narrated by: Landon Woodson, Mike Sielski
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kobe Bryant’s death in January 2020 did more than rattle the worlds of sports and celebrity. The tragedy of that helicopter crash, which also took the life of his daughter Gianna, unveiled the full breadth and depth of his influence on our culture, and by tracing and telling the oft-forgotten and lesser-known story of his early life, The Rise promises to provide an insight into Kobe that no other analysis has.
-
-
I didn’t think I would learn a life lesson…
- By TE on 01-25-22
By: Mike Sielski
-
The Best and the Brightest
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 37 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using portraits of America’s flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces that drove them, The Best and the Brightest reckons magnificently with the most important abiding question of our country’s recent history: Why did America become mired in Vietnam, and why did we lose? As the definitive single-volume answer to that question, this enthralling book has never been superseded. It is an American classic.
-
-
Preparation for Ken Burns
- By Chiefkent on 06-12-17
By: David Halberstam
-
October 1964
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Halberstam, an avid sports writer with an investigative reporter’s tenacity, superbly details the end of the 15-year reign of the New York Yankees in October 1964. That October found the Yankees going head-to-head with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series pennant. Expertly weaving the narrative threads of both teams’ seasons, Halberstam brings the major personalities on the field - from switch-hitter Mickey Mantle to pitcher Bob Gibson - to life. Using the teams’ subcultures, Halberstam also analyzes the cultural shifts of the '60s.
-
-
an excellent baseball book
- By Joe H on 12-31-18
By: David Halberstam
-
Michael Jordan
- The Life
- By: Roland Lazenby
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 21 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive biography of a legendary athlete. The Shrug. The Shot. The Flu Game. When most people think of him, they think of his beautiful shots with the game on the line, his body totally in sync with the ball - hitting nothing but net. But for all his greatness, this scion of a complex family from North Carolina's Coastal Plain has a darker side: He's a ruthless competitor and a lover of high stakes. There's never been a biography that encompassed the dual nature of his character and looked so deeply at Jordan on and off the court - until now.
-
-
horrible naration
- By Hiro on 03-27-18
By: Roland Lazenby
-
The Breaks of the Game
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A New York Times best seller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed.
-
-
Truly one of the all time great sports books
- By Ed on 03-11-16
By: David Halberstam
-
When the Game Was War
- The NBA's Greatest Season
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime—the most future Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given season—battling for the title, and for their respective legacies.
-
-
Phil Jackson accuses Red Auerbach of cheap tactics
- By Sean on 01-03-24
By: Rich Cohen
-
The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality
- By: Mike Sielski
- Narrated by: Landon Woodson, Mike Sielski
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kobe Bryant’s death in January 2020 did more than rattle the worlds of sports and celebrity. The tragedy of that helicopter crash, which also took the life of his daughter Gianna, unveiled the full breadth and depth of his influence on our culture, and by tracing and telling the oft-forgotten and lesser-known story of his early life, The Rise promises to provide an insight into Kobe that no other analysis has.
-
-
I didn’t think I would learn a life lesson…
- By TE on 01-25-22
By: Mike Sielski
-
The Best and the Brightest
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 37 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using portraits of America’s flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces that drove them, The Best and the Brightest reckons magnificently with the most important abiding question of our country’s recent history: Why did America become mired in Vietnam, and why did we lose? As the definitive single-volume answer to that question, this enthralling book has never been superseded. It is an American classic.
-
-
Preparation for Ken Burns
- By Chiefkent on 06-12-17
By: David Halberstam
-
October 1964
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Halberstam, an avid sports writer with an investigative reporter’s tenacity, superbly details the end of the 15-year reign of the New York Yankees in October 1964. That October found the Yankees going head-to-head with the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series pennant. Expertly weaving the narrative threads of both teams’ seasons, Halberstam brings the major personalities on the field - from switch-hitter Mickey Mantle to pitcher Bob Gibson - to life. Using the teams’ subcultures, Halberstam also analyzes the cultural shifts of the '60s.
-
-
an excellent baseball book
- By Joe H on 12-31-18
By: David Halberstam
-
Showboat
- The Life of Kobe Bryant
- By: Roland Lazenby
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 21 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive portrait of Kobe Bryant, from the author of Michael Jordan. Eighteen-time All-Star, scorer of 81 points in a single game, MVP, and one of the best shooting guards in NBA league history: Kobe Bryant is among basketball's absolute greatest players, and his importance to the sport is undeniable. Third on the NBA career scoring list and owner of five championship rings, he is an undisputed all-time great, one deserving of this deep and definitive biography.
-
-
KOBE BEAN BRYANT
- By Allaeldien Abdelrahman on 12-14-18
By: Roland Lazenby
-
Blood in the Garden
- The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks
- By: Chris Herring
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit. Blood in the Garden is a portrait filled with eye-opening details that have never been shared before, revealing the full story of the franchise in the midst of the NBA’s golden era. And rest assured, no punches will be pulled. Which is just how those rough-and-tumble Knicks would like it.
-
-
Great book, horrible performance.
- By Sean Conway on 07-21-22
By: Chris Herring
-
Football for a Buck
- The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States Football League was the last football league to not merely challenge the mighty NFL but also to cause it to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, featured as many as 18 teams, secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans, and launched the careers of legends - but then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner, a New York businessman named Donald Trump. Jeff Pearlman draws on more than 400 interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America.
-
-
Ahhh the USFL
- By Film Lover on 10-11-18
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
The Coldest Winter
- America and the Korean War
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Up until now, the Korean War has been the black hole of modern American history. The Coldest Winter changes that. Halberstam gives us a masterful narrative of the political decisions and miscalculations on both sides. He charts the disastrous path that led to the massive entry of Chinese forces near the Yalu, and that caught Douglas MacArthur and his soldiers by surprise. He provides astonishingly vivid and nuanced portraits of all the major figures.
-
-
Almost as good as The Best and the Brightest
- By Doug on 10-02-07
By: David Halberstam
-
Magic: The Life of Earvin “Magic” Johnson
- By: Roland Lazenby
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Roland Lazenby
- Length: 30 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive biography of the basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, from the highly respected, career sportswriter and author of Michael Jordan: The Life.
-
-
The Definitive Book on Magic
- By Hebern on 03-04-24
By: Roland Lazenby
-
Summer of '49
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Jamie Renell
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year was 1949, and a war-wearied nation turned from the battlefields to the ball fields in search of new heroes. It was a summer that marked the beginning of a sports rivalry unequaled in the annals of athletic competition. The awesome New York Yankees and the indomitable Boston Red Sox were fighting for supremacy of baseball's American League and an aging Joe DiMaggio and a brash, headstrong hitting phenomenon named Ted Williams led their respective teams in a classic pennant duel of almost mythic proportions—one that would be decided on the last day of the season.
-
-
Excellent
- By RJA on 11-03-22
By: David Halberstam
-
Eleven Rings
- The Soul of Success
- By: Phil Jackson, Hugh Delehanty
- Narrated by: Matt Walton
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During his storied career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson won more championships than any coach in the history of professional sports. This is the story of a preacher's kid from North Dakota who grew up to be one of the most innovative leaders of our time. Eleven times, Jackson led his teams to the ultimate goal: the NBA championship - six times with the Chicago Bulls and five times with the Los Angeles Lakers. This book is full of revelations.
-
-
Listener Beware
- By Robert S. Wegener on 07-12-13
By: Phil Jackson, and others
-
Pistol
- The Life of Pete Maravich
- By: Mark Kriegel
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pistol is more than the biography of a ballplayer. It's the stuff of classic novels: the story of a boy transformed by his father's dream and the cost of that dream. Even as Pete Maravich became Pistol Pete, a basketball icon for baby boomers, all the Maraviches paid a price. Now acclaimed author Mark Kriegel has brilliantly captured the saga of an American family: its rise, its apparent ruin, and, finally, its redemption.
-
-
Extremely Good!
- By steve on 12-12-12
By: Mark Kriegel
-
Gridiron Genius
- By: Michael Lombardi, Bill Belichick - foreword
- Narrated by: Michael Lombardi
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former NFL general manager and three-time Super Bowl-winner Michael Lombardi reveals what makes football organizations tick at the championship level. From personnel to practice to game-day decisions that win titles, Lombardi shares what he learned working with coaching legends Bill Walsh of the 49ers, Al Davis of the Raiders, and Bill Belichick of the Patriots, among others, during his three decades in football.
-
-
please please hire a reader for this amazing book
- By Christopher J. Burden on 10-10-18
By: Michael Lombardi, and others
-
Boys Will Be Boys
- The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were America's Team - the high-priced, high-glamour, high-flying Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, who won three Super Bowls and made as many headlines off the field as on it. Led by Emmitt Smith, the charismatic Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, and Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys rank among the greatest of all NFL dynasties.
-
-
This is a football book right?
- By Aaron on 12-07-09
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
Barkley
- A Biography
- By: Timothy Bella
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He's one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella's Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked about icons in the world of sports.
-
-
Great insight to the big man’s life.
- By marci rodee on 07-03-23
By: Timothy Bella
-
The Fifties
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Fifties is a sweeping social, political, economic, and cultural history of the 10 years that Halberstam regards as seminal in determining what our nation is today. Halberstam offers portraits of not only the titans of the age: Eisenhower, Dulles, Oppenheimer, MacArthur, Hoover, and Nixon; but also of Harley Earl, who put fins on cars; Dick and Mac McDonald and Ray Kroc, who mass-produced the American hamburger; Kemmons Wilson, who placed his Holiday Inns along the nation's roadsides; and more.
-
-
one of the very best
- By Chester Chellman on 09-25-18
By: David Halberstam
Perfect for NBA nerds!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great tidbits, details, and andecdotes
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Extraordinary
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I'm not sure, but my guess is that this book was a primary source for a good part of "The Last Dance." The documentary even follows the basic organization of the book--going back and forth between championship years.
What the book offers is a much more in depth look at coaches and others in Jordan's life, including UNC coach Dean Smith. For all of Jordan's massive talent (and his incredible work ethic to become the best basketball player ever), we learn much more about the influence of his parents, his brother Larry, and Dean Smith, Roy Williams and other other coaches who helped launch his career.
The book also provides a more in depth look at the Bulls years and the people who shaped it, providing, for example, a somewhat more nuanced view of Jerry Krause than the documentary. The book includes informative vignettes on Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and other teammates, and, of course, Phil Jackson.
The narration is really good and the audiobook is well produced.
If You Liked "The Last Dance," You Will Love This
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
JD Jackson isn’t flashy as narrator but for me this is perfect. I dislike overly dramatic narrations and even though his various voices are not all that nuanced, I thought he perfected Jordan’s deep inflection.
I also like how this ends in 1998. No need to think about or even remember Jordan’s time in DC.
Great
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent Companion for "The Last Dance"
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brings Back Memories
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this book about MJ and the Bulls
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent companion to the Last Dance
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.