:07 seconds or less

I got :07 seconds or less - My Season on the Bench with Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns by Jack McCallum as a late birthday/christmas combo present (danke, Christoph). I read it the last couple of days now on my commute into the city. Upfront I have to admit that I usually haven't enjoyed sports books all that much, they are often not that well written and contain nothing really new. A sport is something to watch or play but not really to write about (except as in a recount of facts). Also, the title is kind of misleading as it is not really the season that McCallum discusses but rather the playoffs.

Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It does of course help that I liked that Suns team and their style of basketball, but I found it interesting in general to see the inner workings of a team like that. How some players coast, how some players need more psychological attention. How other players have a precarious ego. How some play their heart out only to stay in the league. You normally don't consider players as a person, they are just an image on a screen. You judge how they play but you never consider how they got there or what they do after the game. Also, the tactical side is something undervalued by a gut player (not a compliment that) like me, crazy really how much planning goes into all this (not that that was something new really, but the book made me more (or again) aware of it). All in all definitely recommandable for anyone looking for an easy and quick read.