Scott Howard-Cooper – författare

"Thrilling." —Publishers Weekly (starred) | "Riveting." —Library Journal (starred) | "A fascinating look at a fascinating life." —Roland Lazenby, author of Michael JordanThe definitive biography of Steve Kerr, the championship-winning basketball player and head coach of the record-breaking Golden State WarriorsFew individuals have had a career as storied, and improbable, as Steve Kerr. He has won eight NBA titles—five as a player and three as a coach—for three different franchises. He played alongside the best players of a generation, from Michael Jordan to Shaquille O''Neal to Tim Duncan, and learned the craft of basketball under four legendary coaches. He was an integral part of two famed NBA dynasties. Perhaps no other figure in basketball history has had a hand in such greatness.In Steve Kerr, award-winning sports journalist Scott Howard-Cooper uncovers the fascinating life story of a basketball legend. Kerr did not follow a traditional path to the NBA. He was born in Beirut to two academics and split his childhood between California and the Middle East. Though he was an impressive shooter, the undersized Kerr garnered almost no attention from major college programs, managing only at the last moment to snag the final scholarship at the University of Arizona. Then, during his freshman season at Arizona, tragedy struck. His father, Malcolm, then the president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated in Lebanon by terrorists. Forged by the crucible of this family saga, Steve went on to chart an unparalleled life in basketball, on the court and on the sidelines.The only coach other than Red Auerbach to lead a team to the Finals five consecutive seasons, Kerr seems destined for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Steve Kerr is his incredible story, offering insights into the man and what it takes to be—and make—a champion. Drawing upon Scott Howard-Cooper''s years covering Warriors, deep archival research, and original interviews with more than one hundred of the central characters in Kerr''s life, this is basketball biography at its finest.

UCLA basketball is history as much as tradition. From the early days when the lack of reasonable travel options forced the Bruins to play local high school teams, to the World War II years against the studio teams from Hollywood, to the almost surreal success during the 1960s and 70s, to beyond.Jackie Robinson played basketball at UCLA. So did Rafer Johnson. They were part of the era when the Bruins often struggled for wins, strange as that would come to sound for a program that would one day have 88 of them in a row. Lew Alcindor came from the East to dominate, Bill Walton from the West to maintain the greatness, John Wooden from the heartland of Indiana to lead them both, and to lead them all.The Bruin 100 recounts—in order of importance to the sport and the programs—how Wooden nearly didn''t come to UCLA and the moment when Alcindor was glad he did. It chronicles the guard who later won the Nobel Peace Prize, the forward who helped save a life in the afternoon and a team later that night, the center who wasn''t a superstar but played like it to keep the dynasty alive.It brings back the people and the moments, the most storied games in the most successful of programs. The national championships, the loss to Houston in what has been called the Game of the Century. The record winning streak, the loss to North Carolina State in the Final Four that still pains. The coast-to-coast run by Tyus Edney against Missouri, the even-more-improbable run by Larry Brown''s underdog team to reach the title game.Relive the tradition, some parts of which are not even detailed in the record books, through photos and anecdotes and the foreward by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Or live it for the first time.

In the tradition of Blood in the Garden and Three-Ring Circus comes a bold history of the iconic UCLA Bruins championship teams led by legendary coach John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Walton—set against the turmoil of American culture in the 1960s and ’70s. Few basketball dynasties have reigned supreme like the UCLA Bruins did over college basketball from 1965–1975 (seven consecutive titles, three perfect records, an eighty-eight-game winning streak that remains unmatched). At the center of this legendary franchise were the now-iconic players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, naturally reserved personalities who became outspoken giants when it came to race and the Vietnam War. These generational talents were led by John Wooden, a conservative counterweight to his star players whose leadership skills would transcend the game after his retirement. But before the three of them became history, they would have to make it—together. Los Angeles native and longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, Scott Howard-Cooper draws on more than a hundred interviews and extensive access to many of the principal figures, including Wooden’s family, to deliver a rich narrative that reveals the turmoil at the heart of this storied college basketball program. Making the eye-opening connections between UCLA and the Nixon administration, Ronald Reagan, Muhammad Ali, and others, Kingdom on Fire puts the UCLA basketball team’s political involvement and influence in full relief for the first time. “Perceptive and exciting, this is a slam dunk for college hoops fans” (Publishers Weekly).

In the tradition of Blood in the Garden and Three-Ring Circus comes a bold history of the iconic UCLA Bruins championship teams led by legendary coach John Wooden—set against the turmoil of American culture in the 1960s and ’70s. Few basketball dynasties have reigned supreme like the UCLA Bruins did over college basketball from 1965–1975 (seven consecutive titles, three perfect records, an eighty-eight-game winning streak that remains unmatched). At the center of this legendary franchise were the now-iconic players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, naturally reserved personalities who became outspoken giants when it came to race and the Vietnam War. These generational talents were led by John Wooden, a conservative counterweight to his star players whose leadership skills would transcend the game after his retirement. But before the three of them became history, they would have to make it—together. Los Angeles native and longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, Scott Howard-Cooper draws on more than a hundred interviews and extensive access to many of the principal figures, including Wooden’s family, to deliver a rich narrative that reveals the turmoil at the heart of this storied college basketball program. Making the eye-opening connections between UCLA and the Nixon administration, Ronald Reagan, Muhammad Ali, and others, Kingdom on Fire puts the UCLA basketball team’s political involvement and influence in full relief for the first time. “Perceptive and exciting, this is a slam dunk for college hoops fans” (Publishers Weekly).