82 books like Pistol

When I first picked up Seabiscuit, I was dubious; I had already read too many stories of champion racehorses that were either dry histories or overblown hero-worship.

A hundred pages later (where did the time go?) I was completely engrossed and headed for an all-night read. In Hillenbrand’s hands, carefully researched history became the foundation for a sweeping story of a great horse, the incredible cast of people who gave him what he needed to become a legend, and the world of horses, horse racing, and American life in the 1930s.

If I ever write anything half as good, I will be well content.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, Rick Bragg’s writing is poetry.

He grew up dirt poor in Alabama. I grew up in a middle-class suburb in New Jersey. He and I have little in common but our love for our mothers. This story touched me on many levels. All mothers sacrifice to some extent in raising their children, but Rick’s mother went above and beyond while facing dire circumstances to provide for hers.

It made me appreciate my mother even more. And though I hadn’t discovered this book prior to my story, it reconfirmed my commitment to my mother. 

I have been reading reams of material about and by Jabbar as part of the research for my next book, and this, among his several memoirs, is my favorite.

It is raw and honest and insightful, putting the reader inside the mind and heart of one of the 20th century’s greatest and most consequential athletes. Best of all, Jabbar wrote Giant Steps in the early 1980s, when he was still an elite player for the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s difficult to imagine an athlete of his status doing something similar today, in this age of social-media image-burnishing.

Maraniss is best known for his terrific biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Vince Lombardi; some consider that last one, When Pride Still Mattered, the best sports book ever written.

But Rome 1960, his narrative of the 1960 Summer Olympics, is my favorite. The reason is timing. I read it in 2008 while I was working on my second book. Each morning, I’d consume Maraniss’ smooth prose, which was fortified by the depth of his research.

Each afternoon and evening, inspired, I’d write some of my book, trying my damnedest to equal him, always falling short, of course, but thrilled in the attempt.

Bill Bradley was as far from a typical college and NBA superstar as can possibly be imagined. He was 6’5” but could barely dunk. In a race between the tortoise and the hare, he would be the tortoise. Yet, with an uncanny set of shooting, passing, and rebounding skills, he became the nation’s top high school prospect, with more than 70 colleges, including every powerhouse in the sport, offering him a scholarship. Instead, he chose to play at lowly Princeton, in one of the game’s weakest conferences—the Ivy League—where he averaged more than 30 points a game over the course of his career, becoming a two-time first-team All-American and, in his senior season, national player of the year, leading the Tigers to the 1965 NCAA tournament’s Final Four, in which he scored an unheard of 58 points against Wichita State and was named the tournament’s MVP—the only player to this… show more.

Ray Scott is a living bridge from the first generation of Black players in the NBA to the modern NBA that emerged in the 1970s.

Through high school in Philadelphia where he played against Wilt Chamberlain, to college in Portland where he first competed against Elgin Baylor, to his formative professional years in the Eastern League where his contemporaries were the league’s all-time stars like Sherman White, Wally Choice, and Hal “King” Lear, to his early years in the NBA where his mentor was Earl Lloyd, to succeeding Lloyd as an NBA coach and becoming the first African American named NBA Coach of the Year, Scott has soldiered through numerous affronts yet always emerged with grace, dignity, and hope.

“Coach,” as he is called, in this memoir written with prolific basketball writer and former Eastern League player Charley Rosen, demonstrates why he is respected and beloved as both a leader… show more.

I wholeheartedly embraced this book by Roland Lazenby. It's a slam dunk of a biography that left me in awe of Jordan's unparalleled drive and impact. I was captivated by Lazenby's masterful storytelling, which brought MJ's journey to life in vivid detail. I found myself completely immersed in the highs and lows of Jordan's career, from his early setbacks to his iconic championships.

What I appreciated most was how Lazenby delved beyond the court, offering insights into Jordan's personal struggles and business acumen. This book deepened my admiration for Jordan, not just as a player but as a complex individual who reshaped sports culture. I couldn't put it down and came away with a newfound appreciation for the man behind the legend.

In this thoughtful, philosophical autobiography, the winningest player in NBA history uses his storied career with the Boston Celtics as a cogent window into the broken promises—mostly racial—of the American Dream. Co-written with historian Taylor Branch, whose trilogy on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Pulitzer Prize, Russell, who has devoted as much of his life to activism in the cause of social justice as to the game of basketball, shares the life lessons he has learned on the court, from his schoolboy days in Louisiana to his All-American stint at the University of Seattle, to his record-setting career with the Celtics, where he won an astounding eleven championship rings in thirteen years. This book was published in 1979, but its insights are as relevant and penetrating today as they were then.

I love when sports stories intersect with broader cultural movements. Those instances are what make sports matter. Elgin Baylor was an amazing basketball player, but he was also a civil rights icon. Learning more about that work is just as important to me as learning about his games, and Bryant’s work makes it so exciting to learn about.

This book is a graphic novel, giving Baylor’s story access to a much larger audience. I am not normally a consumer of graphic novels, but this one does the story justice and is so good. Even as someone who doesn’t normally embrace the genre, I loved it.

As avid readers and sports lovers likely already know, Pearlman is an amazing storyteller, and he perfectly captures the drama and craziness surrounding the Lakers dynasty from 1996-2004, defined by the dynamic duo of Kobe and Shaq.

This book is packed with details and insights—gleaned from hundreds of interviews and extremely in-depth reporting—that kept me engaged from start to finish.