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Unfinished Business: On and Off the Court With the 1990-91 Boston Celtics |  | Author: Jack McCallum
Publisher: Summit Books
Category: Book
List Price: $21.00
Buy New: $20.00
as of 7/30/2010 23:11 PDT details
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Seller: KeepReading
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 548748
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition - 1st Printing
Pages: 257
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.9 x 1
ISBN: 0671733745
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.323640974461
EAN: 9780671733742
ASIN: 0671733745
Publication Date: January 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good, but ultimately forgettable. March 8, 2010
David Okubo (Honolulu, HI)
Jack McCallum is the NBA's Stephen King.
How do I get that, you may wonder? Well, here's what I think: McCallum is a solid writer, and never fails to keep the reader interested -- but ultimately, he's not great, and his work is nothing spectacular. What this book is MOST CERTAINLY NOT is an updated version of Halberstam's "Breaks of the Game," a landmark work in NBA and sports nonfiction that truly captured the complete essence of the Association at a given point in time -- something that McCallum alludes to attempting in the introduction. McCallum's writing, unlike Halberstam's, does not elevate the material into something more poignant than writing about sports; rather, what McCallum does well is portray characters, and it is the outstanding characters he documents who carry his work and make it memorable.
Of course, the character who defines "Unfinished Business" is Kevin McHale, the Celtics' power forward. Ever-present and almost always quick with a quip, McHale was the most quotable and reliable Celtic through the entire narrative. And yet, as McHale would be the first to notice and tell you, the entire book is overshadowed by the presence of basketball legend Larry Bird -- but somehow, in the midst of spending an entire season with the Celtics, McCallum comes away with an infirm sense of who Bird is. We see Bird, but we do not know him, not like we know McHale or Dee Brown or the coaching staff. Much of this is due to Bird's reticence and love of privacy, but all the same: for a year with the Celtics, there needs to be more of Larry Bird.
What McCallum has always done best is capture the NBA's new important player trait in the money era: ego -- in his newer book, "Seven Seconds or Less," the focus was on the perpetually insecure Shawn Marion, requiring reassurances from Suns coaches -- here, the main ego in question is McHale's, a man trapped between amusement, contentedness, and disappointment and playing perpetual second fiddle to Larry Bird.
In fact, I consider this a direct predecessor to "SSOL." Both the 90-91 Celtics and the 05-06 were immensely talented teams, expected to compete for championships, who ultimately ended up exiting the playoffs short of the ultimate stage. I loved those Suns teams, but "SSOL" never left a lasting impression on me past the wry wits of Mike D'Antoni and the Suns' coaches. "Unfinished Business" is ultimately the same -- a fun, quick read that lacks true depth or insight. Months from now, what I'll remember most are McHale's demented jokes.
But, all the same, if you're any sort of a Celtic, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, or NBA fan, read this book, if only for a glimpse into one season in the early 90s, when the Celtics were beginning their decline. And, for fun, read "The Jordan Rules," another cross-section of the exact same season, told from the part of the ascendant Chicago Bulls and one Michael Jordan.
 It was an excellent read back then and it's still that way today. January 26, 2009
Roland Lazenby
I read this back in the day. Basketball books have been a whole lot of miss and very little hit over the years. This wasn't a hugely successful commercial project because the Celtics weren't winning big by the time Jack wrote this. That's the only reason it wasn't a hit. Otherwise, it's a fun read. Every bit as perceptive about the early 90s as 007 is about fun and gun in the Suns. And the characters are larger. Those old Celtics will light up the horizon in basketball lit for years to come. Bird, McHale, Chief, and the rest fighting against the dying of the light. Sweet words about a sweet team and a sweet game.
Roland Lazenby
author of The Show
Just about the best behind the scenes look at an NBA team I've read.. April 16, 2006
Joseph C. Sweeney (Portland, Maine)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Right up there with Halberstam's "The Breaks of the Game". A terrific read by a writer whom I wish would have produced more work in the following years. McCallum does a terrific job for SI today, but it's books like this that leave me wanting more from him.
For any Celtics fan of the Bird Era, this book opens doors that would have otherwise have stayed closed: we get to see the biting yet inclusive humor of the aging C's, especially McHale, as well as the overall intelligence of the team that produced a slew of future NBA coaches and GM's. This was a team to be admired and maybe even loved, despite their lack of a championship.
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