Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by jwinchell
Long Shot by Rory Fanning, Craig Hodges
3.0
I was really geeked about this book because the Haymarket people recommended it to me at an event I attended in D.C. I'd been (and still am) on a quest for more books that explicitly fold in Black Lives Matter for our middle schoolers--they crave this!--and the reps enthusiastically recommended "the Hodges." I'll be putting this in our collection and will recommend it to those who are looking for the intersection of sports & activism.
But I'm not super enthusiastic about this book because it's not without faults--serious ones, perhaps. Hodges has every right to tell his story like he wants and I get that he's his own biggest fan. While he does highlight some vices and faults, his "blacklisting" from the NBA and the demise of his marriage didn't completely compute for me. I love memoirs and find a lot of value in writers owning up to their shortcomings, but I felt Hodges did some unnecessary glossing in order to paint a not entirely convincing picture of himself as a freedom fighter. No doubt his activism and heart are well intended and the tragedy of his career not ending the way he wanted is immense and well-portrayed... but this book left me with a lot of uncertainty about his character and a lot of questions I still don't have the answers to.
But I'm not super enthusiastic about this book because it's not without faults--serious ones, perhaps. Hodges has every right to tell his story like he wants and I get that he's his own biggest fan. While he does highlight some vices and faults, his "blacklisting" from the NBA and the demise of his marriage didn't completely compute for me. I love memoirs and find a lot of value in writers owning up to their shortcomings, but I felt Hodges did some unnecessary glossing in order to paint a not entirely convincing picture of himself as a freedom fighter. No doubt his activism and heart are well intended and the tragedy of his career not ending the way he wanted is immense and well-portrayed... but this book left me with a lot of uncertainty about his character and a lot of questions I still don't have the answers to.