Barney Polan's Game: A Novel of the 1951 College Basketball Scandals
Charley Rosen
(Author)
Description
Rosen's new book, Barney Polan's Game, is a fictional account of the college basketball scandals of 1950-51, when players, coaches, bookies, and gangsters conspired to fix the outcomes of games. Their exposure affected the basketball world the same way the 1919 Black Sox scandal affected baseball. For all sports fans, the game was irrevocably corrupted by power and big money. Each principal character in Barney Polan's Game speaks directly to the reader, giving his or her perspective as events unfold. The most prominent voice is that of Barney Polan himself - the veteran sportswriter. Dubbed the "verse of the peepul" by a colleague, he borrows from Shakespeare and Brooklynese for his columns in The Brooklyn Sentinel. Each of the characters - coaches, bookies, players, family members - desperately tries to control the uncertain events around them in whatever way he or she can. Unsettling aspects of postwar America loom in the background: racism, class injustice, fears of nuclear annihilation, and the McCarthy hearings.Product Details
Price
$23.95
$22.27
Publisher
Seven Stories Press
Publish Date
December 09, 1997
Pages
336
Dimensions
5.87 X 8.55 X 1.2 inches | 1.12 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781888363562
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About the Author
A native of the Bronx and longtime pal of basketball guru Phil Jackson, CHARLEY ROSEN led the league in technical fouls during each of his six years as a coach in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association. Since then he has become the world's foremost writer of fiction and nonfiction on the subject of basketball, chronicling the drama that takes place both on and off the court. His many novels include The House of Moses All-Stars, a New York Times Notable Book, and Sammy Wong: All-American. His non-fiction works include The Scandals of '51: How the Gamblers Almost Killed College Basketball and More than a Game, with Phil Jackson. Rosen is an analyst for hoopshype.com and a devotee of the Triangle Offense. He lives in Accord, NY.
Reviews
"This is not simply a novel about basketball in the dark ages. Mr. Rosen has much more on his mind here. This is a book about guilt and redemption, about the loss of innocence, about racism and bigotry, about class differences ... [He] gets the ambiance just right: the moving from town to town, the sometimes horrid conditions under which they play, the weariness and sense of dislocation, the bigotry and ignorance they encounter." -The New York Times Book Review
"Rosen ... certainly knows his basketball ... But his depth and erudition makes this a tale of much more than sport. Rosen gives us a sometimes agonizing, often hilarious journey through American history, and a poignant account of what keeps a man running." -Chicago Tribune
"Rosen is one of the few people to even try to write basketball novels ... He [writes] in a gut-wrenching, riveting style that most novelists would envy." -The Beacon Journal
"Rosen ... certainly knows his basketball ... But his depth and erudition makes this a tale of much more than sport. Rosen gives us a sometimes agonizing, often hilarious journey through American history, and a poignant account of what keeps a man running." -Chicago Tribune
"Rosen is one of the few people to even try to write basketball novels ... He [writes] in a gut-wrenching, riveting style that most novelists would envy." -The Beacon Journal
