Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Video: ‘Whore of Akron’ author drops a book at LeBron’s house

Posted by Trey Kerby under Books, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Score Video on Nov 08, 2011

You guys remember Scott Raab, right? He’s the Esquire reporter that got banned from Miami Heat games because he hates LeBron James so much. Sure, you do.

Well, he wrote a book called “The Whore of Akron” that’s about how much he hates LeBron James, and as a promotional stunt, he signed a copy and dropped it off at LeBron James’ Akron home. It’s called guerilla marketing and it is very effective, though I am going to go out on a limb and guess that LeBron hasn’t had a chance to leaf through it yet. Just a hunch.

(And for all you old NBA blogheads out there — this video was done by Brian Spaeth, a.k.a. The Cavalier of “Who Shot Mamba?” and Yay! Sports fame. That’s him with the silly sunglasses. I guess this is growing up.)

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More great Manute Bol facts

Posted by Trey Kerby under Books, Random on Aug 29, 2011

These come from the “Best Friends with Chris Mullin” section of Manute Bol’s dossier, right next to the part where Manute gave Mullin the nickname “Chalk” because he was so white. From the Wall Street Journal review of “The Defender,” a short book about Bol by Jordan Conn:

Bol legends have piled up over the years, and in the e-book “The Defender” Jordan Conn probes as necessary, interviewing Bol’s teammates, friends and family. As a child, he may have killed a lion; he quite possibly coined the phrase “my bad”; he certainly warned Congress about Osama bin Laden in 1993.

If you were picking three things to do in your lifetime, killing a lion, coining a popular phrase and warning the United States government about a dangerous terrorist are pretty high on the list. Throw in the fact that Bol was 7-foot-7, an African tribal prince who donated most of his career earnings to aiding the people in Sudan, and was saluted by the United States Senate following his death and you get one of the most amazing stories in NBA history.

The book this comes from, “The Defender,” is available from Amazon as a Kindle Single for $1.99. If it’s filled with stuff like this, that’s a pretty nice bargain. After all, tales of lion-killing giants who take time off from the NBA to alert government officials about deadly terrorists don’t grow on trees.

(via ShareBros)

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'DUNKS' by Eric Elms

Posted by Trey Kerby under Art, Books on Jul 13, 2011

We don’t offer a lot of book recommendations here at The Basketball Jones — because we are the Internet, and books are print media and those two entities are locked in a battle to the death, choose your side — so when we do, you can be sure that they’re worth your time. And “DUNKS” by Eric Elms is probably worth your time.

“DUNKS,” available for $17 from AndPress, is a collection of, well, dunks and their subsequent reactions. Eric Elms explains it better:

Whenever I go to games or see a last second shot on TV I  loved seeing the synchronized reaction of all the fans. This zine is a collection of cropped sections of old NBA dunk posters I cut up after having enough to make a book. Gawkers in the stands!!!!!

Gawkers in the stands, you guys. Who doesn’t love gawkers in the stands? Exactly.

The book looks really cool, like something you’d stumble upon in a thrift store while absentmindedly thumbing through romance novel after romance novel. Plus, $17 for a limited edition book by a respected artist is an excellent deal.

Some snaps from the book after the jump. Tell me this wouldn’t look great on your ottoman.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Go buy the new FreeDarko book

Posted by Trey Kerby under Books on Oct 26, 2010

Today marks the release of the newest FreeDarko book. It’s called “The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History,” and you really should go buy it and put it in your hands and then read every single word of it while marveling at the pictures.

Not just because we’re friends with those bros. Not just because Chuck Klosterman called the illustrations “borderline genius.” And not just because you need to have read the entire text by this Friday because Bethlehem Shoals is going to be a guest on this week’s episode of The Overdose. Yes, all of those are valid reasons, but you really just need to read this book for your own benefit.

I’m about three-quarters of the way through and I will gladly vouch for this entire thing. It works as a reflection on NBA history, it works as a piece of art — seriously, the illustrations are incredible — and it definitely works as part of the FD ethos. You will be very happy to have read this book, no matter how familiar you are with FreeDarko‘s unique way of looking at the NBA. It is that good.

Plus, the orange cover looks excellent on a bookshelf. That’s extra bang for your buck.

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