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14 reviews for:
The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That ChangedBasketball Forever
John Feinstein
3.65 AVERAGE
14 reviews for:
The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That ChangedBasketball Forever
John Feinstein
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A fascinating and very in-depth look at a rather infamous night in the history of the NBA. In terms of the severity of the games lost to injuries and suspensions, this was probably the most severe fight prior to the 2004 Malice at the Palace incident. It was also a very fluke event, with a dust up between the Lakers and Rockets escalating into one punch knock-out of Rudy Tomjanovich at the hands of Kermit Washington. This incident seems to have very long-lingering emotional and psychological effects on these two men and many people around them, which is understandable since the blow nearly killed Tomjanovich. Remarkably in spite of this, both men were able to get back to being All-Stars. Both Tomjanovich and Washington will forever be linked to December 9, 1977, and the night drastically impacted their teams.
This book did remind me of the Pacers-Pistons brawl in 2004 and the implications for those teams, particularly the Pacers. Both these incidents caused drastic changes in how the league disciplined fights and dissuaded them from happening in the first place. Both these incidents were rather shocking, but as a fan, the end results are positive. Fights in sports should not happen, and with the exception of some (but certainly not all) hockey fans, people realize that great competition can happen without extracurricular hay makers.
This book did remind me of the Pacers-Pistons brawl in 2004 and the implications for those teams, particularly the Pacers. Both these incidents caused drastic changes in how the league disciplined fights and dissuaded them from happening in the first place. Both these incidents were rather shocking, but as a fan, the end results are positive. Fights in sports should not happen, and with the exception of some (but certainly not all) hockey fans, people realize that great competition can happen without extracurricular hay makers.
A bit repetitive at times, but well worth the read.
I've always heard references to this event but never really knew all the facts. Washington was also a radio host back when I was living in Portland and I found him to be an articulate thoughtful personality. This book isn't for everyone but if you have an interest in sports it is a good read.
This book was in desperate need of better editing. John Feinstein made parts of the book very interesting and compelling, but "The Punch" repeats itself in many places, retelling the same anecdotes at various points, and the narrative lacks any sort of a cohesive order. It's not chronological, it's seemingly not a deliberative retelling of the story from various perspectives, it's just a mishmash.
With good editing, it could have been a five star (shorter) book, but as it is, the best I can give it is two stars.
With good editing, it could have been a five star (shorter) book, but as it is, the best I can give it is two stars.
The story behind the story of the punch that almost killed Rudy Tomjanovich. Well told, but it feels like an in-depth magazine feature article stretched to book length.
This was a pretty interesting NBA playoffs inspired read. I didn't have enough sports history to really know much of the event that the book focuses on, but it's interesting to ponder just how much a single punch gone horribly wrong changed the lives of not just the two involved, but many others on the floor as well.
The book is pretty well paced - it jumps around in time and focus, but delivers the overall story well, although it is occasionally annoyingly repetitive.
The book is pretty well paced - it jumps around in time and focus, but delivers the overall story well, although it is occasionally annoyingly repetitive.
This book was recommended to me by a coworker who thought the lessons of the life-long impact of an incident, and how they dealt with it, on two different people would be applicable to some of my own life events. The recommendation was a solid one, and I appreciated learning about (I can't say more because I never knew about "the punch" until I read the book) "the punch" and how Tomjanovich and Washington dealt with not only the physical aftermath of the incident, but also the emotional and mental aftermath.
The lesson is easy, if not predictable, but having it play out as you read it and realizing two men really experienced this helps to make the lesson more applicable.
I was less impressed with the writing, which I felt needed a good editor. Major stories were repeated and quotes were often reused.
The lesson is easy, if not predictable, but having it play out as you read it and realizing two men really experienced this helps to make the lesson more applicable.
I was less impressed with the writing, which I felt needed a good editor. Major stories were repeated and quotes were often reused.
A fascinating story, solidly researched, though it's heavily padded with repetition to get itself to is 350ish page word count (it's rare to write this of a book of this length, but it could lose 75 pages and be a better book for it). It also suffers from a surfeit of tedious "back in those days, things weren't as easy as they are now" nostalgia, and from Feinstein's need -- for the balance of the story -- to insist Kermit Washington was "a good guy," almost as much a victim of the events as Tomjanovich was, when events in the book (and events since the book's writing) make it clear Washington was and is a much more complex, interesting, belligerent, difficult, somewhat less than honest character. The read ends up feeling pedestrian and laboured all at the same time, workmanlike and less revealing a tale than the subject could, and should, have lent itself to.