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July 27, 2006
New Reference Book...Basketball: a biographical dictionary
I am pretty sure that I ordered this book, and since I am the Thompson Library's resident Sports Person I suppose I should do a review of it. The title of the book is Basketball: a biographical dictionary and the call number is GV 884 .A1 B37 2005. This is a reference book, so it will be shelved on the third floor in the reference collection.
The editor, David Porter, is a professor of history at William Penn University in Iowa. Which means that I just learned something new right there, as I was not previously aware of the existence of William Penn University in Iowa. The contributors come from a wide range of professions including librarians, authors, professors, and athletic directors. Most are from academic backgrounds.
The entries are brief biographies of various people associated with the game of basketball, including players, coaches, and others. Most entries are about six paragraphs or so, and include several citations to other sources of information on the person in question.
Overall, this is a good reference work for anyone interested in basketball. I do have some bones to pick with the editor for not including enough women players and coaches, and especially for not including Detroit Shock standouts Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, and most especially my favorite player and Flint native Deanna Nolan. Perhaps another volume just focusing on women in basketball would be a good idea. Perhaps I will write it myself. Other than that, I recommend this book to the hoops fan and researcher.
Posted by prygoski at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)