Yet another book about the ``retired'' basketball superstar, this one with passages written as if by Jordan, from ``Michael's perspective,'' though not in his ``exact words.'' Krugel, a sportswriter for the Hammond (Ill.) Times, covered Jordan and the Chicago Bulls for seven years and claims to be one of the ``select members'' of the media to whom the beleaguered star would talk about things other than basketball. If so, Jordan evidently has little to say. Krugel focuses on the past few seasons, on the Bulls' three straight NBA championships, and on the playoffs and games that highlighted those campaigns. There is scant mention of Jordan's well-publicized gambling difficulties, including his infamous trip to Atlantic City during the 1993 playoffs. Nor does Krugel—or Michael—discuss at any length the August 1993 murder of Jordan's father. And there's little said about the ``fed up'' superstar's seemingly contradictory decision to play professional baseball just four months after retiring from basketball in order to get out of the media spotlight. There is ample—and worthwhile—dissection of Jordan's thought processes during a game, of particular games, such as the the one of March 1990 against Cleveland when he scored a career-high 69 points, and of individual, last-second shots that brought dramatic victories. There are also interesting examinations by Jordan and others about what it was like to guard the best ever to play the game. Joe Dumars, who Jordan says guarded him better than anyone else, claims that the best way to cover the superstar was to ``stay in front and make him take the toughest shot you can.'' Dan Majerle and others, though, plead no contest: ``Let him get his 30 and hope you can win the game.'' Includes a handy listing of Jordan statistics and records, and some interesting basketball lore and history; but there's really little new here. (8 pages photos, not seen) Read full book review >