Mark Kriegel
Hardcover | Pages: 381 pages Rating: 4.08 | 5857 Users | 206 Reviews
Define Books Toward Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich
| Original Title: | Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich |
| ISBN: | 0743284976 (ISBN13: 9780743284974) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Narrative In Pursuance Of Books Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich
"Pistol" is more than the biography of a ballplayer. It's the stuff of classic novels: the story of a boy transformed by his father's dream -- and the cost of that dream. Even as Pete Maravich became Pistol Pete -- a basketball icon for baby boomers -- all the Maraviches paid a price. Now acclaimed author Mark Kriegel has brilliantly captured the saga of an American family: its rise, its apparent ruin, and, finally, its redemption. Almost four decades have passed since Maravich entered the national consciousness as basketball's boy wizard. No one had ever played the game like the kid with the floppy socks and shaggy hair. And all these years later, no one else ever has. The idea of Pistol Pete continues to resonate with young people today just as powerfully as it did with their fathers.In averaging 44.2 points a game at Louisiana State University, he established records that will never be broken. But even more enduring than the numbers was the sense of ecstasy and artistry with which he played. With the ball in his hands, Maravich had a singular power to inspire awe, inflict embarrassment, or even tell a joke.
But he wasn't merely a mesmerizing showman. He was basketball's answer to Elvis, a white Southerner who sold Middle America on a black man's game. Like Elvis, he paid a terrible price, becoming a prisoner of his own fame.
Set largely in the South, Kriegel's "Pistol," a tale of obsession and basketball, fathers and sons, merges several archetypal characters. Maravich was a child prodigy, a prodigal son, his father's ransom in a Faustian bargain, and a Great White Hope. But he was also a creature of contradictions: always the outsider but a virtuoso in a team sport, anexuberant showman who wouldn't look you in the eye, a vegetarian boozer, an athlete who lived like a rock star, a suicidal genius saved by Jesus Christ.
A renowned biographer -- "People" magazine called him "a master" -- Kriegel renders his subject with a style that is, by turns, heartbreaking, lyrical, and electric.
The narrative begins in 1929, the year a missionary gave Pete's father a basketball. Press Maravich had been a neglected child trapped in a hellish industrial town, but the game enabled him to blossom. It also caused him to confuse basketball with salvation. The intensity of Press's obsession initiates a journey across three generations of Maraviches. Pistol Pete, a ballplayer unlike any other, was a product of his father's vanity and vision. But that dream continues to exact a price on Pete's own sons. Now in their twenties -- and fatherless for most of their lives -- they have waged their own struggles with the game and its ghosts.
"Pistol" is an unforgettable biography. By telling one family's history, Kriegel has traced the history of the game and a large slice of the American narrative.
Itemize Regarding Books Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich
| Title | : | Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich |
| Author | : | Mark Kriegel |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 381 pages |
| Published | : | February 1st 2007 by Free Press (first published 2007) |
| Categories | : | Sports. Biography. Basketball. Nonfiction |
Rating Regarding Books Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich
Ratings: 4.08 From 5857 Users | 206 ReviewsNotice Regarding Books Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich
SPOILERSIsiah MaddoxMr. HermanNonfiction 4-15-19The Biography of Pistol Pete was a really good book. Pistol Pete had a very good life and basketball career, winning various awards for basketball. His father really only cared about his success in basketball and not so much his son. I feel like anyone who likes the history of basketball should read this book. This book talks about how Pete grew up, he lived in a group home when he was younger. His mom remarried which meant he was the forgottenPete Maravich was one of the most flamboyant and exciting athletes of the 1970s. This excellent book is actually less about Pistol Pete and much more about his father Press Maravich. Press lost his own father at a young age in a mining fatality in Western PA. His mom remarried and Press became the forgotten stepson in the new family. Press as a youngster was going nowhere fast in a dead-end mining town until he went to a local religious youth group meeting where, perchance, they organized
Not just an in-depth look into the life and career of basketball legend Pistol Pete Maravich, but also the lives of his father, Press, and his sons, Jason and Joshua. Basketball was truly a calling for this whole family, a rollercoaster of ups and downs that have defined and shaped their lives for decades.Im also impressed with how much detailed basketball history was contained in this book. From its early inception to its transformation over the years into the entertainment sport it is today,
A very good biography of an obsessed father who makes his son into one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Press Maravich had his son impressing people like John Wooden with his skills from grade school on. He was determined that his son would be the first million dollar player. Pete loved his dad but never found happiness until his career ended too soon and he found Jesus. He died young of a heart condition that should have killed him 20 years earlier and prevented sports. Decades
The book Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich was not nearly as good as hoped it would be. Maybe its just that Petes life wasnt as interesting as I thought or the author didnt do a great job telling the story, but I wast a big fan of this book. It starts out very slow talking about the story of Petes dad, Press. Press was a great basketball player too as a child. He loved the game more than anyone on any of his teams and he was willing to do anything just to play a few games of basketball. He even
When a fascinating, enigmatic cast of characters encounters a gifted biographer something special happens. This is just such an instance. Im a committed basketball fan, but I knew few details of Petes life and almost none of his fathers. Their combined, symbiotic and parasitic relationship is heartbreaking and fascinating. To read a non-Christian author describe Petes transformation when he met Christ is equally fascinating - almost like reading about him meeting a unicorn. He finds it magnetic,
This is a clear report on the troubled and dysfunctional life of what was perhaps the greatest ball handler and shooting guard in the history of basketball. As is true of life no one gets the great highs without having a matching great burden of lows. Pistol Pete had a perfectionist father who was always pointing out the mistakes rather than celebrating the wonders of his son. His mother was an alcoholic who shot herself. His brother had a daughter he would care for. Pete was introducing show
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