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21 of 23 found the following review helpful:
Unique Relationship May 12, 2009
By soulonice
I came across this book, while going through a basketball website, and since Bill Russell is regarded as the greatest winner in team sports, and Red Auerbach is considered the greatest coach that's ever lived, I figured there is no better place to learn about them, than from Russell himself.
Russell shares stories of his childhood, and how it helps him in high school, college, and how it sets the foundation for his relationship with Red Auerbach. You could tell they had a sincere bond, and had a unique way of interacting with each other. They both realized what they had with each other, and were able to work toward one common goal: winning. It was one of the more encouraging examples of success, especially with what we see nowadays, with teams and some of the riff-raff that goes on, that has little-or-nothing to do with winning.
It also gives you a glimpse of a side of both of them that people were not accustomed to seeing, at least from what I've seen. We get to see Coach Red as someone who would play practical jokes, and even had some played on him as well. More than anything, Mr. Russell does a great job of exposing the man, and letting the reader know he was fiercely loyal, dedicated to success, and was someone whose mind was working 24/7, and all for the betterment of the team. More than anything else, it's the story of how two men came together, and became very good friends, while forming a bond that could never be compromised and broken.
17 of 20 found the following review helpful:
 RICK May 18, 2009
By Rick Shaq Goldstein
"*SHAQ*"
I must state for the record that I am not a Boston Celtic fan... but the fact that I openly admired their "team-first" play... and even though I was saddened for decades as they always beat my Lakers in the finals... as a basketball player myself... I was true to the heart of the sport... when I openly said they were the better team. The Celtics of the late 50's and 60's were *THE-GREATEST-DYNASTY-IN-THE-HISTORY-OF-ALL-PROFESSIONAL-SPORTS!* Winning *EIGHT-STRAIGHT-NBA-CHAMPIONSHIPS*... and winning *ELEVEN-NBA-CHAMPIONSHIPS-IN-THIRTEEN-YEARS*! This is a mark that has never been matched... and with the lunacy of free agency... probably never will. At the core of these storied championships were two men. The architect... a small fiery Jew from Brooklyn... the coach and general manager... Red Auerbach... and the winningest player in professional sports history... and Celtic center... Bill Russell. This is not to say there weren't other great players on these Celtic teams... of course there were. The Hall of Fame's walls are lined with many of their plaques... in addition to numerous other Celtic legends as well. Just to name a few: "Da Cooz"... Heinsohn... the Jones boys... Sharman... Sanders... Havlicek... Howell... Loscutoff... and many others. But the most valuable of all these... was center Bill ("Russ") Russell. Russ's unmatched record as the ultimate winner included back-to-back NCAA Championships with USF and an Olympic Gold Medal in 1956 before joining the Celtics.
Most of these accolades are known by most Celtic fans and also by true sports fans. But what hasn't been known... until this book... because Russ never let anyone into his heart before... to share his intimate feelings... is how deep the reciprocal friendship... and yes the actual love was... between Russ and Red. The reason these feelings were never laid out in the open like this... is pretty obvious to Russ... and he'll hit you over the head with the reason innumerous times in this book. He and Red... like many of the other men of his time... didn't hug each other... or say I love you.
[...]
The Celtics became the first team in any professional sport to start an all black team. Asked about it they acted like they hadn't noticed... it was simply a case of putting the best team on the floor. When Red retired from coaching... he named Russ the new Celtic coach. Russell was the first black head coach or manager in professional sports history. Red and Russ never mentioned a thing. When the media asked Red about the significance of having the first "Negro" coach Red said: "LOOK, IT'S NO BIG DEAL. I JUST DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS BEST FOR OUR TEAM."
The powerful impact of this book is that feelings and wisdom is being shared by a legendary sports figure who for decades and decades had kept any emotions... other than complaining about a foul call... locked in a personal vault that many thought even Russell didn't have the combination to. But when his *FRIEND* Red Auerbach died on October 28, 2006... the big man decided to share some of his personal beliefs and feelings.
There are some powerful and beautiful sentiments shared with the reader such as:
"IT IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAN TO BE UNDERSTOOD."
"FRIENDSHIP DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU GIVE TO EACH OTHER, NOT WHAT YOU GET FROM EACH OTHER."
"BUT WE BOTH UNDERSTOOD THAT IF I SUCCEEDED, IT ENHANCED HIM, AND IF HE SUCCEEDED, IT ENHANCED ME. ULTIMATELY, OUR REAL SUCCESS WAS OUR ABILITY-WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO EXPRESS IT OPENLY-TO COLLABORATE IN EVERY WAY WE COULD THINK OF, TO HELP THE *TEAM* SUCCEED."
Any Bill Russell fan will be utterly surprised at the side of Russell that he allows the world to see in this book. One quote that has already affected me is:
"MY AMBITION AS YOUR FRIEND IS THAT MY FRIENDSHIP HAS A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE. IF AM ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, IT WILL ENHANCE MY QUALITY OF LIFE."
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Mutual Respect May 26, 2009
By C. W. Emblom
"Bill Emblom"
The secret to the unique friendship between Arnold "Red" Auerbach and Bill Russell has to be the mutual respect each had for the other. Red was the first coach Russell ever had who let him be himself. Rather than impose his own will on him Auerbach was smart enough and secure in his own position to allow Russell to "do his thing" on the basketball floor. Auerbach did admit to having two sets of rules, one for Russell and one for the remaining members of the team. Russell, to his credit, didn't take advantage of the situation. Both Auerbach and Russell were upfront with each other in their relationship and each respected and didn't question the others' beliefs in matters not related to basketball. An interesting anecdote is how Russell came to be drafted by the Celtics. Yes, it has been told in other books, but the Celtics had to do some maneuvering to get the chance to draft Bill Russell. I'm sure Russell would have been successful even if he didn't have Arnold "Red" Auerbach for a coach, but fortunately this odd-couple were a perfect match for one another. This book is a quick read, but it does contain lessons that will interest future coaches on any level in addition to anyone who is interested in reading about human relationships.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
A must read! The insights into friendship are priceless Jun 01, 2009
By G. E. Kugler
"Ed Kugler - nomoreBS - Author of Dead Center and more"
A friend of mine told me about this book coming out. I've read the other books by Red and Russell and found them to be good to great. So this one intrigued me but I thought 'what could be different?'
Well, lots is different. Yes it is about relationship and just a little about basketball. But what it is really about is friendship, a unique friendship. Russell starts by doing an excellent job of taking you inside the upbringing of a young black kid in the rural south. Raised by a family and an extended family that cared and taught him valuable lessons that he was able to take with him.
What he does best is tells us this story without bitching. It is almost like he is detatched. The message comes acrossed powerfully without him having to tell you. It was a tough life. His Mother, who he adored, died when he was 12. His father left the family, with the support of his Mother, to work in Detroit and support the family back in Louisiana.
Its quite a journey for an untrusting soul at the time like Russell to end up in Boston befriended mutually with a Jew in Red. Loved the book and the powerful message of where he came from and where he journeyed to and the struggles in between. Well worth reading for the learnings you can glean from this unique friendship.
Excellently written.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
A Wise Man with a Unique Story Jun 01, 2009
By R. Spell
"raspell"
I originally had mixed emotions about this book and would have rated it lower if i had written the review prior to the excellent ending. In summation, this is a very short, fast read where Bill Russell describes his unique relationship and total understanding between two friends who can be so close while communicating so little. But this book needs a better set-up than a book of friendship and Russell supplies that here. He describes his history as a black man and traces his influence to his widowed father who raised him with the ultimate in high standards of integrity. But remember this is also a black player entering sports shortly after Jackie Robinson. Russell had had poor relationships with previous coaches and had been subjected to 1950s racism such as being unable to dine or sleep with the white members of the team in the south. Not mentioned in great detail are the stories of racism when Bill Russell bought a home in Boston and the racism he faced. There is quite a humorous story of trash can noise which police said was racoon caused. Then Russell requested a gun permit. End of noise.
But to complete the back story for this book you must know that in addition to be an exceptional athlete, Russell was an incredibly intelligent and private man who even refused autographs to his teammates for their family. With this background Russell describes how he expected another poor relationship with his coach only to find in Red Auerbach a Jewish man who also had suffered racism and was solely focused on winning and treating his players well. Once he knew what was important to Russell, he treated him as an accomplice, always asking his opinion and never disrespecting him.
Throughout the book Russell describes the deepening relationships with examples of their unique friendship which in many cases are quite minor and not worthy of a book. BUT, at the end of the book Russell eloquently ties this altogether as he talks of his friends death, their intertwined family, and why the most private man I know would take the time to write a book of arguably the second most important relationship of his life, with his coach and friend, Red Auerbach. This book will appeal to Boston fans, sports fans in general and people interested in interpersonal relationships with only a passing interest in sports.
NOTE: While I mentioned racism more than once as it affects the back story of this book, it is not a focus of this book whatsoever other than some early stories in the 50s describing how it impacted parts of their relationship. Please do not let this turn you off this book.
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