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12 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 This is and inspirational book Sep 30, 1999
The heart and soul of a champion: his life, his career, and his game. To understand basketball, you have to understand Larry Bird. Arguably the greatest all-around player the game has ever known, he led the Boston Celtics from the basement to three world championships, collecting three NBA Most Valuable Player awards along the way. Yet, despite these massive accomplishments, Bird has rarely talked to the press, and much about the man has remained a mystery. Now in Drive, the long-silent superstar sets the record straight, revealed a side of himself, and of basketball, you've never see before. Larry Bird grew up in the small town of French Lick, Indiana. His family was not very well off. Infact, they would occasionally stay at his grandmother's home. When Larry was twelve he found that he had a God-given ability to play basketball. He knew he was blessed and knew he had to do something about it. Everyday Larry would practice, practice, practice. Shooting foul shots, threes, it didn't matter, he just love the game. Even when he broke his ankle he would still shoot free throws every day. Larry's father committed suicide when Larry was still young. This broke his heart, but he knew his father did what he thought was best for the family. Bird was a celebrity on his High School basketball team in French Lick. The population of the town was only 2,100, but 4,000 people attended his last HS game. After high school he enrolled at Indiana, but never played, dropping out and then hitch-hiking home. He waited a year to be eligible to play at Indiana State. He brought respectability to the Indiana State program which ended in losing to Magic Johnson's Michigan State team in the NCAA Tournament Title Game in 1979. Larry left Indiana State with a career scoring average of better than 30 points a game, fifth all-time in NCAA history, and a 3-year school record of 81-13. Larry was named the 1978-79 Sporting News Player of the Year and won the Naismith and Wooden Awards. He was the number six pick in the 1978 draft by Boston, as a junior, but he joined the team a year later, because he chose to stay in school for his last year of eligibility. His stellar play in his first year led to his Rookie of the Year selection in 1980. We all remember his ability to hit the remarkable shot and don't forget his commercials with Michael Jordan where he makes the unbelievable shots. NBA players probably still have nightmares of his smooth jumper that would fall with deadly accuracy from ten feet or twenty feet. There may never be another with such a consistent sweet stroke. However, the legendary Celtic charm could not jump. He was slow, uncoordinated, but if you gave him a locomotive to pull he could do it for you. I'm not saying he was buff or strong or anything, I just mean he was a workhorse. He would not give up. Bird's all-time stats are an impressive: 21,791 points (11th. all-time), 1,556 steals (8th all-time), 0.886 FT Percentage (fourth all-time), 8,974 rebounds, 5,965 assists and 897 games played. He has a career 24.3 scoring average to lead the Celtics all-time list. Larry Bird was a successful player due both to talent and hard work. He was usually the first Celtic to arrive on game day when he would practice hitting jump shots for hours from everywhere on the floor, including dozens of free throws. This effort and ethic of work that he showed is an example I would like to follow. After reading this book I thought to myself, am I going to play varsity this year, and I going to achieve this goal and be able to dunk on DEC. 20 this year. Birdman has gone from a small town gangly country boy to an impressive person and player. The time he put in, the commitment he showed to his team. He played his entire career with the Celtics. This shows me how a player should be, faithful to your duties, contracts, and other commitments. He didn't just give up on basketball after his marks forced him to drop out, he prevailed and continued basketball and then went to college. As his marks were so poor this shows me another basic fundamental to make it far in basketball, grades. Although my goals say I will play at college level, I will never be able to achieve this without the proper grades to do so. Academics are a very important part of my future. This book is and awesome book in which I give five stars to. It was well worth my time to read and I hope to read it over again. It has inspired me to do my best and anything is possible if you work hard enough for it
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Gage's review on Drive Oct 30, 2005
By Tha big hustle
"playa"
Well, I loved this book. I love basketball and everything about it so of course I'm going to love a book about one of the greatest players of all time.
The book was about Larry Bird and his life. It turns out, that Larry Bird was very poor as a child. His favorite thing tho wear was a pair of overalls. He wore them at least 4 times a week and did not wear anything under. That is how poor his family was.
I like how he tells things like this because it shows alot of reality. He really doesn't sugar coat anything that he says in this book. He tells everything like it is and I tend to like people like that. I think that is because I tend to be like that.
Well, the bottom line is that this was a very great book.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
The best from the Best Dec 13, 2004
By Shawn Mccullion
"Drive: The Story of My Life" is my absolute favorite sports book of all time.
The first thing the reader realizes is Larry Bird's writing could not come from an uneducated hick. His storytelling and prose is engaging and makes you think twice about putting the book down.
It's obvious Bird wrote this book with the intensity and verve he was known for on the court. And now that multiple generations have passed since Bird played his last game, anyone involved in coaching basketball should make it suggested reading for their players.
"Drive" is a basketball treasure and widely (and accurately) considered one of the greatest sports autobiographies ever written.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Bird is God Jul 06, 1999
This book tells the greatness of Larry Bird. Excellent ! A MUST READ
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Must Read for "Bird" Fans Jul 05, 2006
By Chris Meelia
A great and truly under-rated sports book. Bob Ryan (the actual writer) is a long-time Boston Globe columnist and a terriffic writer. He captures the essence of Larry Bird, from his childhood to his journey through high school and college to his emergence as both a basketball legend in the NBA and a larger-than-life sports hero in Boston. You may like this book even if you don't care for basketball. You will definitely enjoy this book if you area a hoops fan. And if you are a Larry Bird fan and you haven't read this book... shame on you!
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