Out of print for more than 30 years, now available for the first time as an eBook, this is the controversial story of John Wooden's first 25 years and first 8 NCAA Championships as UCLA Head Basketball Coach. Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps said, "I used this book as an inspiration for the biggest win of my career when we ended UCLA's all-time 88-game winning streak in 1974."

Compiled with more than 40 hours of interviews with Coach Wooden, learn about the man behind the coach. Click the Book to read the players telling their stories in their own words. This is the book that UCLA Athletic Director J.D. Morgan tried to ban.

Click the book to read the first chapter and for ordering information.


Deep Water (8/10)

by Tony Medley

The year 2007 might go down in history as the year that produced the most horrible movies in Hollywood annals. There have been a few good ones, but there has been a plethora of abominations.

To the rescue, however, is the Documentary industry, which a few weeks ago produced Girl 27, a fascinating portrait of the corruption of MGM and the City of Los Angeles in the late ‘30s.

Following up right on its heels is Deep Water, the true story of Donald Crowhurst, a 36-year-old father of four. At best a weekend yachtsman, in 1968 Crowhurst found himself at the head of a failing business. He came across an announcement in the Sunday Times of the first non-stop, single handed round-the-world sailing race, with two prizes of £5,000, one to the first man home and the other to the fastest time.

As if it were scripted for tragedy, to make matters worse, Crowhurst gets financing for the construction of his trimaran from a local businessman, Stanley Best, who forces Crowhurst to agree to reimburse Best for the cost of building the boat if Crowhurst doesn’t finish the race. The result is that Crowhurst faces financial ruin if he doesn’t finish.

Crowhurst is going for the fastest time, but there is a time limit on departures, October 31, due to bad weather below 40° South. All the other competitors have long since left but delivery of Crowhurst’s boat is delayed by construction problems. When he finally does leave, in the nick of time, the boat isn’t ready.

This and everything else is shown through archival films and personal interviews with Donald himself, Donald’s wife, Clare, one of his sons, Simon, and a few other people who were intimately involved in the project.

Directors Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell have used Crowhurst’s original 16mm films and tape recordings to reconstruct his tragic journey, including the Byzantine scheme he concocts to try to win the prize without actually doing the deed. All the time there are flashes to his loving wife and son, and their comments on what he was doing and how she felt about it. Clare is shown commenting at the time and now, almost 40 years later. There are some shots of Crowhurst on his boat that were recovered when the boat was recovered, but not as many as you might have seen had you seen the similar tales of single yachtsmen tackling the sea alone on The Discovery Channel and such. Even so, it’s a compelling portrait of a man who is terminally befuddled and ends up abandoning his wife and children because he can’t face the music.

 

top