THE WALTON GANG

by Bill Libby ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 22, 1974

What enables a college basketball team to win over 75 games in a row? Bill Libby's documentary of U.C.L.A.'s dazzling dynasty under John Wooden suggests one element is Bill Walton, a titan of the calibre of Chamberlain or Jabbar, at center. Libby explores the two main personalities: Wooden, he tells us, espouses the Protestant ethic, reads the Bible, punishes his players for long sideburns, promotes cleanliness and correctly tied shoelaces, and becomes disturbed at interracial dating. Walton, on the other hand, believes that the Protestant ethic ""doesn't mean much,"" thinks that people take sports too seriously, demonstrates against the war in Southeast Asia, and asserts that a black can legitimately murder him because he is white, Libby shows how the two of them interact to produce a force as irresistible as death and taxes.

Pub Date: Feb. 22, 1974

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1974

Categories: NONFICTION