Aiello, Thomas. Hoops: A Cultural History of Basketball in America. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022. Pp. 304. $34 paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Writing a comprehensive history of anything is a hard task, one requiring much discipline, devotion… and selection. Establishing what made a particular historical activity or development what it…
Wood, Keith Brian. Memphis Hoops: Race and Basketball in the Bluff City, 1968–1997. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2021. Pp. 218. $35.00 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski The first integrated high school game in Memphis took place on September 15, 1965, between all-white Catholic High and all-black Father Bertrand High. The game functions…
Kuska, Bob with Archie Clark. Shake & Bake: The Life and Times of NBA Great Archie Clark. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Pp. 352. $29.95. hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Archie Clark is not the first, second, or third name that comes to mind when discussing NBA greats. He did not make the NBA…
Trutor, Clayton. Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta––and How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports. Lincoln: Nebraska University Press, 2022. Pp. 504. $34.95 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski A major American city––one that is either in development or dealing with social, economic, or environmental issues––never fully “arrives” or “emerges” on the national map until it lands a…
Aiello, Thomas. Dixieball: Race and Professional Basketball in the Deep South, 1947-1979. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2019. Pp. 182. $34.95 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Atlanta and New Orleans do not exactly appear at the top of the rankings of basketball-obsessed cities. As shown by Thomas Aiello’s extraordinarily entertaining and fun book…
Coverdale, Miles Jr. The 1960s in Sports: A Decade of Change. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. Pp. 371. Black and white photos, index, bibliography, and notes. $75 hardcover. Reviewed by Richard A. Macales “During the turmoil of the 1960s, the world of sports provided a positive distraction for the American people.” – Author Miles…
Gitlin, Martin. Kyrie Irving: Uncle Drew, Little Mountain and Enigmatic NBA Superstar. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Pp. 224. 16 illustrations. $26.95 hardcover and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski During a fall 2018 fan event at the TD Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics, former Celtics player Brian Scalabrine asked the best player on the team,…
Approximately one year after ‘The Last Dance’ captivated sports’ fans across the globe, guest contributor Łukasz Muniowski revisits the docuseries and deconstructs its mythologies. By Łukasz Muniowski Much has already been written about The Last Dance, the award-winning ESPN/Netflix documentary miniseries by Jason Hehir. As such, there is hopefully no need to explain in detail multiple…
By Andrew McGregor The Dallas Mavericks chose not to play the national anthem before their first thirteen homes games. This decision flew under the radar until the team welcomed fans back to the American Airlines Center on Monday. No one missed the anthem, until it suddenly became controversial yesterday. The immediate question many fans and…
Knepper, Paul. The Knicks of the Nineties: Ewing, Oakley, Starks and the Brawlers That Almost Won It All. McFarland, 2020. Pp. 288. Acknowledgments, bibliography, endnotes, introduction, photographs, prologue, $35 paperback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo Gritty, tough and talented. On paper, the New York Knicks of the 1990s should have won at least one NBA title,…
Sport in American History 