Friday, May 18, 2012

LeBron James In His Own Words / Phillip and Jesse Hines


Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Sports

Approximate word count: 10-15,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

A recent college graduate, Phillip Hines works for an event management company. He self published this book as well as one on event management. Simon & Schuster recently released another books by Hines, Mitt Romney in His Own Words.

Description:

“LeBron James is the world’s most talked-about active basketball player, stirring adoration—and intense criticism. Sports fans and journalists see the polarizing player as either the most exciting basketball player of his generation—or a selfish underachiever, and sometimes both. This book sets aside the controversy to let James speak for himself in his own words. Culling over 200 quotes on over 100 subjects drawn from print and electronic media—press conferences, magazines, newspapers, websites, television appearances, and Twitter posts—starting with his early years as a promising basketball star in high school—this timely compilation shows the world LeBron James’ unique perspective on life on, and off, court.”

Appraisal:

With the exception of one minor issue (two sections that discuss the same subject, James' starting his own sports marketing company, with different headings), the setup of this book is done well, with an active table of contents and quotes grouped in several different subject areas. If you want to know what LeBron James has said about his hometown of Akron, Ohio, or how he feels about Barack Obama, you’ll be able to quickly find the answer. If you feel a sudden need for James’ thoughts on voting, success, or Nike, you’re covered.

But after reading this book I was left wondering, “why?” I could see two ways to approach this book. The first, to get a sense for LeBron James as a person. How he views life, both on and off the court. This book could do that, to a small degree, but if that is your goal, you’d get a much better sense picking up one of the many biographies available.

The logical method to evaluate this book is as I would typically look at any book of quotations. If the book only includes quotes from one person, I would expect it to be someone considered an expert on the subject of the quotes, whose thoughts and ideas are insightful, or who is especially entertaining in their outlook. George Carlin or, if you want a sports star, Yogi Berra, I could understand. The author’s book with quotes from Mitt Romney might have appeal to some. But the quotes here didn’t seem especially enlightening. Many fell into what I’d call the “generic sports quote” category – they could, and probably have, been said in basically the same way by other sports stars. I didn’t read something and think, “that is a great way to put that” or “I wish I’d said that,” both reactions I’d like to see in a book of quotes. For rabid LeBron James fans who feel a need to have what their favorite star said at their fingertips, this might be worthwhile. For others, I think it’s a pass.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: *** Three stars

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