The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball

Having read many basketball books, I find this as one of the best. Well-written, thoroughly researched, it captures the era of the 50s and 60s from the perspective of two of the greatest players ever, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Thankfully, Taylor does not go into play-by-play detail of games, instead captures the flavor of the era, everything from coaching, basketball styles, management, to racism. It is fascinating and truly an outstanding read. I highly recommend it. * I usually stay away from blasting another review, but the one below that says it is poorly written and that the author does not know basketball is so off the mark, I would say it is a complete lie and fabrication. Ignore that review and get this book.

A lot of times, these nonfiction books about games and scores and statistics and so on are packed full of information but are dense and not very compelling. John Taylor, however, does an excellent job of presenting a ton of information in a fun and interesting way. The book is easy and entertaining to read, and you'll probably learn a lot about Russell, Chamberlain, and the period during which they played basketball. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys well-written nonfiction, whether or not he is a basketball fan.

This book is hard to put down. Taylor goes beyond the Rivalry and relates all the history of the period and that's what I liked best about the book. The Rivalry is the main story but all the added information about the NBA, Coaches, Politics, Civil Rights really made this a great read. BTW - my all time, all star team, best at each position: Russell, Pettit, Bird, Robertson, Jordan.

The funny thing about "The Rivalry," is that you don't have to be a huge basketball fan to really enjoy this book. You don't even have to like basketball. Although my dad (a huge basketball fan) gave this book to me (we spent years watching basketball on television and going to Knicks games when I was a kid), and I thought I knew all about Russell and Chamberlain (I didn't!), Taylor has written an amazing book of an important part of sports history. And "The Rivalry" is not just about basketball history, but about competition, winning and "the game." My sister will get the book next!

Rather than reading a biography of Red Auerbach, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, turn to this period book! Here you get everything: a complete portrayal of the situation of African American who were just starting to segregate professional sports outside of the Brooklyn Dodgers. But at the same time it is an introduction to a time, when athletes were not the superstars of today. On top of that, you get enough biographcal information on Russell and Chamberlain, but also on Cousy, Auerbach and many others. The book is very well written and starts right with information, no tedious introduction to plough through.