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Hoop Dreams: True Story of Hardship and Triumph, The

Hoop Dreams: True Story of Hardship and Triumph, The

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Author: Ben Joravsky
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book

List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $13.94 (100%)



New (29) Used (61) Collectible (2) from $0.01

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 22 reviews
Sales Rank: 404935

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9

ISBN: 0060976896
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3230922
EAN: 9780060976897
ASIN: 0060976896

Publication Date: March 13, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Cover wear and may contain some marks or writing. Keen Northwest ships in 2 business days or less. Refunds for any reason if item returned within 30 days of shipment.

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
For nearly five years Arthur Agee's and William Gates' remarkable lives were chronicled by a team of filmmakers. Roughly 250 hours of film were devoted to their journeys from the playgrounds to high school competition to college recruitment and -- whittled down to three hours -- it became the award-winning film Hoop Dreams. Now journalist Ben Joravsky vividly brings to light all the richness and subtlety of their stories, and the impact their aspirations had on themselves, their families and their relationships. It is an intimate look, complete with an up-to-date epilogue on the latest developments in their lives.


Customer Reviews:   Read 17 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars A nice story for young men of any ethnicity   October 4, 2007
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book is a story of a basketball player who makes his dreams come true with persistence and a ambitious will. It does have some profane words that come about sporadically as your read but the story is not consumed by them. They are in there though so beware if a young child wants to read this story.


5 out of 5 stars Greater Insight into the Hoop Dreams Movie   June 22, 2007
This is excellent reading if you enjoyed the movie. It just gives the reader a deeper look into the lives of Arthur and William. There is so much detail we didn't get in the movie. In the book, we learn about additional family members and best friends. Who knew William lived with his sister when he started attending St. Joes? We found out more about race relations at St. Joes and that William had janitorial duties at the school to offset his financial obligations. There's more to how William felt about Coach Pingatore. We learn more about Arthur and his relationship with his father. Best of all, there is more about their lives once they begin college. It's a must read for everyone who enjoyed the movie.


5 out of 5 stars Hoop Dreams   June 13, 2007

Summarized by, Isaac Sarate

Two kids dream of playing basketball is offered a chance to shine. Who will succeed, and who will fail? It all begins in the city Of Chicago; two young athletes are offered to play basketball at a private school. This school is known as a basketball powerhouse. The often required pay for enrollment but since these gifted athletes play basketball and play it well the school pays for the expense. The only requirement to get this scholarship is to maintain a passing GPA.
The young boys by the Name of William Gates and Arthur Aggee are in a documentary of the life in the hood trying to succeed at basketball and life. Arthur comes from rough life of abusive, drug dealing, never there dad. He struggles to adapt to the private school. He soon is released due to failing grades and no money to maintain him enrolled. Arthur returns to his former high school. He never gives up his dream and works on every aspect of his life school, family, basketball, and most importantly his belief in himself. While all the hard times in his life he becomes stronger at basketball proving many wrong.
While Arthur was struggling at the beginning William gates was competing highly at the varsity level as a freshmen. He played 3 strong years for the school school. Offered many scholarships William comes to the point where the S.A.T.S gets in his way of his dreams of playing college ball. His final year as a senior playing basketball was cut short with injury to his knee. Rehabbing his knee while his teams try's to return to state. Will William Gates be able to play again in high school let alone play in college?
The most inspirational part of the story was when Arthur's father really distracts Arthur's focus on basketball and school, with abuse and violent drug dealing lifestyle. He took money from the family and left them with out electricity for weeks. Many troubling times was brought to Arthur but the never gave up or even gave in on his lifetime goal. He studied in the dark and took care of his family. Arthur rose above all negatives in his life and managed to stay focused. He completed his goals. That really inspired me! It taught me no matte what the situation is make best of it and never give up.
The main theme of this book is clearly to never give up. Like what I wrote in the above paragraph, many obstacles might get in your way but, if you're positive and focuses things will workout. Hard work and dedication does pay off in the end.
This book is a book I really encourage people to read. It teaches you the lifestyle of kids in the hood. The troubling time many of those young kids go threw really show you in this book. Life lessons are addressed in many different ways. The kid's choices, the downfall in family, grades, collage, and how it affects you and others. People who have trouble in believing in them selves should read this, and it would make them stronger.



5 out of 5 stars this book is off the hizzy   January 18, 2007
this story is about two young boys the grew up off the street playing basketball. They both went to the N.B.A. to play basketball and were very good and this was my favorite book of all time and i havent seen the movie but it looks good


5 out of 5 stars Great Book   December 14, 2005
Hoop Dreams was probably one of the best books I've ever read. I don't think I would have liked it so much if it hadn't been based on a true story. This book is about two inner city kids from Chicago who aspire to play in the NBA. Although the odds aren't in their favor (only one out of every 7,600 high school players make it to the NBA) they still live for basketball. Without basketball these two boys would have nothing to them. Ben Joravsky does a good job of re-telling the story and showing all the problems these boys faced in there life. If it wasn't for basketball they probably would be out on the street trying to make a living. Throughout the story you feel as if you get closer and closer with the characters, and since it's spanned out over four years, it's as if they are growing and maturing right in front of you. Listening to Arthur's part of the story always kept me amused because he's a funny kid that everybody seems to like. William's story is focused more on the St. Joseph basketball team because that's pretty much all he cares about. This book was definitely a good read and I recommend it to anybody who likes books. Not just sports books either because this book goes beyond the boundaries of sports and is a compelling story about two inner city kids who defied the odds.

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