King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution (The George Gund Foundation Imprint in African American Studies) Paperback – Import, 1 May 2010

This book perfectly describes Bill Russell’s contributions to both the NBA and to society in general.

Great story

With all due respect to Michael Jordan, this book in a profile of, if not the greatest player, certainly the greatest winner in NBA history. If scoring all the points with all the fanciest moves is the criteria for determining greatness, then Jordan is your guy. If winning the championship darn near every year of your career, both college and pro, then you have to go with Russell. The book goes into where Russell "decided to win in college" and did nothing but win the rest of his playing days. Mr. Russell was never particularly popular with fans nor with writers and ne never particularly cared. As long as he had the respect of his teammates and his team won the game, that was what was most important to Mr. Russell. An excellent book.

If you like sports biographies, this one is first rate, honest and critical of its subject when the need arises. It also creates the era in which Russell played as both a collegiate and professional as well as any that I have read.i would recommend it highly.

Goudsouzian places Russell in his proper place as the preeminent place as the star who broke racial barriers in the NBA. Neither Jack Johnson nor Jackie Robinson, Russell would assert himself as not just a black athlete but a black man who claimed his place in the postwar era of the consumer republic and civil rights activism. Bouyed against his rival Wilt Chamberlain, Russell is able to emerge as the face of victory on and off the court. Goudsouzian's unique ability to craft Russell's identity through the narrative of Russell's career while place his activism into the heart of the historical movement makes this a valuable addition to the discourse on black athletes during this era.