I just got done reading this book. It took me about 3 weeks off and on. It was so good I went back online and ordered three more books by this author.
It’s amazing how much of the Shaq/Kobe feud I simply don’t remember. It’s also a shock to read about and see just how deep the hatred was between the two of them back in their championship days. I was under the impression that a lot of that feud was overblown. Definitely not the case.
I couldn’t help but think how something like that would be handled much much different now in modern society and sports. Can you imagine if Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Whatever was around back then? Because the way Shaq and Kobe used to go at each other through the newspaper media to pin things on one another was astonishing. Can you imagine what it would have been like if they both had the ability to put stuff out there themselves instantly through their own social channels?
The best thing about this book is Jeff Pearlman doesn’t hold back on Kobe. At all. His first few pages of the book are entitled Authors Note. He uses this as a disclaimer to basically tell you he has been working on this book for years and had all-but finished it before Kobe Bryant’s tragic death. Basically saying this is about the Kobe Bryant from 1996-2004 and what he was like during those years of his life. It’s his way of saying I’m not here to slander the deceased and don’t hold it against me!
And boy does he dive deep into the legal stuff that went on in Eagle County, Colorado. He holds nothing back. Kobe was very, very lucky he didn’t end up in prison.
The author does and amazing job of putting you in the locker room and getting into the depths of every player who was on those Laker rosters.
The book gets a definite thumbs up from me.
I forgot how much I actually enjoy sitting down and reading (if I like the content.)
