The Breaks of the Game

by David Halberstam

Overview

A New York Times bestseller, 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 Breaks of the Game offers an unparalleled glimpse into the gritty, high-stakes world of professional basketball during the late 1970s, including fascinating profiles of legendary superstars Bill Walton and Kermit Washington. Through the lens of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1979-1980 season, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam explores the intense pressures faced by players, coaches, and team owners as they navigate the emerging complexities of the NBA. Readers gain a deep understanding of the psychological, emotional, and physical challenges that define the lives of professional athletes. Halberstam also delves into broader societal issues such as race, class, and the evolution of basketball from a sport to a commercial spectacle, backed by rigorous research and insightful analysis. For those fascinated by the inner workings of sports, the triumphs and tribulations of athletes, and the business behind the game, The Breaks of the Game is an essential read. Experience the raw, unfiltered truth of the NBA's most transformative era and understand the game beyond the court.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401309725
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	02/17/2009
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

David Halberstam (1934-2007) was the author of twenty-two books, including fifteen bestsellers. Born in New York City, Halberstam spent much of the 1960s as a reporter for the New York Times, covering the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. His Vietnam reporting earned him both a George C. Polk Award and a 1964 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. Vanity Fair dubbed Halberstam "the Moses of American journalism," and the subjects of his books reflect his passion and range: war, foreign policy, history, and sports.

The Best and the Brightest (1962), his sixth book, a critique of the Kennedy administration's Vietnam policy, became a #1 bestseller. His next book, The Powers that Be, a study of four American media companies, was hailed by the New York Times as a "prodigy of research." Many of Halberstam's books explored themes in professional sports, including bestsellers The Teammates, a portrait of the friendship between baseball players Ted Williams, Dominic DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Bobby Doerr, and The Education of a Coach, a profile of New England Patriots' Coach Bill Belichick.

Date of Birth:

April 10, 1934

Date of Death:

April 23, 2007

Place of Birth:

New York, New York

Place of Death:

San Francisco, California

Education:

B.A., Harvard, 1955