Go Up for Glory

I have been criticized for assigning stars to books I say I've not read. In each case, I didn't read them; because I bought them as gifts for other people--as I did this one. However I did read "Go Up For Glory" several decades ago and bought this as a gift for a basketball aficionado grandson. It is Bill Russell's first autobiographical account of his great basketball career; and it is amazing. It is a shame that he seems to have stopped writing. After basketball retirement, Russell wrote a regular column for the Seattle Times, dealing with all sorts of sociological and political and athletic issues. The truth is that I never saw him play basketball--one doesn't need to after reading this book and its successor "Second Wind'. You can visualize it quite well. I do wish he'd continued to write for publication. He's opinionated, yes; but so am I; and one of my strongest opinions involves my appreciation of fine writing. Here it is.

Well written and good story line. What can you say about a thinking man who was the best basketball player who ever lived.

Great book. I'm happy it was reissued. Its a perfect read for our current political climate.

For a long time Celtic fan this book is an eye opener...and 1966!...wow...

I love this book!

Delivered on time and as described

I grew up in Southern California as a Laker fan, and in the sport's fan's context, I had no use at all for Russell or the rest of the Boston Celtics, who used to send Western teams home as losers (the Lakers, the Hawks, the Warriors) on an annual basis. But at an age when I was reading almost anything that was sports-related, I picked up and read this book in 1970 and enjoyed it very much. I re-read it years later, in 2003, and decided that not only was my earlier enjoyment of it as a teen valid, but I concluded that this is a fine book, arguably the best sports autobiography ever written, and deserved to be put on the reading lists of books for teens and young adults along with The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Bell for Adano, etc. I am not kidding. It is that good. Out of print for years, it should be re-printed. By the way, the date of publication given here (5-1-1955) is wrong. In 1955 Russell was still in college. The book came out in 1966.

In his storybook basketball career, Bill Russell won two NCAA championships, an Olympic gold medal, and an unbelievable eleven NBA championships. He did face numerous difficult challenges in segregated America while young, and in "Go Up for Glory" the man whom many think is still the greatest basketball center ever looks at his life to that point on the hardwood and in American society.The book was written in 1965, most of the way through Russell's NBA career, when the star was in his early thirties. Russell's family left Louisiana to settle in the Bay Area, and a stellar career at the University of San Francisco and a triumph at the 1956 Olympics followed, and the author reflects on those times early in the book.Russell is most famous for his role in establishing the Boston Celtics as a marquee NBA franchise during the team's dynasty of the 1950s and 1960s. These pages offer brief sketches of Russell's key teammates, thoughts on his relationship with coach Red Auerbach, interesting vignettes into what it was like to play NBA basketball more than a half-century ago, and recollections of a couple of the pivotal plays that kept the Celtics' streak of titles intact.Civil rights was foremost in the country's attention in the mid-1960s. The movement had made great (but still incomplete) progress when the book was written, and Russell describes his hopes for the future of civil rights near the end of the book. "Go Up for Glory" is fascinating whether you read it for the basketball aspect or the sociology aspect, and anyone with a keen interest in the history of the NBA would definitely find it worthwhile.

Very honest and very insightful revelation of Bill Russell's journey. He became the man he wanted to be.