
The Breaks of the Game
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Narrated by:
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Brian Troxell
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By:
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David Halberstam
About this listen
A New York Times best seller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions.
More than six years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his groundbreaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them best sellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves.
The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed. It's about the influence of big media, the fans, and the hype they subsist on, the clash of ethics, the terrible physical demands of modern sports (from drugs to body size), the unreal salaries, the conflicts of race and class, and the consequences of sport converted into mass entertainment and athletes transformed into superstars - all presented in a way that puts the listener in the room and on the court, and The Breaks of the Game in a league of its own.
©2012 David Halberstam (P)2016 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
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Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
- By ATM on 04-09-20
By: John R. Bruning
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The Children
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 32 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The Children is David Halberstam's brilliant and moving evocation of the early days of the civil rights movement, as seen through the story of the young people - the children - who met in the 1960s and went on to lead the revolution.
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awesome and inspiring
- By gsag on 03-26-20
By: David Halberstam
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The Last Goodnight
- A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: Tristan Morris
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Betty Pack was charming, beautiful, and intelligent - and she knew it. As an agent for Britain's MI6 and then America's OSS during World War II, these qualities proved crucial to her success. This is the remarkable story of this "Mata Hari from Minnesota" ( Time) and the passions that ruled her tempestuous life - a life filled with dangerous liaisons and death-defying missions vital to the Allied victory.
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Fascinating
- By Salui on 11-30-16
By: Howard Blum
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Blood in the Garden
- The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks
- By: Chris Herring
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit. Blood in the Garden is a portrait filled with eye-opening details that have never been shared before, revealing the full story of the franchise in the midst of the NBA’s golden era. And rest assured, no punches will be pulled. Which is just how those rough-and-tumble Knicks would like it.
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Great book, horrible performance.
- By Sean Conway on 07-21-22
By: Chris Herring
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Hard to Handle
- The Life and Death of the Black Crowes - A Memoir
- By: Steve Gorman, Steven Hyden
- Narrated by: Steve Gorman
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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An insider biography of the Black Crowes by drummer and cofounder Steve Gorman. In his first-person history of the Black Crowes, Hard To Handle - the first ever account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end - Gorman makes it clear just how impossible that job was. Fortunately, Gorman tells the tale with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like the Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted.
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Please just narrate.
- By keeling on 10-11-19
By: Steve Gorman, and others
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Pacific
- Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this imposing force of nature. Winchester's personal experience is vast and his storytelling second to none. And his historical understanding of the region is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives.
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Political Asides Have Become Bombastic Didactic
- By Mark Patterson on 12-25-15
By: Simon Winchester
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Wish It Lasted Forever
- Life with the Larry Bird Celtics
- By: Dan Shaughnessy
- Narrated by: Dan Shaughnessy
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Before primetime ESPN coverage, lucrative branding deals like Air Jordans, and $40 million annual player salaries, there was the NBA of the 1970s and 1980s. Enter Dan Shaughnessy, then the beat reporter for The Boston Globe who covered the Boston Celtics every day from 1982 to1986. It was a time when reporters travelled with professional teams—flying the same commercial airlines, riding the same buses, and staying in the same hotels. Drawing on unprecedented access and personal experiences, Shaughnessy takes us inside the legendary Larry Bird-led Celtics teams.
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Enjoyable Read
- By Donna Daily on 12-03-21
By: Dan Shaughnessy
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American Civil Wars
- A Continental History, 1850-1873
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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The American Civil War stands at the center of the story, its military history and the drama of emancipation the highlights. Taylor relies on vivid characters to carry the story, from Joseph Hooker, whose timidity in crisis was exploited by Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in the Union defeat at Chancellorsville, to Martin Delany and Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Black abolitionists whose critical work in Canada and the United States advanced emancipation and the enrollment of Black soldiers in Union armies.
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fascinating!
- By Brandon Marken on 07-12-24
By: Alan Taylor
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Showtime
- Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost 300 interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles. From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end - marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV - Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.
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Offended at the style used to voice black characters.
- By NP on 01-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
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The Best and the Brightest
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 37 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Using portraits of America’s flawed policy makers and accounts of the forces that drove them, The Best and the Brightest reckons magnificently with the most important abiding question of our country’s recent history: Why did America become mired in Vietnam, and why did we lose? As the definitive single-volume answer to that question, this enthralling book has never been superseded. It is an American classic.
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Preparation for Ken Burns
- By Chiefkent on 06-12-17
By: David Halberstam
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Leon Russell
- The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History
- By: Bill Janovitz
- Narrated by: Bill Janovitz, Jason Culp
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Leon Russell is an icon, but somehow is still an underappreciated artist. He is spoken of in tones reserved not just for the most talented musicians, but also for the most complex and fascinating. His career is like a roadmap of music history, often intersecting with rock royalty like Bob Dylan, the Stones, and the Beatles.
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A dream come true for Leon Russell fans!!
- By William Straten on 03-15-23
By: Bill Janovitz
What listeners say about The Breaks of the Game
Highly rated for:
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-30-25
Exceptional book and performance.
A classic sports book and work of nonfiction, presented very well. Halberstam at his finest.
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- James E McCormick
- 06-02-20
A look at the past in the NBA
Great look at the Blazers and the NBA era in the late 70s. Halberstam weaves in interesting stories on some famous and not so famous players while illustrating the challenges the league had prior to Bird and Magic coming into the league.
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- Jack M
- 05-10-22
Loved it!
Brought back so many memories of that era and watching these players as a young fan. Really enjoyed both the story and the excellent narration.
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- Ray Shaka
- 11-28-22
Fifty-five 5’s
Great analysis of the building and breaking of a great team and the league in transition.
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- vn
- 11-28-21
Great!
A classic from David halberstam. Takes you back to the days of the early NBA what a great read!
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- LARRY DINKIN
- 05-12-20
The best book about pro basketball
Great behind the scene story of pro basketball in the Walton era. The portraits of the players and coaches are revealing.
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- Michael D. Morris
- 12-05-23
Patience
It starts out a bit slow, but builds in interest and story telling until you get to the point that you’re sad the book is about to end.
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- Mark Davidson
- 04-24-21
Early NBA Lore
Loved the book, especially the parts about Walton and the San Diego Clippers. I was first introduced to basketball in San Diego in late 1978 as a first grader. Was obsessed with the sport especially the high scores and the even taller players. Brought back excellent memories of my early years of fandom.
The writing was excellent and the back story on the players and the league was phenomenal.
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- Books
- 11-19-23
The NBA of 1979-1980
David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game joins Terry Pluto's Loose Balls as my favorite books about basketball, and my favorite portraits of professional sports leagues. They also benefit from having excellent audio productions.
Breaks does so much well, and it's interesting to read about the successes and anxieties of the time. Interesting to see which successes and anxieties of the league remain the same & which successes and anxieties remain different.
If anyone is hesitant to read because of the fact that this book is about a team that ultimately limped into the playoffs in 1979-1980, I would tell you to put your concerns down, because the 1979-1980 Portland Trail Blazers, while clearly being the focus of this book, ultimately serve as a vehicle that tells the story of many. You get portraits of rookies such as Magic Johnson & Larry Bird, the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, Dennis Johnson, the early 1970s Knicks, and how some thought they would eventually be the next dynasty after the Celtics of the 50s & 60s, and so much more.
Time Well Spent.
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- Kyle
- 06-13-18
This book is a must read for all NBA junkies.
This book is a must read for NBA junkies. This covers an in-depth look of the Portland Trail Blazers from 1977-1980. Led by Bill Walton, the '77 Blazers thrilled many basketball purists with their unselfish style of play. Following the '77 season, injuries and chemistry problems led to decline of the team and their unsuccessful pursuit of a potential dynasty.
More importantly, the story also tackles many topics such as race, racism, contract disputes, loyalty, television advertising, team chemistry, team politics, Bill Walton, corruption in college basketball (this is in the 70s which is crazy!), college vs. pros, the Blazers making one of the WORST trade of all time by trading Moses Malone to the Houston Rockets for a bag of chips, a player by the name of Marvin Barnes who could've been the GOAT but ruined his career by doing drugs and many more.
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4 people found this helpful