Just the thing for the Bucks fan in the household and an accomplished piece of sportswriting.
Inspiring biography of the NBA superstar known as the Greek Freak.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (b. 1994) grew up desperately poor, the son of a Nigerian soccer player who might have played in Germany had he not suffered a career-ending injury and wound up in Greece instead. It’s a nice touch, then, that Fader—herself a former collegiate basketball player—opens her narrative with a view of family life inside Giannis’ 10,000-odd-square-foot home outside Milwaukee. As the author shows, his path to those opulent surroundings was improbable. He wanted to play soccer but was recruited to play basketball. He wasn’t particularly good at first: “Giannis couldn’t dribble. Didn’t understand basketball. His hands seemed to be ahead of his feet. He’d trip over himself. The ball would trickle off his knee. He’d carry the ball.” What made the difference was an indomitable work ethic, humility, and a generosity of spirit that kept him from hogging the ball and the glory. An NBA scout noted these qualities even as he observed that Giannis “had incredible length but also that he was uncoordinated.” Even so, he pushed for Giannis’ recruitment, and in time the Milwaukee Bucks drafted him—a deal made all the more complicated by the fact that Giannis was undocumented and did not have a Greek passport. The youngest player in the draft, Giannis was a quick study. Early on, Grantland founder Bill Simmons summed up his potential: “Seeing the Greek Freak in person is like seeing Young Scottie Pippen crossed with Young Kevin Durant crossed with an octopus. He’s only 20, takes 10 yards per step, plays four positions, has Freddy Krueger arms, might pass the 7-foot mark soon and basically doesn’t have a genetic parallel.” He won the MVP Award twice and, in 2021, he carried the Bucks to the NBA championship for the first time in 50 years. Fader does a good job of relating this rags-to-riches story without cliché, and her commentary on the game is spot-on.
Just the thing for the Bucks fan in the household and an accomplished piece of sportswriting.Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-306-92412-5
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Hachette
Review Posted Online: Aug. 23, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.
The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.
According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy, which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9780063226562
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.
A future basketball Hall of Famer’s rosy outlook.
Curry is that rare athlete who looks like he gets joy from what he does. There’s no doubt that the Golden State Warriors point guard is a competitor—he’s led his team to four championships—but he plays the game with nonchalance and exuberance. That ease, he says, “only comes from discipline.” He practices hard enough—he’s altered the sport by mastering the three-point shot—so that he achieves a “kind of freedom.” In that “flow state,” he says, “I can let joy and creativity take over. I block out all distractions, even the person guarding me. He can wave his arms and call me every name in the book, but I just smile and wait as the solution to the problem—how to get the ball into the basket—presents itself.” Curry shares this approach to his craft in a stylish collection that mixes life lessons with sharp photographs and archival images. His dad, Dell, played in the NBA for 16 years, and Curry learned much from his father and mother: “My parents were extremely strict about me and my little brother Seth not going to my pops’s games on school nights.” Curry’s mother, Sonya, who founded the Montessori elementary school that Curry attended in North Carolina, emphasized the importance not just of learning but of playing. Her influence helped Curry and his wife, Ayesha, create a nonprofit foundation: Eat. Learn. Play. He writes that “making reading fun is the key to unlocking a kid’s ability to be successful in their academic journeys.” The book also has valuable pointers for ballers—and those hoping to hit the court. “Plant those arches—knees bent behind those 10 toes pointing at the hoop, hips squared with your shoulders—and draw your power up so you explode off the ground and rise into your shot.” Sounds easy, right?
“Protect your passion,” writes an NBA star in this winning exploration of how we can succeed in life.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780593597293
Page Count: 432
Publisher: One World/Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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