The book I chose was Shooting Stars by Lebron James and Buzz Bissinger (author of Friday Night Lights). I had originally chosen a book titled McMafia. It was a book that circled around crime history and its impact on the global economy. I got about thirty pages in and fell asleep for two and half hours...I think that was my clue to try something else. So the next day I went back to the library and went to a non-fiction category that was a bit more intriguing to me, sports. I immediately came across this book, Shooting Stars, and after reading what it was about I was hooked.
The book starts off describing Lebron James's childhood and then branches off from there talking about his close friends that would eventually makeup the famous Fab Five. The Fab Five was a group of basketball players that were known around the nation as one of the best high school basketball teams in the United States. Lebron James along with Little Dru, Sian, Willie, and Romeo became national champions to cap off their senior year, but this book dives deep into what obstacles they had to face to get to that point. Each player came from a very distinct background. Whether is was the "fatherless and broke" Lebron James, or the "world's against me" Romeo, this team had a wide variety of characters who came up in tough backgrounds. Somehow though, the Fab Five, were able to set aside their difficulties and play some of the most graceful, passionate, as-close-to-perfect basketball any high school basketball team has ever played.
After finishing this book I have a new found respect for Lebron James. He is one of the world's greatest athletes, but also one of the world's most hated. Shooting Stars really shows a side of Lebron that is hardly ever flaunted by the media. The professional, selfless, driven individual who achieved greatness on and off the court in a number of different ways. I recommend Shooting Stars to really any reader who enjoys a brilliant story. You might find it a little more enjoyable if you love sports, but either way it will hopefully be a good read. It might not be at the highest reading level, but it's not so simple that it feels like just another dumb sports story. I would tell you more about the overall achievements, controversies, and stories of the Lebron James and his teammates, but that would just ruin the book for those of you eager to read the book.
This sounds like it would be a really good book. I really liked how you pointed out that the book showed a side of Lebron that the media would rarely show. I notice this with a lot of celebrities, and I don't think it is fair that the media conveniently "forgets" to tell us about certain details. I would definitely consider reading this book.
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