- Paperback: 248 pages
- Publisher: University of Nebraska Press; New edition edition (1 Mar 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0803294530
- ISBN-13: 978-0803294530
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 858,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Funny, sad, superbly written and intensely involving."oNew York Times Book Review "Telander's open-ended chronicle of inner-city playground basketball life is a model of clarity and restraint. No one has written a more resonant or understanding book about kids playing basketball, and few books about sports have willingly pulled together so many truths about the disappointments and dislocating fantasies of athletic competition."oAtlantic "Even those who know little about the game should appreciate this intense and penetrating peek at growing up in the ghetto." oChicago Daily News
Product Description
In 1974 Rick Telander intended to spend a few days doing a magazine piece on the court wizards of Brooklyn’s Foster Park. He ended up staying the entire summer, becoming part of the players’ lives, and eventually the coach of a loose aggregation known as the Subway Stars. Telander tells of everything he saw: the on-court flash, the off-court jargon, the late-night graffiti raids, the tireless efforts of one promoter-hustler-benefactor to get these kids a chance at a college education. He lets the kids speak for themselves, revealing their grand dreams and ambitions, but he never flinches from showing us how far their dreams are from reality. The roots of today’s inner-city basketball can be traced to the world Telander presents in Heaven Is a Playground, the first book of its kind. Rick Telander is a sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and was named 2002 Illinois Sportswriter of the Year by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With this book Rick Telander has captured the sociology of inner-city basketball. These kids do not see basketball as merely a sport but as a means to an end. It is a ticket to a better way of life that can become an obsession for some (such as Clavin Franks). In this book Telander points out all that is good about basketball and some of the bad. This book should be read by all basketball fans, especially those who dream of playing in the NBA. If you liked this book you should also check out the movie "Soul in the Hole." It is a movie about Brooklyn playground legend Edward "Booger" Smith.
Format:Paperback
A superbly written book with detailed information that makes you feel like your right there playing in the pick up games. After reading this book it is now a goal of mine to visit the famous Foster Park.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
ONE OF THE BEST SPORTS BOOKS I'VE READ
Many sports books just skim off the top, but this one goes well in depth. It talks in the present and shows you where some of the best ball players have come from and why.
Published on 18 May 1999
Fantastic. A must read for any basketball fan.
Anyone interested in basketball and the sociology of sport in the inner city will love this book.
Published on 20 Mar 1999
Heaven Is a Playground is the Great American Novel
It is unfortunate that Heaven is a Playgound is a piece of non-fiction, otherwise it could certainly be placed in a class with the other great stories of America like The Great... Read more
Published on 17 April 1998
read it
A great look at basketball and its place in the forefront of inner city life. I read this book years ago but its message remains current to this day.
Published on 24 Mar 1998
A classic sports book about inner city teens and basketball.
I joined Ace/Tempo Books, a paperback division of Grosset & Dunlap, as an editor back in 1976. The first hardcover book I purchased for paperback reprint was Rick Telander's... Read more
Published on 30 Oct 1997
"Streetwise, compelling, a true insight into the getto"
I first read this book about 15 years ago and it has charred
an everlasting memory as though I lived through Rick Telander. Read more
an everlasting memory as though I lived through Rick Telander. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 1997
Highly recommended account of Author's playground experience
Rick Telander spent a summer playing and coaching in
inner-city New York playgrounds. This story is
certainly the precursor to 'Hoop Dreams' and is - in
every way... Read more
inner-city New York playgrounds. This story is
certainly the precursor to 'Hoop Dreams' and is - in
every way... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 1996
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