IN THE YEAR OF THE BULL: Zen, Air and the Pursuit of Sacred and Profane Hoops

by Rick Telander

A sports columnist captures the excitement of the Chicago Bulls' 1995-96 championship season, from the superhuman efforts of Michael Jordan to the volatile personality of the controversial Dennis Rodman

Genres: Basketball, Sports

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 1999

About the author

Happy to be an author. Happier to have readers! Let me know if you'd like me to talk about anything from my books. I think I remember most of them. (joke)
I went to Richwoods High School in Peoria, got a football scholarship to Northwestern University, and started writing for money (mere pittance) after graduation in 1971.
If you need to know more, let me know. I can go on and on. PS-- I once scored 108 points in a men's league game in Bridgeport, Chicago. Six-foot and under league (I'm, a little over 6-1), four-on-four, gym (McGuane Park) so tiny you had to put your foot against the wall to take the ball out. Henry's Bait Shop (us) vs. Seemo's Schnozzles (all short and mostly drunk). Scorer ran out of room in book. FYI.

Reviews

[Deaken Begay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good, I liked it, and I enjoyed reading this. It caught my attention from the beginning due to its amazing cover it had and the amount of love i have for this sport. This book is more than just about basketball; it teaches valuable life lessons, how life is like on the court and off the court. The emotions, ideas, and struggles behind the game. In this book, it follows the most ruthless, relentless, the most Explosive lock in team ever, the Chicago Bulls. The author takes you on a wild journey through their legendary 1995-96 season. This book dives into not just the games but the lives of the players, coaches. You learn about the team, and the team chemistry they had. The sacrifices they had to make for them to win the championship. The book also talks about the great Michael Jordan and his legendary mindset he had. You also learn about the unusual, strange, and unpredictable personality that Dennis Rodman has, the great leadership, and the basketball IQ of coach Phil Jackson. The book is like a mix emotions, pressure, fame, and touches of teamwork they had. I love this book, it made me feel like i was in the book or like I was there with them at that moment. What I enjoyed about the book was that it was about basketball, and it was about the goat Michael Jordan. Also, I liked how it deeply focused on the people in it, like Michael Jordan, and not just about the game of basketball. I also loved the picture they used for the book too. A quote from the book that I liked was by Michael Jordan, and it said, "I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying". However, I only have one problem with this book, and that is how it just talks and talks not doesn'y focus on the sport moments, which readers might not like, but that is what makes the book unique and different from other sports books. So, heads up, it might feel slow and boring if you want to just read about the sports moments. I would recommend this book to those who are sports fans, athletes, and just anyone who is interested in basketball or the Chicago Bulls. So don't be afraid, relax, and take your shot, who knows you might enjoy this book as well.

[Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very good book

[Demarco C]

i picked this book because basketball is my favorite sport and i like the Chicago bull.And someone also recommended it to me because the person thought it was a good book so i just decided to read it.The story takes place all over because it is a basketball team and it tells all about the bull like when they won championships when they first became a franchise and who played on the team and the best players who played on the team like Michel Jordan Dennis rodman and scotty pipmen.michel jordan is the best player of all time he holds many records and he played like as if there was a super hero was on the court.The main conflict in the bulls industry was when they were loosing very badly in some of there seasons because if they have bad seasons that means they wont go to the finals or even the playoffs.one of the quotes in the book is by Michel Jordan he said "i can accept failure but i can't accept not trying." I think the author wrote this book so people can know more about the Chicago bulls and see how good they are and they still are.The theme in this book would probably be always work hard because the time and the work will eventually pay off.i thought the book was a pretty good book but not better than my other books that i made my good reads on but overall i think the book was good because you don't have to read it two times only once because when you read it you can understand it and its has a good voice through out the book.I would recommend this book because it very good and its one of my favorite book now.

[Robert Clay]

The title is "In the Year of the Bull." The author of my book is Rick Telander. The genre is biography. So far my book is about the Bulls winning their game and now there at an after party. I think the intended audience is any Bulls fans or sports fans in general.

In my book the Bulls just won game 5 in the 1995-96 NBA semis to advance to the finals. They are now at a club, Crobar, celebrating their win. There's a live band there and a reporter is telling about everything he's doing and everything he sees. The band announces that everybody can have a drink on him but management hadn't cleared it yet so they couldn't get drinks yet.

The exciting thing right now in my book is the Bulls win. This win won them the series 4-1. They advanced to play in the NBA finals. What made this even better was who they beat. They beat the hated New York Knicks. They nearly swept them.

I would recommend that athletes or sports fans read this. This book has an inside look at the athletes. It tells about their celebration and what they're doing and everything. I think it's pretty neat that someone is telling you about all of this.

[Mattmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great chronicle of the 1995-1996 Bulls. Amazing how this one feels a little dated now and Telander's Heaven is a Playground (written 20 years prior) feels amazingly contemporary. The difference in the intimacy between author has something to do with it. Also the difference in the energy and passion from a first time writer and an already established one. Still, some interesting facts about the journey of a championship ball club.

[Matthewbruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. Becuase it talked a lot about Micheal Jordon and his career of a baseball and basketball player. It talked about his personal life to. The book talked about some other different players that played for the Bulls. Over all it was a very good book and I enjored reading it.

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about the Chicago Bulls and in the years that they were amazing. It is a great book to me because I love basketball and Michael Jordan is one of my favorite basketball players. Any basketball fan should read it.

[Khalil Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was interesting because i love basketball and the bulls were a legend team because they had the best player ever....micheal jordan