I know I just reviewed a book set in Boston, but this non-fiction book recommended by a friend is too compelling not to mention here. The Assist, subtitled Hoops, Hope, and the Game of Their Lives, is the story of a high school basketball coach and his players. It is more than the typical feel good sports story of coach pushes players, players go on to win a championship.
Jack O’Brian is a tough coach and he does want to win championships. However, his ultimate goal is to get his players into college. And, what I find really impressive is he is not trying to just get his star player on a Division I team, but he is trying to place every senior somewhere. I think people forget that you can play basketball (or most other sports) at small, private liberal arts colleges. An athletic scholarship may not be available, but often, if you are a good enough player, that school will meet your financial need. For inner city kids without financial resources (or poor, rural kids) that could mean a full ride at a great school.
The author has incredible access to the lives of the coach, his players, and their families and friends. He also includes some historical perspective. Two of the main players he follows, Ridley Johnson and Jason “Hood” White, have serious bus commutes to get to their high school in Charlestown, a traditionally white area. Swidey spends time on the attempts at desegregation that lead to this current system.
“So black kids like Hood and Ridley – as well as kids all the way down to the elementary level – still spent a big chunk of every day commuting across the city, navigating through gang turf wars, to get to white neighborhoods where the schools were just as dominated by black and Hispanic students as the schools down the street from their apartments. That couldn’t possibly be what the social engineers of the 1970s had in mind.”
O’Brian is very good at placing his players in colleges. Not every player is successful once he gets to college though. The story of Hood is especially compelling. He receives a great scholarship offer to college, but doesn’t seem to appreciate it. He seems to purposely sabotage himself with pregnant girlfriends, as well as by hanging out with a cousin with a record. I’d really like to see a follow up on where he is now.
There is a website for the book that includes a link to an interview with the author, Coach Jack O’Brian and Ridley Johnson.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
I have read a few books by Dennis Lehane. Mystic River, later made into a decent movie, was quite a good thriller, but I was disappointed with Shutter Island, which was more of a psychological thriller. For some reason, I was expecting another thriller when I picked up The Given Day, but it is definitely not that.
A primary character in this novel, Danny Coughlin, is a police officer in Boston in 1918 from an Irish American family. Danny is asked to infiltrate some suspected terrorist groups and in the process becomes interested in blue collar workers’ rights and very involved in trying to start a policemen’s union. This does not go over particularly well with his police captain father or district attorney brother.
Another main character, Luther Laurence, has to leave his wife and unborn child in Oklahoma after becoming involved in a murder. He ends up in Boston with some distant relatives and is hired by Danny’s father, as a houseboy. His predecessor leaves him an interesting letter about working for the Coughlin family.
“If you are reading this, I am dead. If you are reading this, you are also Negro, as was I, because the white folk on K, L, and M, Streets only hire Negro housemen. The Coughlin family is not so bad for white folk. The Captain is never to be trifled with but he will treat you fair if you don’t cross him. His sons are mostly good. Mister Connor will snap at you every now and again. Joe is just a boy and will talk your ear off if you let him. Danny is a strange. He definitely does his own thinking. He is like the Captain, though, he will treat you fair and like a man. Nora is a funny thinker herself but there is not any wool over her eyes. You can trust her. Be careful with Mrs. Coughlin. Do what she asks and never question her. Stay well clear of the Captain’s friend, Lieutenant McKenna. He is something the Lord should have dropped.”
This letter really sets the stage for what happens next. Nora is a servant that the family took in five years ago and she becomes an important figure in both Danny and Luther’s lives. Friendships across racial lines are unusual for this time in Boston. Also, Luther does get on Lieutenant McKenna’s bad side with serious repercussions.
The third story that is interwoven between these two is that of Babe Ruth. This story is loosely tied in with the Babe meeting Luther at the beginning of the novel and Danny at the end. It is always interesting to me to take a historical figure and attribute various actions or thoughts to that person. And, for the record, I don’t know if Luther or Danny are historical figures as well or simply fiction.
The Given Day is a relatively long novel with many characters. Each character is so distinct that I never had to remind myself about who was who or who had done what. I think this is a significant and complex work that gives you a glimpse of Boston during a tumultuous time.
Escape to Books
A primary character in this novel, Danny Coughlin, is a police officer in Boston in 1918 from an Irish American family. Danny is asked to infiltrate some suspected terrorist groups and in the process becomes interested in blue collar workers’ rights and very involved in trying to start a policemen’s union. This does not go over particularly well with his police captain father or district attorney brother.
Another main character, Luther Laurence, has to leave his wife and unborn child in Oklahoma after becoming involved in a murder. He ends up in Boston with some distant relatives and is hired by Danny’s father, as a houseboy. His predecessor leaves him an interesting letter about working for the Coughlin family.
“If you are reading this, I am dead. If you are reading this, you are also Negro, as was I, because the white folk on K, L, and M, Streets only hire Negro housemen. The Coughlin family is not so bad for white folk. The Captain is never to be trifled with but he will treat you fair if you don’t cross him. His sons are mostly good. Mister Connor will snap at you every now and again. Joe is just a boy and will talk your ear off if you let him. Danny is a strange. He definitely does his own thinking. He is like the Captain, though, he will treat you fair and like a man. Nora is a funny thinker herself but there is not any wool over her eyes. You can trust her. Be careful with Mrs. Coughlin. Do what she asks and never question her. Stay well clear of the Captain’s friend, Lieutenant McKenna. He is something the Lord should have dropped.”
This letter really sets the stage for what happens next. Nora is a servant that the family took in five years ago and she becomes an important figure in both Danny and Luther’s lives. Friendships across racial lines are unusual for this time in Boston. Also, Luther does get on Lieutenant McKenna’s bad side with serious repercussions.
The third story that is interwoven between these two is that of Babe Ruth. This story is loosely tied in with the Babe meeting Luther at the beginning of the novel and Danny at the end. It is always interesting to me to take a historical figure and attribute various actions or thoughts to that person. And, for the record, I don’t know if Luther or Danny are historical figures as well or simply fiction.
The Given Day is a relatively long novel with many characters. Each character is so distinct that I never had to remind myself about who was who or who had done what. I think this is a significant and complex work that gives you a glimpse of Boston during a tumultuous time.
Escape to Books
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