By Craig Windham
Ranking:
This is a post-humus biography written about the late Celtic all-star. It is a very moving book that honors the man and tells the truth about the alleged cocaine charges reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The book covers his growing up, his years on the legendary Dunbar high school team, arguably the greatest high school team in history, on which he came off the bench. (His teammates included Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Williams, and David Wingate). It covers the recruiting and college years at Northeastern and his years on the Celtics. His growth from a low-first round pick into a budding superstar. It covers the bitter contract negotiations with the Celtics (More information on this can be found in The Selling of the Green), his collapse in the 1993 finals his following medical examinations and his death shortly thereafter.
The book points out facts that I did not know, such as Lewis came from a family with a history of heart problems. His brother was operated on at a very young age. His mother did have a drug problem and his mother and wife did not get along, and this book goes into that. It also goes into his community work, such as handing out turkeys to the homeless on Christmas. After reading this, and also John Lucas' book, Winning a Day at a Time, it's pretty obvious to me that Lewis was not a cocaine user and this book clears up that misconception (The story used unfounded speculation to come to their libelous conclusion). The book shows Lewis to be a really decent guy, but not necessarily his wife. It's not bitter in the way it is demonstrated and this isn't calling for Lewis to be canonized. I was really impressed by the honesty of this book.
Insight: 2
History: 1987-1992
Readability: 4
Reggie Lewis: Quiet Grace. Craig Windham . 1995.
