About book Playing For Keeps: Michael Jordan And The World He Made (2000)
This was reprinted from my website, Secure Immaturity. Please check it out and comment.Although I consider David Halberstam (may he rest in peace) one of my all-time favorite authors, I never actually finished one of his books. I read hundreds upon hundreds of pages in his books, for sure, but I never finished them: not because they aren’t good but because, well, his depth of knowledge, his skilled writing, and his deep analysis of both history and current affairs made me selfish. Not only would any other book be useless (since Halberstam is exhaustive and complete in his research) but I also, upon finishing his books, not NEED to get anymore knowledge on the subjects he wrote about.That is a the sign of a great writer BUT, oddly enough, it is also the sign of someone killing all enjoyment of other points of view. Why the hell do I want to read anything else when I have something so complete and perfect! But finally, I finished a Halberstam book and, while my need to read anything about the particular topic of this book is no longer needed, I am left with the feeling that I read something special, unique, powerful and. . .well. . .here’s that word again: perfect. The book is Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made and, from this point forward, I no longer need to read anything else about Michael Jordan ever again and. . .unlike with other Halberstam books and topics, I am okay with that. Where can you go from here? (Sorry Michael Leahy and Sam Smith).I previously read The Jordan Rules and was satisfied if not entirely impressed with the experience. It depicted one season of Michael Jordan’s career with the Bulls and was highly speculative and circumstantial. While I felt there was a layer of truth to it, there certainly was both an agenda and a bias at work. In the end, I felt the book tried to bring down Jordan and only had so much evidence to work with. Plus, the writer, was writing a book for the first time and the book was, and I shouldn’t throw stones at glass houses, but mediocre at best.When I picked up Playing for Keeps, I wanted to get the exhaustive research of Halberstam in regards to not only that one season (1991) but of Jordan’s whole career. I expected a neutral tone and a fair look at his career: I got that and, thanks to superior writing (sorry Sam), the book manages to praise Jordan without patting him on the back and point out his faults without pulling his pants down and give him a spanking. In other words, the book is a COMPLETE view of a human being and his impact on the world (oddly enough, Halberstam spends 5 pages explaining how The Jordan Rules effected basketball, the media’s relationship with Michael and Michael himself).Halberstam utilizes a mind-boggling approach that is not only difficult to read at times but must have been hell to put together. There is a frame-format used at varying points of the book showing the Chicago Bulls 1997-1998 season (Michael Jordan’s last as a Bull and consider the ‘Last Dance’ by Phil Jackson and company) surrounded by a somewhat chronological look at Jordan’s life from junior high to the beginning of that 1997-1998 season. Then the book completes that sporadic season overview and ends with an epilogue showing the ‘post-Jordan’ years. Add to this, during the so-called chronological bits, back and forth narratives in different time periods giving back story to the other ‘characters’ in Jordan’s life.I said it was mind-boggling but I didn’t say it wasn’t fun. Halberstam is just covering all the bases and, for large portions of pages, Jordan won’t even appear. Because, like in real life, people are not just themselves: they are made or help make other people as well and Halberstam expertly fleshes out the principal core of Jordan’s supporting cast: Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Dean Smith, the creation of ESPN, Larry Bird, the Bad Boy Pistons, just to name an important few. Without these complex breakdowns (and jumps in time) the core thesis of the book, showing how Jordan changed the world, could not be possible. In the end, you get not just the complete story of Jordan but of the world he inhabits which he, thus, changed.Though the book is only 424 pages, it is dense. Halberstam wisely chooses to stick with Jordan’s athletic exploits. Though his personal life, such as family, growing up, etc, is brought up and explained, the Jordan we know helped influenced the world when he was on the court, not growing up in a house dreaming of playing baseball or skinning his knee at school. While Jordan’s personality is examined (his competitiveness, his media savvy, his gambling problems, etc), the main focus is his EFFECT on the world. Halberstam never denies us his book’s core thesis (which can be seen on the cover: read the title).The book starts, basically, with his heavily profiled high school snub for the Varsity team, goes through the UNC days, the early Bulls days, the struggles with the Pistons, onto the early championships and Dream Team, briefly through the baseball sabbatical, back to the new championships and, along the way, going through his endorsement deals, relationship with players, managers and coaches, public victories and defeats/embarrassments, the death of his father and is legacy on the court and off it (both for the economy and for the sport of basketball). Though the book was written before Jordan’s abortive comeback with the Washington Wizards, the book is truly, really, complete. Jordan’s Wizards career is not only best forgotten but, sadly, unimportant to the development of the current NBA. In a way, it just signified how the NBA died, as Halberstam will point out, when Jordan left at the peak of his powers.The book’s ‘post-Jordan’ analysis is sad. Once you’ve gone through decades with Jordan and the world of sports, you kind of feel this loss (remember how you felt in 1999 with the strike and a Jordanless NBA? Yeah, Halberstam brings it all back for you) and, upon reaching the end, you truly feel how ‘important’ Jordan was despite the fact that most athletes are deemed unimportant these days. No one in that field has really changed the world. . .and since Halberstam’s goal was to show how MJ did, indeed, do that, and made me feel the way he did, his book is an amazing success. An all-time favorite. I recommend to the fullest extent I can.
If you grew up in a mythic time when you could turn on the television and watch the Almighty St. Michael Jordan work his magic, then you'll like this book. A lot. Halberstam uses in-depth interviews and sharp narrative techniques to sketch the key players from their developing moments as players to their rise to tenuous stardom. We see images of Phil Jackson as a high school phenom whose arms were so long that he could sit in the middle of the back seat of a car, reach out his long arms, and open both doors at the same time. We see Jordan as a stand-out at Laney High in North Carolina, where his rise was predated by his early backyard rivalry with his beloved brother Larry. I was never a die-hard Jordan fan. I definitely respected him as the greatest player of the game. Now I respect him even more. He took a failing team like the Bulls and lifted them with his passion and intelligence. That and he had Scottie Pippen. If only those damn Bulls hadn't beat the Phoenix Suns in the finals! Curses!
Do You like book Playing For Keeps: Michael Jordan And The World He Made (2000)?
I don’t think I’ve read a sports bio since high school. But, having finished Halberstam’s book on The Fifties I decided to try another one and the Michael Jordan book was handy. Halberstam is a master writer/story teller and a superb journalist. He gets to the bottom of the story and in an objective way. He makes no editorial comments about Jordan and his amazing career, a career that made him one of the two or three most famous people in the world.I really like the way Halberstam provides mini biographies of all the key players like Phil Jackson, Scotty Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Most interesting to me were the North Carolina chapters which detail Dean Smith’s highly organized and micro managed basketball program. North Carolina is a club players are always members of and Dean Smith, along with Jordan’s parents, was his primary mentor.It’s hard to imagine being a physically skillful and mentally tough as Michael Jordan. In addition, he was/is a charming guy and a first class pitch match for a number of products, foremost of which was Nike who he took to another level.There were two phases to Jordan’s pro career—before baseball, where he failed to succeed, and after baseball. Following his abortive two years in the minors Jordan returned to the Bulls a more mature and empathetic person but still a winner and a champion.I rated it four stars because he jumped around in time a lot in telling the story and I got lost chronologically a few times.If you want “inside baseball” about basketball, this is the book.
—Randy
David Halberstam can do no wrong. A wonderful look at the modern NBA and how the intersection of money, marketing, entertainment and sport created a climate where Jordan could become the most famous person in the world. The reporting and storytelling is excellent, but it lacks something that Breaks of the Game had. Breaks felt like (because he was) Halberstam was there. There was a real connection to the players, coaches, and everyone involved. Playing for Keeps, like the modern NBA, is more sterile and everything feels like it was down at an arms length. However, it is a great read and a wonderful companion to Breaks.
—Adam
This is a book I’ve wanted to read for a while now. I am a HUGE Michael Jordan fan. I am aware of this author and I knew it was a quality book because my dad read it before me. Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made, is a book about MJ’s career as a whole. From North Carolina, to the 84 draft, to dunk contests, all star games and championships. I enjoyed learning about the struggle he went through to become the greatest basketball player the world will ever see. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a sports fan or a basketball fan in general. The book was a hard read due to the deep context and big words. Overall I would give it 5 stars out of 5 because it was a tough read, but one of my favorite books I’ve read to this day.
—Logan Williams
