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Kareem
The pro-basketball star recalls the highs and lows of his record-breaking career as center for the Los Angeles Lakers
364 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 1990
40 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
54 books643 followersAs a center for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1975 to 1989, American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, originally Lew Alcindor, led the all-time scores in history of national basketball association in 1984.
This former professional player current serves as assistant coach. Typically referred to as Lew Alcindor in his younger days, he changed his name when he converted to Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_...
This former professional player current serves as assistant coach. Typically referred to as Lew Alcindor in his younger days, he changed his name when he converted to Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_...
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 23, 2016
I really think you should read this book for many reasons. "Kareem" is an eloquently written story about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar written by himself. It's a story about his final fiction but he also mixes in facts about his life, making it half biography half story. This story had excellent style and had a very nice structure of events, or storytelling.
"Kareem" should be read by you because it has excellent storytelling. Kareem wrote the story as if you were a distant friend and wanted to know whats happened with his life, but he intertwines past events in areas that they are referenced, such as mentions of his former coach John Wooden when he discusses early career jitters, or talks of his own adolescence when he talks about his so, Amir. He makes it feel as if he were a simple narrator nearing the end of a long trip, and thats really what it is as he is writing about the end of his historic 20 year career.
Another great thing about this book is that it has excellent style. Kareem really showed his knowledge in this novel, and it really caught me by surprise. He used verbs and nouns eloquently and really showed his inner scholar, which i didnt expect considering he spent nearly half his life playing basketball at that time. Now some people might say that this wasn't that good verb choice, but if you read this book in and out you can see that it was very well developed and he integrates things in a sequential but not sequential order that you can really read whether you don't know about the sport or if you're a master of basketball trivia.
Now if you can't see why you should read this story I think you should reread my reasons. The excellent storytelling and the structure of this book are too good to pass up on. The endeing of this story is very intriguing and the reader would love to read about it considering how much it says about Kareem's character. This book is a must-read for an basketball fan and I suggest you pick it up as soon as you can
"Kareem" should be read by you because it has excellent storytelling. Kareem wrote the story as if you were a distant friend and wanted to know whats happened with his life, but he intertwines past events in areas that they are referenced, such as mentions of his former coach John Wooden when he discusses early career jitters, or talks of his own adolescence when he talks about his so, Amir. He makes it feel as if he were a simple narrator nearing the end of a long trip, and thats really what it is as he is writing about the end of his historic 20 year career.
Another great thing about this book is that it has excellent style. Kareem really showed his knowledge in this novel, and it really caught me by surprise. He used verbs and nouns eloquently and really showed his inner scholar, which i didnt expect considering he spent nearly half his life playing basketball at that time. Now some people might say that this wasn't that good verb choice, but if you read this book in and out you can see that it was very well developed and he integrates things in a sequential but not sequential order that you can really read whether you don't know about the sport or if you're a master of basketball trivia.
Now if you can't see why you should read this story I think you should reread my reasons. The excellent storytelling and the structure of this book are too good to pass up on. The endeing of this story is very intriguing and the reader would love to read about it considering how much it says about Kareem's character. This book is a must-read for an basketball fan and I suggest you pick it up as soon as you can
June 30, 2022
This was a quick, nostalgic, delightful read.
I love sports.
I love anyone who tries to be the best at what he does.
I understand and like Kareem more than I used to.
He is a wordsmith.
I love sports.
I love anyone who tries to be the best at what he does.
I understand and like Kareem more than I used to.
He is a wordsmith.
October 10, 2018
If you were to look at this book’s cover, you would think that it looks exciting, but you would be wrong. Don’t get me wrong, this book has lots of basketball information, but it wasn’t really that interesting. Kareem Abdul Jabbar wrote this book and if you didn’t already know, he wasn’t known for being an author. He talks about his last season in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers and how he will miss the game. He also talks about all the other players and what he will miss most about them. He talks about many other things but those are the two major things that caught my eye. I like basketball a lot but this book was just telling me things I already knew. Just because this book was not for me does not mean you will not like it. I gave it a chance just like you should give it a chance too.
April 19, 2010
Kareem jumps around quite a bit time-wise, which is somewhat annoying to me, but it is really interesting to learn what goes on in a career of professional basketball from a player's standpoint. Especially such a great one.
March 16, 2022
The autobiography that I read was Kareem, which was published in 1990 by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Kareem walks us through his backstory, from growing up with racial discrimination and hatred around him in Harlem, New York, to the glory of his remarkable and legendary career in the National Basketball Association. As the Retirement Reaper started to loom over his shoulder after the 1987-88 season, Abdul Jabbar made it clear to the fans and people of the NBA that he will retire after the next season. Approaching his final season in, what he deems as, the greatest association that the sports world has ever experienced, Abdul Jabbar was set to make one last dance around the league and finally bid the world and the association adieu. The first person point of view that this autobiography provided gave us the perspective of being a part of a fantastic organization inside a dominant force of an association. It has opened my eyes to a different perspective of how Abdul Jabbar lived his life and the joys that the game of basketball brought him and his teammates. He was always a shining light of hope for his teammates, and he viewed that of them as well. Abdul Jabbar gave it his all night in and out and played every single game like it was his last every night. The commitment and grit that he brought out onto the court every night assured his teammates of a just victory. But for the opposition, a gritty and challenging night on the hardwood was afoot. In my opinion, I do believe that this autobiography is an amazing reflection of Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s life on the hardwood and his life outside of the game of basketball, including his background and life experiences. From journeying the streets of Harlem, New York searching for opportunities, to fulfilling his dream of playing the sport he loves full time and to be paid to do so.
February 13, 2018
This memoir is filled with important history of the civil rights movement and of a man’s search for personal, spiritual, and societal meaning in the midst of a riotous time. I value the opportunity to know what helped to shape him. I’d love to hear more from him.
February 5, 2024
Lots of insight into Kareem’s final season, including retrospective looks at the locations that impacted him the most. Not sure the diary format was necessary. Could’ve worked just as well as a standard memoir of the season.
March 25, 2025
A diary Kareem kept during his final season. Part diary, part autobiography. Kareem is such a well spoken, intelligent athlete. I have more respect for him after reading this. He's probably one of the two or three greatest basketball players of all time, but doesn't get the respect he deserves.
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October 1, 2019Great
January 25, 2021
An interesting and thoughtful book by a smart professional athlete and icon.
March 3, 2017
Book 6 of my library biography challenge.
2.5 rating
I had no idea who Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was when I picked up his book, which chronicles his last year with the LA Lakers. The book is in journal entry format. Kareem uses many of his entries to flashback to his past - where he started out and some of the experiences along the way. He does this while he comments on what is going on currently in his last season of play. This made the book feel jubbled and not cohesive.
There were so many passages where I felt that I could see how inspiring Kareem was - not only to other players - but the public alike. There was so much potential and so many positive directions that Kareem could have choosen to frame his narrative - just this format did not work - for me anyways.
Also, I for one, always dread play-by-play from sports games... BORING!
There is so much more I'd like to learn about Kareem - some of which he touches on in the book but never really reflects upon - for example converting from Catholicism to Islam. How he mentally physically has conditioned himself to stay compeitive for 20 years!
2.5 rating
I had no idea who Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was when I picked up his book, which chronicles his last year with the LA Lakers. The book is in journal entry format. Kareem uses many of his entries to flashback to his past - where he started out and some of the experiences along the way. He does this while he comments on what is going on currently in his last season of play. This made the book feel jubbled and not cohesive.
There were so many passages where I felt that I could see how inspiring Kareem was - not only to other players - but the public alike. There was so much potential and so many positive directions that Kareem could have choosen to frame his narrative - just this format did not work - for me anyways.
Also, I for one, always dread play-by-play from sports games... BORING!
There is so much more I'd like to learn about Kareem - some of which he touches on in the book but never really reflects upon - for example converting from Catholicism to Islam. How he mentally physically has conditioned himself to stay compeitive for 20 years!
December 14, 2012
Book Review: Kareem
This book is about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his playing career. His playing career was really impressive and long. He played for twenty years. He leads the league record for about every post player stats because he played the longest. This book talks about the difficult challenges that he has to overcome to be a successful player in the league, whenever you get something you want; you have to work at it in order to achieve or receive what you want. Kareem had a great personality and was well liked by everyone that played or coached him. He was a very coachable player. He was able to take any criticism and receive something good out of it.
Kareem was a very good player. His stats were not always mind blowing as much as some players, but he is still one of the all-time greats. He was a player that anyone had trouble playing against. He is a good family guy too.
The book also talks about his family and what he did to be a good father, as much as being a basketball player. He made time for his kids as if he couldn’t live without them. Before he became a father he enjoyed having time with his wife. This book is about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his life. He is a very good individual to be around and was well liked by everyone. This book talks about some strategies as well as how he plays the game. While he is playing basketball, he still made time for his family.
I enjoyed the book and would encourage anyone who likes to read biographies. This book is very educational and helps you understand what you need to do to be successful in life and in basketball if that is what you want to do. I liked this book and would recommend this to people that like basketball or biographies.
This book is about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his playing career. His playing career was really impressive and long. He played for twenty years. He leads the league record for about every post player stats because he played the longest. This book talks about the difficult challenges that he has to overcome to be a successful player in the league, whenever you get something you want; you have to work at it in order to achieve or receive what you want. Kareem had a great personality and was well liked by everyone that played or coached him. He was a very coachable player. He was able to take any criticism and receive something good out of it.
Kareem was a very good player. His stats were not always mind blowing as much as some players, but he is still one of the all-time greats. He was a player that anyone had trouble playing against. He is a good family guy too.
The book also talks about his family and what he did to be a good father, as much as being a basketball player. He made time for his kids as if he couldn’t live without them. Before he became a father he enjoyed having time with his wife. This book is about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his life. He is a very good individual to be around and was well liked by everyone. This book talks about some strategies as well as how he plays the game. While he is playing basketball, he still made time for his family.
I enjoyed the book and would encourage anyone who likes to read biographies. This book is very educational and helps you understand what you need to do to be successful in life and in basketball if that is what you want to do. I liked this book and would recommend this to people that like basketball or biographies.
September 17, 2007
I'm not exactly sure why I liked this book so much. Kareem is a diary from Abdul-Jabbar's last year in the NBA. It is his second autobiography (Giant Steps came out in the early 1980s) and it has a pretty detailed account of the season (even discussing particular regular season games) interspersed with stories from Kareem's past. I guess this is one of the few sports autobiographies that really gives you a feel for the grueling (and often very boring) world of professional sports. Because Kareem had already put out a successful autobiography about "beating the odds", and "overcoming adversity", and "proving his detractors wrong", etc. etc, you get the feeling he wrote this book to entertain himself during the 10 month NBA season. He leaves the sports cliches behind and actually produces some insights into what life as a professional athlete is like.
August 20, 2010
This was a combination of a season diary and a biography. It was interesting hearing about Kareem's childhood as a catholic and his high school and college basketball stories.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews