The Basketball Diaries: The Classic About Growing Up Hip on New York's Mean Streets

Great “Gen-X” read about clearly one of the toughest kids I’ve ever read about and a brutal history about a little part of Manhattan that’ll make the film Taxi Driver look like a Disney movie. This has some shocking moments, not for the faint of heart, but I found the writer’s brutal honesty refreshing and instructive. This book should be in every high school library but it never will because of the language, which is too bad because I can see teens learning a lot from this personal account of growing up hard, without apologies or preaching morality tales to anyone.

Jim Carroll was a great writer especially considering the fact that most of this was written when he was a teenager. The seller sent this promptly and in perfect condition. This book is great and very deep and personal. It really teaches about things that can be very dangerous and unhealthy and how one can lose themselves in something they think they have control of. It tells a lot more than the film. If you like the film or didn't like the film you should enjoy the book. Great writer. Great seller experience.

This book is a very well described portrayal of 1980’s New York. Husband loves it.

I did find the book to be interesting, but I feel like it didn’t really give us much for an ending. Didn’t really go through the pains of finding sobriety like I expected. Mostly getting sick while trying to get clean, but falling down and using again. I think I wanted more of his journey from the person he used to be to the person he is now.

Great easy read.....For those that say the book has no plot or structure, keep in mind that this is a diary. These are daily diary entries of kid between the age of 13 to 15. It's not supposed to have a plot or structure. Incredible the life this kid experienced at such a young age. He lived more life by the age of 15 than most in a full lifetime. Quick easy read. Took several hours to get through.I'll pass on the movie as I'm sure it sucks. Hollywood tends to ruin every great book.

A college classic. This isn't great literature by any stretch of the imagination, but every disaffected 19-year-old boy who's ever read it has come away changed. Also, reading it now as a middle-aged grown-up, I am certain that many parts of the diaries were edited later, and are close to bulls***. I lived in NYC back then, and it's not quite how things went down. But still, I would recommend gifting this book to any college student who's the least bit hip. I read it in 1979 or so, and 35 years later it still sizzles.

18 year old son became interested in NYC in the 70's and 80's. Jim Carroll was New York, for the good and the bad, and this book is an overlooked master-class in true. the kid got it, loved it and lived up to his promise -- he read it before watching the movie. great generational share and worth the time to read and gift.

First off I am very aware and understand this book is a classic but I am trying to understand why.I must have missed something while reading this book. All of the reviews here made it sound great and I was excited to read it. As the book went on I felt as though I was just waiting for the book to end. For me, the book had no plot and no structure. The summary of the book sounded interesting enough. Diary entries from a boy who was the star of a high school basketball team, became involved in drugs and was kicked off the team and eventually kicked out of his house. First off the title is very misleading, the book has almost nothing to do with basketball so if that is what you are looking for I do not recommend it to you. Secondly the book is not like the summary at all. For one he did not start doing drugs he was already addicted to drugs when the book began. The book is random journal entries from his teenage-hood (ages 13-15) detailing drug use, prostitution, and crime. For someone looking for a gritty book exposing a life of a teenager on the harsh street of New York than this is for you. Coming into this book I'm not sure what I was expecting but not that. I was however expecting him to fix his life at the end of the book and turn it around which did not happen. This book ended on the same low note that it started. I may have missed a deep and underlying message to this book that I did not see but for now I gained nothing from reading this book except a pity for him because he had such a rough childhood.I may have misunderstood this book. I do not regret reading this but it was certainly not what I thought it would be (the vague idea I thought it would be).I would also not recommend this book to those who are easily offended as I must warn it has quite graphic language, depictions of sex, and drug use.Overall 3/5 stars