Swish: The Quest for Basketball's Perfect Shot

Spectacular Sports

by Mark Stewart, Mike Kennedy

From three-pointers to slam dunks, The Quest for Basketball’s Perfect Shot goes beyond the record books and explores all aspects of making a basket. This book features amazing shots, player profiles, and tons of trivia. Authors Mark Stewart and Mike Kennedy cover basketball from the late 1800s to modern times, showcasing top male and female players both at the college level and in the pros.

Genres: Basketball, Sports, Nonfiction

64 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Mark Stewart is an American writer and editor of magazines, books and web sites. He is known for his books on sports, history and popular culture.

Stewart’s first publishing job was Managing Editor of Racquet Magazine (1988–1992), an upscale tennis publication. He continued to edit magazines throughout the 1990s and 2000s, focusing on business publications in the Sports Product, Footwear, Consumer Electronics, Telecommunications and Outdoor Recreation industries. He also pursued numerous writing freelance assignments during this time, many of which focused on sports and popular culture. His corporate clients included Walt Disney, Pizza Hut, Denny’s, The Children’s Television Workshop, Woodstock ’94 and the NBA. He wrote the copy for the league’s 1992 sales catalog and created the slogan “I Love This Stuff.”

Stewart published his first book in 1992, The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Baseball Cards (Crown Books). In 1994, Stewart helped International Masters Publishing create its popular Sports Heroes, Facts & Feats continuity product. He oversaw a team of 38 freelance sportswriters that produced more than 500 gatefold athlete profiles.

Also in 1994, Stewart was hired by Grolier to author the All-Pro Biography book series of authorized biographies. The series was aimed at reluctant readers, and featured athletes recounting the challenges and triumphs of their childhoods. Among the athletes Stewart worked with on the series were Dan Marino, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Barry Sanders, Isiah Thomas, Chris Mullin, Martin Brodeur, Tony Meola, Jeff Gordon and Florence Griffith-Joyner. With his reputation established as a sports author in the educational publishing field, Stewart continued to author sports books for Grolier, Franklin Watts, Children’s Press, Millbrook Press and other companies in the field. He also wrote books under the pen names Rachel Rutledge and Caleb MacLean.

Reviews

[Shashwat]

Amazing

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gr 4-8-Stewart and Kennedy offer an engaging history of the sport, followed by profiles of some of the most impressive shots of all time and the players who made them. Whether they are discussing amazing feats at the college or professional level, the tone is conversational and informative. As students are reading the chapter on different types of shots, they might be surprised to learn that the slam dunk was originally considered poor sportsmanship. Plenty of action photographs complement the text. The authors point out that basketball is the one sport that women have played as long as men, and the book achieves a good balance of coverage of men's and women's accomplishments in the game. This title is not as broad in scope as John Hareas's Basketball (DK, 2003) or Keltie Thomas's How Basketball Works (Maple Tree, 2005), but it is a solid addition. Casual fans and die-hard followers of the game will find a wide range of information in an accessible and compact package.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information

[Alecp]

10/5/11
swish is so far a good book. wright now it is talking about the person who invented basket-ball.
his name is Dr. james naismith. he made it in 1891 at the Y,M,C,A training school in springfield

[Jazmyn P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Think That This Was A Good Book, Becuase I Reallt Injoy Basketball.

[Raysean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book and this was one of my favorite books that i've read over the summer for my summer reading this year.I recommend this book for anyone who likes basketball

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells you all about basketball. Who created it, all the different shots and who was known for that specific shot or move. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes basketball and learning about the legends of basketball.