Knight, Bobby Books

Season on the Brink

John Feinstein

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Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Quite Possibly The Best Trip To The Brink 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Growing up, all I knew about legendary college basketball coach Bobby Knight was that he would rant and rave, throw chairs, get arrested, scream in his players' faces and snap at the media. During college, upon taking a class called "Moral Reasoning In Sport," I conducted research on Bobby Knight and got to know Bobby Knight as a person better. The ironic thing was that he stood for good morals but what he practiced as a coach boardered on the immoral at times. I saw how wonderful a man he could be and how badly he could cut a person down. I was fascinated by his style.

My curiosity about Bobby Knight led me to "A Season On The Brink;" a book which describes the full 1985-86 season with Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers. Author John Feinstein, who trooped along with the team complete with notepad and tape recorder, crafts this book in amazing detail with all the trimmings. We are given a real life look at the pressures that college basketball can bring to both coach and players, the trials and tribulations. We are given a taste of how addictive competition is and the emotional effects it can have.

"A Season On The Brink" describes Bobby Knight in a way that begs you to love him and begs you to hate him. Passionate about not failing, Knight pressures himself to succeed and is quick to think himself a failure each time he does not reach certain goals. His characteristic short fuse is always there to represent this. After the disastrous 1984-85 season where he performed the legendary chair throw that got him in trouble, he vowed not to go through a repeat season in 1985-86. He constantly reminded his players of that terrible season as fuel for them to create a better season in '85-'86.

We are literally taken to the "brink" of Knight's sanity at times as Feinstein describes Knight's techniques for getting his team prepared for games. The saga continues before each game for the Indiana players, from studying hours of opponent game tape in "the cave," to "walk-throughs" on the court of what will be conducted in the upcoming game, to appetizing pre-game meals of spaghetti and pancakes in the early morning. Practices are grueling as the players are screamed at by Knight; virtually every four-letter word flying in their faces each time one fails to get a certain rebound, set a certain screen or make a decent pass.

Then of course there are always the Bobby Knight mind games present, a term that Feinstein calls "B.K. Theater." Players like his all-stars, Steve Alford and Daryl Thomas will be targets of his ranting and raving of how horrible they are, how they don't care about playing and how he should never have gotten players like them on his team. You did not want to land in Knight's "doghouse" as Feinstein describes it. In fact, on some of Knight's worst days, the whole team is in the doghouse as he throws all of them out of practices while yelling his questioning of their commitment to the game.

Feinstein does an excellent job of describing the games themselves from the tension in the locker room before the game, during halftime and after the game, to the crowd noise and chants, to the arguments Knight has with officials. As for the players themselves, Feinstein chronicles virutally every key shot, mistake made, rebound and beautiful pass. As you read the book, you'll find your heart pounding as Indiana fights for the lead or fights to keep their lead as the clock quickly winds down to crunch time. You'll find yourself cheering for star players like Steve Alford when he drains another key shot and for Cinderella players like Steve Eyl when he makes two clutch free-throws.

But you'll also feel the despair the players feel if a win has not been grasped or a goal has not been reached, from the chilling silence of the locker room, to Knight screaming and storming out of it only to come back in and talk calmly. Sometimes Knight will resort to taking off to fish or hunt with friends, attending other basketball games or letting the other coaches run the team for a while, while he watches from the stands. And of course there are the situations that the players bring on themselves that creates tension and stress such as Alford's posing for a calander, Daryl Thomas's injuries and Andre Harris's skipping of classes.

You'll find out what Bobby Knight goes through with the media; how his past record continues to follow him and how the media jumps to conclusions and exaggerating. You'll also see Knight's recruiting process (players from high school and junior college) and the ups and downs that come with it. You'll hear Knight's own insecurity through talks with his other coaches over meals at late-night diners, on the plane trips and before games with words like "Do you think we're okay?" "Will we win again?" You will see Knight marking up important words on the chalkboard and trying different defensive and offensive set-ups that he wouldn't have done in the past. In short, you'll hear it, you'll feel it and you'll see it all.

But one thing that Feinstein enables us to see is the loveable Bobby Knight; he Bobby Knight who doesn't forget past players that he has befriended such as Quinn Buckner. The Bobby Knight who sympathized with a deaf kid and gave he and his family tickets to the basketball game. The Bobby Knight whom past players and friends call upon for advice or to have some strings pulled. As Feinstein pointed out in the book, nobody could have a more loyal friend than Bobby Knight. You ask him to do something and he would do just about anything for you. And granted we see plenty of Knight's softer side around his players from Steve Alford's final game as a Hoosier, to the heartfelt goodbye to Delray Brooks who would transfer to another school. And of course you'll really get a taste of Bobby Knight's sense of humor and quick wit. When times are going a little smoother for the team, you'll read of Knight making cracks with his coaches and players.

Feinstein even takes us right down the path to the crucial tournament games with heated rivals Ohio State and Michigan. The read is quite a nail-biting experience. Feinstein follows the chronicled 1985-86 season up with a fairly quick but detailed overview of the 1986-87 team on the way to a championship against Syracuse, where you will again start getting onto the court with the players as the key plays of this amazing championship game are described by Feinstein. Headed by new recruits such as a kid named Smart, the Hoosiers took home a championship and rendered Knight literally hoarse with emotion in the end.

Indeed, if you are a fan of sports and you love the game of basketball; especially the thrill of college basketball, you will love this book. Even for those who may despise Bobby Knight, I would still recommend you give this book a read. It's a wonderful basketball story and a read that gets you right into the heated games and the hardened practices with the team. It could quite possibly be the best trip to the brink a sports fan could want.

Editorial Review:

Why is A Season on the Brink the bestselling sports book of all time? The answer is easy: Bobby Knight. Audaciously brilliant, exasperatingly volatile, and never boring, the Indiana University basketball coach is Greek drama and comedy neatly wrapped in a red sweater. Like all high-strung people, Knight is particularly interesting when things don't go according to his playbook. John Feinstein had the good fortune to follow Knight and his Hoosiers through a difficult 1985-86 campaign; that Feinstein could watch that season attached to Knight's hip gives A Season on the Brink its sights and its sounds. That such closeness allowed entry into Knight's heart gives the book its fury. The combination is irresistible.

Knight: My Story

Bob Knight, Bob Hammel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Few people in sports have had more books written about them. This is the first by Bob Knight---one of the most literate, candid, quoted, and outspoken men in American public life telling in this first-person account of his full, rich life. Much of that life has been in basketball, most of it because of basketball, but it also has brought him forward as a coach, who has proved academic responsibility and production of championship college athletic teams not only can coexist but should. His excitement as things start anew for him at Texas Tech is matched here by his characteristic frankness and remarkable recollection of a life he clearly has enjoyed.

His Indiana teams also won NCAA titles in 1980--81 and 1986--87. The 1975--76 Indiana team was the last unbeaten team in college men’s basketball. Knight’s career includes six seasons as head coach at Army, where his teams won 102 games and lost 50. He is the only coach whose teams won championships in the NCAA tournament, the National Invitation Tournament, the Olympic Games, and the Pan American Games. During all that he has been at the heart of more controversies while running a winning and squeaky-clean program than any coach of any sport anytime or anywhere.

His excitement as things start anew for him is matched here by his candor and remarkable recollection of a life he clearly has enjoyed. You’ll see why, with story after story---some delightful, some hilarious, some poignant, none of them dull: the story of Bob Knight’s life.

A Season on the Brink: A Year With Bobby Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers

John Feinstein

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Season on the Brink: Journey to the Edge 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

During "A Season on the Brink", the author, John Feinstein, did a tremendous job of keeping the facts straight and asking people close to Bob Knight what they thought of coach Knight. Feinstein started the book with a brief history of coach Knight's past coaching experiences and the season previous to the one Feinstein wrote about. Feinstein's flashback to previous games and events helped me to follow the story more closely. In the book, Feinstein depicts a man with a dynamic personality that is often overlooked and thought to be non-existent. Feinstein describes coach Knight as a ruthless and brutal dictator of basketball while on the basketball court, but a kinder and gentler teacher of the players while off the basketball court. Feinstein tells how after practice Bob Knight would talk to and explain his actions to the players that Knight had just cussed out and kicked out of practice.
Feinstein also does a great job of describing the reasons behind Knight's frequent spouts of rage and the results. The only shortcomings in this book where the authors tendency to wonder in what he would talk about and, on occasion, to jump ahead in his telling of the story after mentioning minor details. One example of Feinstein's ability to wonder is at the beginning of the book, where Feinstein goes from talking about the year he spent with the Hoosiers to talking about his past coaching experiences in no particular order. The jump in what he was discussing was a little confusing at first.
Overall, I enjoyed reading "A Season on the Brink". Feinstein took one of the greatest coaches of all time and wrote about him in a way to make me think he was the greatest of all time. "A Season on the Brink" had a lot of information I never knew and the book, for the most part, was easy to understand and follow. I would definitely suggest reading "A Season on the Brink".

Bob Knight: The Unauthorized Biography

Steve Delsohn, Mark Heisler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Same Stuff, Different Book 2 out of 5 stars.
8 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Whether you are a Bob Knight fan (like me) or a Bob Knight detractor, you will be disappointed with this book. If you're looking for any new revelations about Bob Knight, you will not find them here. Instead, "Bob Knight: The Unauthorized Biography" presents the same old same old: the good (winning national championships and the Olympics, not cheating, raising millions for charity, helping Landon Turner), the bad (throwing chairs, screaming at players and writers, benching Steve Alford in that Illinois game, feuding with Mike Krzyzewski, players transferring out) and the ugly (the whole Neil Reed incident and the Myles Brand firing). There are no new insights into his background, personality, or coaching style. If you have read John Feinstein's "Season on the Brink," the Joan Mellen biography, Alford's memoir or Knight's own (very dull) book, you already know everything in this biography.

This book is very poorly edited, with some revealing mistakes. The award for the top high school basketball player in Indiana is "Mr. Basketball," but this book repeatedly refers to it as "Mr. Indiana." Todd Leary is called "Tim Leary" at one point; former Indiana state officials Bob Orr and John Mutz are called "Jim Orr" and "John McMutz." This book fouls out with me, and I don't recommend it.

Editorial Review:

THE FULL, CANDID STORY OF

COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S MOST

CONTROVERSIAL COACH!

Detailing Bob Knight's most explosive moments on and off the court, and drawing from more than one hundred revealing new interviews with those who have worked and played alongside him, this is the most balanced and comprehensive portrait of the NCAA's infamous coach. Love him or hate him, here is

BOB KNIGHT

AS HE REALLY IS.

Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Coach Knight

Steve Alford, John Garrity

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Pulls some punches 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Alford admits that he cleaned up Knight's language in this book. Bob Knight was famous for swearing up and down the court and all around, sometimes even when the camera and microphone were on. Alford probably also had some selective memory since being a professional in basketball who would eventually go on to be a coach, he didn't need Bob Knight as an enemy. Alford and some other players admitted as much when Knight was fired from Indiana a few years ago that they weren't always as honest about what went on as maybe they could have been. But that's understandable.

If you buy into the idea that sports is another kind of warfare, then Knight's style made sense. Think Bryant and the Junction Boys here. Knight did coach military before Indiana, too. But this story is not really a book about Bobby Knight. There are bunch of those. It concentrates just on that time when Alford was there, in the 80s, probably when Knight's power and prestige were at their greatest. Despite his size (Alford is on the short side to be a basketball player) he had skill and determination, and apparently the obedience that Knight wanted in a player.

Alford's daydream at the end will never come true, at least not in the way he sees it. He saw Knight still being at Indiana, and no one would have ever thought he could be toppled from there. He thought despite the drawbacks it would still be an excellent opportunity for his son, and he wouldn't hesitate to recommend playing for Knight. It was an experience.

Same Knight, Different Channel: Basketball Legend Bob Knight at West Point and Today

Jack Isenhour

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Basketball legend Bob Knight is fond of saying that he has never gotten over West Point. In Same Knight, Different Channel, Jack Isenhour takes him at his word. A player on Knight’s first West Point team, Isenhour shows how the controversial coach has changed little from his early days at the academy, temper tantrums and all. Knight made up his mind there to "win-gotta win" and follows that philosophy to this day.

Knight’s sentiment was in step with the core value of "there is no substitute for victory" at West Point, where soldiers were being trained to fight and win the next war. So it came as little surprise following Knight’s 18-8 record in his inaugural 1965-66 season-a season in which the twenty-five-year-old hot-headed coach berated officials, totaled chairs, and got into his first shouting match with an athletic director-that West Point chose to keep the young Coach Knight on. What’s a tantrum or two in the name of winning? With that, "Bobby T" was born. Knight’s bad-boy persona-the hair-trigger temper, the acting out, and the defiance-was codified as at least tolerable, if not acceptable, behavior.

Relying on firsthand experiences and interviews with teammates, administrators, and Knight himself, Isenhour traces the pattern of misbehavior established during Knight’s inaugural year at West Point, during his last days at Indiana, and to his reemergence at Texas Tech. The result is the most even-handed portrait of Knight to date. In a narrative both lively and irreverent, Same Knight, Different Channel demonstrates who Knight is today and shows how he was shaped by his experiences at West Point, ending with a thought-provoking discussion of just what it takes to play, coach, and win in the high-pressure world of college basketball.

Bob Knight: His Own Man

Joan Mellen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Bob Knight is one of a kind 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is a fascinating look at the general, Robert Montgomery Knight, one of the most interesting coaches in all of sport. This book follows him through a season to give you a total picture of the man. It shows you far more than the narrow, negative view John Feinstein took, and it also debunks many of the myths about Knight the media has created. Through it all you see Knight's humor, wisdom, candor, ability, and yes ocassionally his temper. You see why he is the character, and the winner he is. You also see why his players love him.

Must Read for Any College Basketball Fan 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Joan Mullen's book is an eye-opening experience for the typical college basketball fan. She looks past all of the hype surrounding one of the game's greatest coaches and gets down to his true passion: The success and development of the young men trusted to his care. This is great book and illustrates the many facets of Coach Knight. I highly recommend it, especially for those of you who have already read Feinstein's book, A Season on the Brink. This book offers a more objective approach.

Knight Fall: Bobby Knight, The Truth Behind America's Most Controversial Coach:

Phil Berger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Don't waste your time or money! 1 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book while traveling through an airport bookstore. Don't make the same mistake I did! The book is fluff, I almost finished it on a less than two hour flight. I was hoping to find out something new on Coach Knight given his recent dismissal, but found nothing more than a newspaper article could of given me. In fact, the entire book reads like a collection of newspaper articles strung together to make a book. There is nothing new here! If you want to read about Coach Knight, buy "Season on the Brink," so far the most definitive text on him.

Weak - maybe worthy of a magazine article... maybe... 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I've read just about every book on Knight. As an IU alum who graduated one of the years that the Hoosiers won a national championship, most of the student body (myself included) - viewed RMK as a demi-God. Certainly he was blessed with one of the finest basketball minds in history.

Berger's book follows in the footsteps of three major works on RMK: Feinstein's _Season on the Brink_ (the success of which every subsequent effort attempts to duplicate); Mellen's _Bob Knight: His Own Man_ and Alford's _Playing for Knight_. All three are worth reading (especially _Season_) for the serious "Knight-o-phile".

Berger's book is definitely tabloid in appearance. Each page seems to have 30 lines of large text on it. Therefore the book appears as though it could have been printed on 75 pages in a conventional book format. The sparse text maps directly to the quality of content. It is sketchy at best.

IMO, Berger's heavy reliance upon previously published histories and newspaper articles dooms this work from the outset. The only area I found remotely interesting was Knight's childhood and schoolboy athletic career.

The remainder is a rehash of mostly negative Knight incidents. Certainly RMK deserves criticism for his histrionics and outrageous behavior that erupts from time to time. However, Berger mostly omits the litany of his positive and charitable achievements. More importantly, he never mentions what is certainly one of RMK's most engaging aspects: his incredible sense of humor. Knight, when he wants to be, is among the most humorous and quotable characters on the public landscape today.

Thumbs down for this vapid attempt to capitalize on the "Knight effect". Berger certainly can do better than this. Instead - read any of the three books mentioned earlier - they're far better uses of your time.

Knight Fall: Bobby Knight, The Truth Behind America's Most Controversial Coach:

Phil Berger

List Price: $6.50 By: Pinnacle Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $0.01

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> People, A-Z -> ( K ) -> Knight, Bobby
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Don't waste your time or money! 1 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book while traveling through an airport bookstore. Don't make the same mistake I did! The book is fluff, I almost finished it on a less than two hour flight. I was hoping to find out something new on Coach Knight given his recent dismissal, but found nothing more than a newspaper article could of given me. In fact, the entire book reads like a collection of newspaper articles strung together to make a book. There is nothing new here! If you want to read about Coach Knight, buy "Season on the Brink," so far the most definitive text on him.

Weak - maybe worthy of a magazine article... maybe... 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I've read just about every book on Knight. As an IU alum who graduated one of the years that the Hoosiers won a national championship, most of the student body (myself included) - viewed RMK as a demi-God. Certainly he was blessed with one of the finest basketball minds in history.

Berger's book follows in the footsteps of three major works on RMK: Feinstein's _Season on the Brink_ (the success of which every subsequent effort attempts to duplicate); Mellen's _Bob Knight: His Own Man_ and Alford's _Playing for Knight_. All three are worth reading (especially _Season_) for the serious "Knight-o-phile".

Berger's book is definitely tabloid in appearance. Each page seems to have 30 lines of large text on it. Therefore the book appears as though it could have been printed on 75 pages in a conventional book format. The sparse text maps directly to the quality of content. It is sketchy at best.

IMO, Berger's heavy reliance upon previously published histories and newspaper articles dooms this work from the outset. The only area I found remotely interesting was Knight's childhood and schoolboy athletic career.

The remainder is a rehash of mostly negative Knight incidents. Certainly RMK deserves criticism for his histrionics and outrageous behavior that erupts from time to time. However, Berger mostly omits the litany of his positive and charitable achievements. More importantly, he never mentions what is certainly one of RMK's most engaging aspects: his incredible sense of humor. Knight, when he wants to be, is among the most humorous and quotable characters on the public landscape today.

Thumbs down for this vapid attempt to capitalize on the "Knight effect". Berger certainly can do better than this. Instead - read any of the three books mentioned earlier - they're far better uses of your time.