Golden Boys, story of the 1992 USA Olympic Basketball Team, fantastic book, chapter on each player in the lead up to the Games, then follows them through Tournament of Americans to Barcelona. Wonderful insight to the personalities of those players.

Sacred Hoops - Phil Jackson, bit hippy, but brilliant views on coaching and motivating people.

Jordan Rules - classic book, need I say more.

Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson
Driven from Within by Michael Jordan
The Jordan Rules
Mind Games by Roland Lazanby
Andrew Gaze Story by Andrew Gaze
Michael Jordan and the World He Made by David Halberstam

Oh yeah, nice one Kent, Andrew Gaze story. Not sure if Amazon will sell it though?

To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever
A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the Duke-North Carolina Basketball Rivalry
By Will Blythe

Thanks guys.

For those who are like me and don't really read basketball books, feel free to recommend any other books and I could add in another category.

For those interested, I've recently read:

- The Road - thought it was excellent, I rarely find time to read but got through this in a day
- The God Delusion - preaching to the choir for me, but might not be for all
- Ludmila's Broken English - worth reading
- We Need to Talk About Kevin - decent
- Neuromancer - liked it, but not for all

Currently reading Quicksilver (first book of The Baroque Cycle) and Selling Sickness. On my shopping list: Pattern Recognition, Atonement, some more Richard Dawkins, maybe Diamand Age, Cryptonomicon (read a friend's copy, want one of my own - possibly my favourite book), and Guns Germs and Steel.

Not on Amazon, but has anyone read the book Merv Harris wrote? I read a manuscript many years back before it was published, but never saw it after it was published.

Basically history on basketball in SA from his perspective, some great stories in there.

My Life - Earvin 'Magic' Johnson

read it many years ago - finished it in about a week - then immediately read it again :)

My fav of all time is "You must steal this book" by i cant remember

It was a crazy how to book about pick up ball in america in the late 70's

what shirt where not cool to wear in what suburbs, how to tie your laces in the best way with accompanying diagrams and even rated all the best pick up games in the whole continent and then rated them out of five.

There was even a chapter specific on how to get into gyms for free and a solution for getting snow off of a court by pouring fuel over it and setting fire to it.

Bad As I Wanna Be - Dennis Rodman.

Yeah, Magic write a good book, nice one by Larry too.

One of my favourite stories, when they in the NBA at a photo shoot Magic admitted they didn't speak whilst playing college, to which Larry replies, "I did, said 'in your face'".

Also i will throw in "The Wolf of Wall Street' by Jordan Belfort.

One crazy true story of what a thirty something guy making a million dollars a week manipulating the worlds stock markets whilst off his face on many many drugs did in the 1990's

I read an excellent book called Personal Fouls, was about N.C State and coach Jim Valvano. An exposure piece by one of his assistants. How they dudded exam scores, players let loose to do as they please, how the team was stoned before many games. Chris Washburn was in the team, was drafted highly and did nothing, was always off his chops.

I read the book 'A.K.A' by Phil Smiythe
Looked to be potentially a great read but there wasn't much substance once you delved into it.
The forward was by Philip Sa(u)nders

"Shantaram", Gregory David Roberts.

Dude escapes from jail in Australia, runs to NZ, gets a fake passport, runs to India, gets robbed, loses all his money and passport, stuck in India. Lives in the slums of Mumbai (Bombay), learns local languages, mixes with all sorts of crazy people, spends time in jail, fights the Russians in Afganistan, part-time doctor, incredible true story.

I believe it'll even be a movie soon.

It would be a tough run from Australia to NZ and even tougher from NZ to India. Especially when you have to stop off and heal blind men and turn water into wine as well.

Jordan Rules- Already mentioned along with a few other MJ books.

Showtime- 80's Lakers stories
Dennis Rodman- I Should Be Dead By Now
John Starks- Autobiography
Clyde Drexler- Autobiography. Drexler opens up.

I have others sitting on my bookshelf @ home courtesy of Amazon.

Borders Rundle Mall have a good range, but via Amazon works out cheaper.

7 seconds or less, a year with the Phoenix Suns is a great book but a bit short.

Also read the God Delusion and tried to read the bible afterwards to be a smartarse but couldn't get thru it all.

Recollections of a bleeding heart by Don Watson has just been re-released, and is a great read if you want to send yourself back to the days of Australia's most loved and hated prime minister Paul Keating (depending on who you are). I'm right near the end with the elevation of Howard to the liberal leadership, once again either a depressing or joyous read depending on your outlook.

Phizzer- I read Shantaram about 2 or 3 years ago, and it was one of the best books I ever read.
Don't be put off by it's size- once you start reading it, you won't be able to stop.
I also heard they are turning it into a movie- not sure if any casting has been decided though.
Another good one I read was Marching Powder about the coke trafficking that goes on in Bolivia' strangest jail, where inmates are forced to buy their cells and their families actually move in with them- an Aussie guy went over and interviewed a big bad-ass guy and at one point, wasn't sure if he'd make it out alive.

Another good one is a Portrait of Power which is about Allan Fels- the previous ACCC Chairman who went after all the big fish and made them accountable for screwing over customers, until he pissed off Johnny boy and his big business mates and they got rid of him for doing his job properly and replaced him with that Graham Samuels guy with no teeth.
Fels tells it like it is.
There are heaps of awesome books I've read but can't think of much else at the moment...
Catch Me if You Can is also good- much, much better than the movie, as is always the case....

Marching Powder - True story about a guy arrested in South America for drug smuggling and thrown into the most bizarre prison where you can buy whatever you want. Amazing read.

For a much better description: Amazon

Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley (wrestler mankind/cactus jack) is a very good read. Maybe not for all, but if you like wrestling and fat guys coming out on top, get onto it

Thanks again - have added in those I could find. Have also read Marching Powder - interesting enough and easy to get through.

Season on the Brink - Bob Knight & the Indiana Hooisers 1982 Season. NY Times best sellet

Bob Knight - My Story is a great book.

'Stuff good players should know' - Best hoops book ive read for players.

White men cant jump, hard back edition.