Barney Polan's Game: A Novel of the 1951 College Basketball Scandals

By Charley Rosen

Book Overview

A New York Times Notable Book In Barney Polan's Game, Charley Rosen takes on the legendary point-shaving scandals of 1950 and '51, when the best of the college basketball players took money from gamblers in return for affecting the outcomes of games, never knowing that in the process they were trading in their innocence and love of the game-until they were caught, and the scandal moved them from the sports pages to the news pages across the nation. No one will walk away from the scandals unscathed; many of the guilty will have their lives and careers ruined, others among the guilty will end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1888363568
• ISBN13: 9781888363562
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

nobody asked me but

this was a great read i almost lived through that era as im 65... used to go to old garden..and bet on doubleheaders.... always thought and knew mindy rudolph was on the take..... reccomend highly je

dribbling bits of hilarity

i must tip my proverbial hat to rosen for his comical attempt to personify some of these characters. the dialog spits out in the most vile of all stereotypes. had hip-hop existed in the time frame, i'm sure rosen would've had a few laughable rhymes. all in all though the read is worthy of your time. it rolls out so fast that one is finished before one approaches "waste of time" status. had this pile of words lingered on for much longer, it would qualify as fertilizer. the scene with the pathetic father eating crackers and tomato soup was gut-bustingly good. the descriptions of jerking off are priceless, perhaps suggesting that rosen is indeed himself a chronic wanker. solid, heady material....no doubt.

Pretty good

This book will keep your interest because the subject matteris fascinating. Rosen's writing style is direct -which is anotherplus. His portrayals of people and their intrwoven stories are well done. The flaws in the book are such dramatic events such as these could be described in greater detail-detail that could have been gripping. He kind of glosses over some of the actual events opting for recounts. Also, it seems some of the basketbal vernacular sounds like 1998 instead of 1951. This is a minor criticism- and for all I know may be off base as I wasn't around in 1951. In short, I recommend this as a nice, light read. It could have been a little better, but any basketball fan should enjoy reading Barney Polan's Game