Playing for Keeps

By David Halberstam,

Book cover of Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made

Book description

In Playing for Keeps, David Halberstam takes the first full measure of Michael Jordan's epic career, one of the great American stories of our time. A narrative of astonishing power and human drama, brimming with revealing anecdotes and penetrating insights, the book chronicles the forces in Jordan's life that have…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Playing for Keeps as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from David Halberstam’s sports books over the years.

Here, Halberstam uses Michael Jordan’s talent and relentless drive to frame a story of how sports both reflects and shapes culture. I grew up in this erathe 1980s/90s NBA—and I relive it each time I re-read Playing for Keeps (every few years, including this past). Halberstam’s prose hits me just right and captures beautifully what I saw and experienced in real time.

Playing for Keeps is also a study of leadership—how teams maximize their individual talents toward group achievement, a frame that comes in…

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