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Even without his masterful debut as coach of the 1997-1998 Indiana Pacers, Larry Bird's brilliant, gutsy career with the Boston Celtics--three NBA championship rings and a trio of Most Valuable Player trophies--cries out for celebration and reassessment. He was a dominant player, a thinking player who controlled the game as much with his leadership as his keen passing, tough "D," and the soft touch of his jumper. In Larry Legend, Shaw interweaves chapters of Bird's biography with chapters chronicling his Coach of the Year season to create a hybrid volume; rather than do both well, he does both adequately. Everything is here--Bird's French Lick, Indiana, childhood; why he left Bobby Knight and the Indiana University pressure cooker for lower profile Indiana State; the glory years with the Celtics; the rivalry with Magic Johnson; the back problems; and the ways he re-created the Pacers in his own court-burned image. The problem is presentation. As he jumps back and forth in time, Shaw impedes his own flow, a foul that Bird never committed. That's too bad, because Shaw is a capable reporter who loves his subject and does an otherwise admirable job of fleshing out the life of a man beneath the "Legend" of the title. --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Superb sports book
Larry Legend covers the whole Bird story. Author Shaw has a knack for revealing the little things about Bird that intrigued me. I think this is a must book for any Larry fan.

A book to treasure
Fantastic portrait of Larry Bird, specially of his first season as a NBA coach. Shaw has the great ability to make imaginative metaphores and to create surprising game reports. I wonder if Larry Bird suspected that a writer was watching him closely during an entire season?

Good Book
I always enjoy reading Books on Larry Bird.He is truly one of the Greatest Basketball Players that I have ever seen play.His Mind for Play&detail is showcased rather well here.

legendary journey to the top
Kevin VanSickle W131 "Book Review" Larry Legend is an interesting book about a boy who fell in love with the game of basketball and developed his own self-discipline as he became an adult. Larry Bird's success and consistent team management are his legendary qualities, according to author Shaw. Mark Shaw writes about Larry's roughneck childhood, what led to his triumphs in his high school basketball days, and through his professional career as a player, then a coach. Larry seemed to have gained confidence and self-esteem at a young age and by keeping those positive aspects he became an intimidator and motivator for many. This book will intoxicate your interest if you want to hear about the Legend's journey to the top. In Larry Legend, Mr. Shaw explains how the Legend himself was a role model, not only for young players, but also, his teammates and coaches around the league.

I learned a lot more about Larry Bird than I realized.
It was pretty indepth, and is a nice overview of his life from the time he was a legend in Indiana to coming full circle by coaching there. It also mentions his daughter, who has a distant relationship with his father. If you're a Bird fan, even if you're not, but you enjoy reading about basketball, this is worth the price. It paints a very balanced portrait of Bird. I like the fact that it isn't slanted one way or the other. It portrays the good and the bad. I'm a Bird fan, but I like objective journalism, which this seems to be. No schlock hero worship journalism here, nor is there any railing against him. Even though I like Bird, I will not condone his actions if they are perceived as wrong or controversial. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

BIRD spelled backwards is WINNER
This book explores the post playing days of arguably the best forward to ever play the game of basketball. Bird recaps his days of playing in the olympics, his time in the front office of the Celtics, and his coaching days of the Pacers. I have been a huge Bird fan since I was a kid, yet I never knew much about him, except for what I saw on the court. This book gave me a lot of insight into Bird's dynamic work ethic as both player and coach and showed how he was able to use his winning attitude to take the Pacers from 39 wins to 58 wins in one season as well as to the infamous clash with Jordan and the Bulls in the 98 Eastern Conference Finals. Bird also reveals his thoughts about the NBA today. If you want to know about the legend that is Larry Bird, you should read this book.

Must buy for Bird fans; a quick but very interesting read
This book is virtually required reading for any fan of the Celtics, Pacers, or Larry Bird. If you ever wondered what Bird's thoughts were regarding his late-career injuries, his role with the Dream Team, his days in the Celtic front office, or his becoming a first-time NBA head coach, you're in luck. Larry Legend lays it all out in straightforward, no-bull fashion. While the book could hardly be labeled a "tell-all expose," it does contain a number of surprising revelations: his previously unknown heart condition, the machinations in the Celtic organization which wound up with the hiring of Rick Pitino, what Bird thought of certain former teammates and opponents, and so on. The book is a relatively quick read, even at approx. 320 pages, but I found it highly entertaining. I confess to being a big Bird fan before I ever read this book, but even if you're not, I suspect you'll come away duly impressed by the man's humility, honesty, and intelligence. As for the book's co-writer, Jackie MacMullan, it's impossible to know how much of the wording, tone, and style is hers vs. Larry's, but my impression is that she was true to her subject. In addition, I suspect her considerable writing skills were instrumental in creating such a smooth, concise work. Who'd have guessed that Larry Bird, painfully shy and inarticulate as a young man, would ever produce a candid and interesting book like this? The Hick from French Lick surprises us all again!

Bird Watching - Larry Bird
Bird Watching (by Larry Bird)
Reviewer: Known as one the of the best basketball players to have ever stepped foot onto a NBA court, Larry Bird's book will teach you many things about himself as well as the game. Larry brings the reader into some of his most personal things that he has never shared with anyone. He gives you a first class view on all of his experiences of playing professional basketball in the NBA. He shows you the downsides, positives, but most of all the victories. You'll find out first hand all of the injuries Larry has encountered that until now he has kept as a secret.

Through this book Larry will share with you information of his hometown, French Lick, Indiana. You'll learn about his family, about his fathers' death and the way up to his mothers' death. Larry talks about more than just his parents he introduces you to his wife, Dinah and his two children, Conner and Mariah.

Larry will walk you through his entire career. All the way from his high school career, where one of his favorite coaches, Jim Jones coached him. Jim Jones was the coach who really taught Larry all of the fundamentals of the game. Larry didn't seem to have that many coaches that he didn't care for. Larry is also a very hard worker, he really appreciated it when coaches made him run hard. He believed that every basketball player should be conditioned to play the game. Then later on in his career when he ends up becoming a coach he incorporates all of the coaching skills that he has gathered from his previous coaches and uses them on his players. He brings you through some of his most exciting journeys and some of his most famous friends and players.

Just about everything in this book flows together. Larry explains everything that you know about him and a lot of things that you have no idea of. The only thing that I disliked about the book is that none of it was put in order from the beginning of his life to the end of his career, it seemed to jump around a lot. Another big thing was that each chapter was long in itself, but it seemed to talk about the same thing and just ramble on and on. For example one of Larry's biggest problems was his back and he talked about it for a whole chapter then he talked about it more in a few different chapters. Although there some very good and interesting chapters in the book that taught me many things about Larry Bird.

Overall I thought the book was very good, but somewhat long for me, but if you read often then it will be just fine. I would recommend this to anyone who has a great liking of either Larry Bird or basketball. You also need to have a pretty good understanding of basketball to be able to understand some of the topics Larry teaches you.

Bird Watching: On Playing and Coaching the Game I Love
Bird Watching, an autobiography by Larry Bird, is a story for any lover of sports. Bird Watching is a detailed account of the life of Larry Bird, from his NBA career with the Boston Celtics to his coaching position with the Indiana Pacers. After reading the first page of the book, the reader realizes there is more to this NBA legend than meets the eye.
Unlike most professional basketball players, Larry Bird never regretted the day he left the NBA and even says that the day he retired was "one of the happiest days of [his] life." Faced with chronic back problems and an irregular heart, Bird was happy to see the day when he no longer had to endure the pain of playing the sport he loved more than anything. Coming from the man himself, the story describes Bird's life in a detailed and personal manner. From beginning to end, the reader easily notices the uniqueness of this man's character and not only sees, but feels the impact this incredible man left on so many fellow players, fans, and loved ones.
I thought this was a great book, especially for a sports fan. I felt that for a sport's book, it was particularly well written. The author's style allows the reader to get a personal glimpse of the life of Larry Bird and causes the reader to feel as if they knew this NBA legend. Because of the story's subject, the author employs very few literary devices. However, the author uses many similes in describing Bird's injuries, allowing the reader to appreciate Bird's choice in leaving the NBA. The book lacks an overall dominant theme, but simply wishes to convey the story of one of the greatest and most unique basketball players of all time.

Good Solid Book
Larry Bird has always been Straight&to the Put.from His Playing days with His Classic Battles with Magic Johnson to His Coaching Career&His Overall View on the NBA&it's players.I enjoyed the Book.Larry Bird is a Very Tough Minded Cat. ... Read more

Book Description

"Of all the people I play against, the only one I truly fear is Larry Bird."--Magic Johnson, from the Foreword.

The heart and soul of a champion: his life, his career, 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. Inside, you'll learn Bird's most private feelings about: The momentous decision to transfer from Bobby Knight's Indiana University to Indiana State. The heartbreak of his father's suicide and his own failed marriage. The single-minded discipline that tumed a small-town hero into a national superstar. The Boston Garden and the legendary Celtic charm. The Isiah Thomas controversy and the fierce Celtic-Laker rivalry. The great players of the NBA: including Magic Johnson, Dominique Wilkins, and Michael Jordan, and much more. here is the book that puts a basketball legend-and his game-on the line. And scores! ... Read more

Reviews (23)

This is and inspirational book
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

The greatest book ever made dogg!
Book Review

The book I chose to read was Drive a biography about Larry Bird and written by Larry Bird and Bob Ryan. This book was made in 1989, the book includes a forward from Magic Johnson and a description of each city Bird played in.

A summary of my book is about the life and the career of Larry Bird. Larry Bird was the best professional basketball player to ever live, he also had more work ethic than 99% of the people who ever lived. He would stay after a game for like 4 hours until he perfected whatever he did wrong that game. He would wake up at 6 in the morning to shoot 500 free throws. He grew up in a small town in Indiana, he was very poor and all he did was play sports. I guess coming from a poorer family people usually have better work ethic because they have to work for everything they get and earn it. Bird played Varsity basketball in 10-12 grades and then he went to Indiana to play for Bobby Knight who obviously didn't see talent in Larry. So Larry transferred to Indiana State and brought them to the national championship. He then got drafted by the Boston Celtics and played there until retirement and having one of the greatest rivals in sports history with the famous Ervin "Magic" Johnson, and the rest of the Lakers.

Larry Bird Drive
The book Drive by Larry Gird starts off by talking about his close friends and what is was like for him to grow up. It also discusses certain issues about how growing up was hard. Larry let me know that hard work pays off and nothing good came easy. The book also talked about many of his memorable moments throughout his basketball career and all of his triumph's that brought him fame. Towards the end he gave us some personal thoughts about what he thought of himself and his relationship with his family.

One of the things that I liked about the book is that he earned what he got due to hard work and dedication. I liked him because he put in the time to become the man that he is now and he wasn't stuck up or anything despite his great skills. I also liked the kind of life style that he said he lived. It described all of his fame and what he had to go through in order to have fun and still keep his normal life. One of the things that I didn't like about the book is that he wasn't that organized with the serious of events that he arranged the book, plus sometimes he went a little too much into detail in something simple like just shooting a basketball shoot.

Larry bird Drive
The book Drive by Larry Gird starts off by talking about his close friends and what is was like for him to grow up. It also discusses certain issues about how growing up was hard. Larry let me know that hard work pays off and nothing good came easy. The book also talked about many of his memorable moments throughout his basketball career and all of his triumph's that brought him fame. Towards the end he gave us some personal thoughts about what he thought of himself and his relationship with his family.

One of the things that I liked about the book is that he earned what he got due to hard work and dedication. I liked him because he put in the time to become the man that he is now and he wasn't stuck up or anything despite his great skills. I also liked the kind of life style that he said he lived. It described all of his fame and what he had to go through in order to have fun and still keep his normal life. One of the things that I didn't like about the book is that he wasn't that organized with the serious of events that he arranged the book, plus sometimes he went a little too much into detail in something simple like just shooting a basketball shoot.

Awesome novel, Basketball fans should read it...
Larry Bird- Drive: The Story Of My Life

Larry Joe Bird was born in West Baden, Indiana on December 7, 1956. Although Bird was born in West Baden he grew up in French Lick. He had three siblings: One sister, Linda and two brothers, Mark, and Mike. As Bird grew older he realized that he was falling in love with the game of basketball. He attended High School at SpringsValley (which was in French Lick). After High School he went to Indiana University for about 3 months and played basketball but then dropped out because he thought that the schoolwork was tough. He went home for about 2 months but tried college again but attended Indiana State University instead and thrived there at the game of basketball. The Boston Celtics drafted him in 1979. He went on to win 3 championships for the Celtics and played from 1979 to 1992. He was and still is one of the greatest all-around players the game has ever seen.

I liked this book a lot because of the way it was written. It was pretty easy to read and understand. I liked how Larry Bird wrote the book in that he explained how he became good at basketball. He would get up every morning before school at about 6 a.m. and shoot free throws on his basketball court. He even got to the point when he was at school of sneaking in the gym in between class and shooting some jumpers. It also had a lot of comical stories in the book. For example, there was one story that made me crack up. I quote: Once I was coming down on the (fast) break and pulled up for an eighteen foot jumper and my basketball coach yelled, "No, no wait for the other guys!" Just as I released the ball I said, "Too late, coach." The ball hit nothing but net. K.C. Jones just sat down.

I disliked this because of Larry Bird's life when he was growing up. When he a little boy his family did not have that much money. His father was lucky if he made $120 in one week. So he did not a lot of things he would have liked to have. When he was 19 years old he was starting at I.U. and he learned that his dad committed suicide. When he went to I.U. he only brought about 5 pairs of clothes because he did not have much money. His buddy, Jim Wisman who he was rooming with said, "You can borrow all of my clothes if you want." And Larry did end up wearing all of Jim's clothes. One last thing that I did not like was all the mistakes I found in the book. I found about 6 fragments. But, other than that it was a great novel. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Celtics Rule
I think that this book is good for those who are fans of the Boston Celtics and that of the NBA. This book is a biography; it has a little bit of everything. With a foreword by Pat Riley (Head Coach of the Miami Heat) the book could not more complete.

This book begins in a small town in Indiana. Larry Bird was a star basketball player for his high school and the rest of the state. Larry left high school to go to Indiana University on a full basketball scholarship and play for the one and only Bobby Knight. Larry was not on the campus very long before he became overwhelmed by the great amount of students. Larry would then leave the school and transfer to Indiana State University. After college Larry entered himself in to the NBA draft and was selected 6th overall by the Boston Celtics. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Josh Barringer's Rewiew of Larry Bird
I think that this was a great book.It told about his life and career as a basketball player.It also told about his major games and how he contributed to winning or losing the game.I encourage all sports lovers to read this book.As I said before this is a really great book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

great
Want to learn fundementals on how to play better basketball this is the book for you ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Get 2 copies!
You will want to get two copies of this book - because you're gonna want to cut out some of the great, great photos and frame them.

Flipping through this book is like looking through a picture album. The photos are that good - the paper used to publish the book is the high-gloss type.

And some of the pictures are ones that are rarely seen. A couple of my personal favorites: a portrait of the Celtics' starting five in the mid-eighties; a two page spread of Larry taking practice shots before a game (the photo was taken at rim level, and it looks like Larry is shooting the ball in your direction).

If you are a Celtics fan (o.k., you don't have to admit that) if you are a Larry Bird fan like me, then you'll appreciate this book of rare photos of Bird. Now, get this book. And get some photo framing supplies!

The best collection of photos of the best player of his time
Hoop junkies rejoice! If you are a basketball fan than you are a Larry Bird fan and this is the one must have book of arguably the greatest basketball player of this or any generation. Dramatic photos and lively, informative text, chronicle Larry Legend's unforgetable career with the Boston Celtics. There is no better collection of photos of Larry Bird...period. Steve Lipofsky's photographs have captured and preserved, for basketball fans everywhere, the storied career of one of basketball's true legends. A great holiday gift for the true fan or anyone who wants to know what all the fuss was about.

Extraordinary photographs; adequate prose.
Any basketball fan interested in one of the greatest players in the history of the game will peruse this book with interest -- much more for the striking photographs than for the copy, which covers Bird's biography in chronological fashion, concluding with his successful first year as coach of the NBA's Indiana Pacers. The photography, however, is worth the price of admission. Lipofsky has covered the Celtics since very early in Bird's career and his artist's eye has caught and framed some remarkable images not only of Bird but of the game -- among the stunning photographs in the book are wonderful game shots of Bird vs. his greatest competitors over the years, the Lakers as a whole, Michael Jordan, and Julius Erving, and many striking images of the Celtics in their heyday. The temptation with this book is to tear out and frame a few of the photos; they're that good. ... Read more

Book Description

Rookie of the Year. World Champion. All-Star. MVP. Coach of the Year. Throughout his basketball career, Larry Bird has gathered countless accolades and awards. From Springs Valley High School to Indiana State University to the Boston Celtics to the Indiana Pacers, one thing has remained the same: Bird's commitment to excellence. ... Read more

Book Description

Lawrence J. Bellarts shares first-hand experiences as a pilot in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as intriguing incidents from his career as a Bank Auditor, Bank Examiner, a Trust Examiner and an Investigator of failed banks.During a trip to the Soviet Union in 1990, he risked attracting the interest of the then still powerful KGB by photographing the super-secret Russian Missile Research Center. ... Read more