Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game

Awesome book detailing the history of Red from his time in high school through the time the book is written. The stories of friendship involved is what really drives the book. Excellent read!

Every Tuesday at 11:00 A.M. at the China Doll restaurant in Washington D.C, a group holds a weekly get-together to tell stories. The group is led by legendary Celtics head coach Arnold "Red" Auerbach. John Feinstein tells the story both of Auerbach's life and how the group came to be, who the members are - of which the author is part of, how they joined, and their connection to Auerbach. The story of Auerbach's life is fascinating. From his beginnings, and his pioneering in the early days of the NBL (a NBA predecessor) and how he built the Celtics dynasty and his life after he resigned from coaching. Since this is vintage Auerbach, he has an opinion about everything and you read many of them, but he is a well-educated opinion on all things basketball and an interesting opinion on things not-basketball. The book also tells of Auerbach's celebrity, such as the President of the United States making Bill Gates wait so that he could talk basketball with Auerbach. As an added bonus, Feinstein paints interesting tales about the others involved at the luncheons. I rate basketball books based on how they compare to each other, so a 5-star book is in the top 1/5th of all of them that I have read.

I am not a big fan of basketball, but I do remember Red Auerbach when he coached the Boston Celtics. Red and many of his friends have weekly Tuesday get-togethers at the China Doll Restaurant in Washington, D.C. where they swap stories with one another. Red gives his opinions on coaches today who he feels overcoach their team and often play to the cameras and fans by jumping up and down and screaming with their team up by 20 or 30 points with a minute or two in the game. Red's rule for winning is simple: Get good players who are good people and you will have a winning team. People say Red was a great coach because he had great players. But, the author adds, "Who do you think chose the players?" Red always has had a good relationship with Bobby Knight. Knight said, "He (Red) was nice to me for no reason years ago and he never stopped." A pet peeve of his is P.A. announcers who mumble the names of the visiting players during introductions and then boost up the P.A. system when the home team is introduced "as if they just saved the planet." Red finally gave up coaching at the age of forty eight due to exhaustion. Dealing with having to scout and being a general manager and keeping the team's talent pool coming had worn him out. Reading this book is a learning experience for coaches on all levels, and I am proof you don't have to be a basketball fan to enjoy the book.

This is one of two books which I have recently read, the other being Jeff Davis' Papa Bear: The Life and Legacy of George Halas. Both Auerbach and Halas were obviously great coaches but also outstanding CEOs, each building a successful and profitable franchise while playing a key role in a multi-billion dollar professional organization. In this instance, the National Basketball Association. Although generally viewed as a sportswriter, Feinstein has always seemed (to me, at least) to be a cultural anthropologist who works very hard to understand not only major sports figures and events but also their social context. This is especially true of A March to Madness: A View from the Floor in the Atlantic Coast Conference, The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball, A Civil War: Army Vs. Navy (A Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry), and A Season on the Brink, a detailed account of the Indiana University men's basketball team's 1985-1986 season. What we have in this volume is Feinstein's account of his close association with Arnold ("Red") Auerbach over a four-year period during which Feinstein was included among a select few who regularly met with Auerbach for lunch almost every week at the China Doll restaurant in Washington (DC). What emerges is a multi-dimensional portrait of Auerbach as revealed by his and others' reminiscences and observations. Feinstein also includes relevant information from his extensive research on Auerbach, the N.B.A., the Boston Celtics teams Auerbach coached, and their opponents. By all accounts, he was a ferocious but highly-principled competitor. Agreeing with Sun Tzu that every battle is won or lost before it is fought, Auerbach drove his carefully selected players hard during the pre-season (and whenever the N.B.A. schedule allowed a practice) but then allowed them to play to their individual talents while insisting that they do so as a team. He expresses contempt for coaches who draw attention to themselves during a game in progress as well as for selfish or lazy players. All of his favorite coaches (notably Dean Smith, Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, and Morgan Wootten) were/are dedicated teachers as well as strict disciplinarians and relentless taskmasters, renowned for developing individual talent while never allowing team integrity to be compromised. It is no coincidence that these same coaches are also among those whose teams have won the most games as well as numerous conference and national championships. Of greatest interest to me are Auerbach's self-revelations, most of which preceded by "Did I ever tell you about....?" or "Let me tell you about...." He seems eager to share stories about everyone he has known, with two exceptions: Len Bias, the University of Maryland All-American who died of a drug overdose immediately after being drafted #1 by the Celtics, and, Reggie Smith who was the Celtics captain when dying of a massive heart attack during a pickup game.

What a great enjoyable book. I grew up in Philly in the 50s and 60s as a Celtics fan. Then I moved to Boston and lived there for 17 years and was a Celtics season ticket holder. Red Auerbach is a true American icon. His collaboration with the great John Feinstein on this book makes for a terrific read. Those who have been privileged to join him at the China Doll for Tuesday chow mein should be on that credit card commercial: Priceless.