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. This is the only book that gives a true picture of the character of John Wooden and the influence of his assistant, Jerry Norman, whose contributions Wooden  ignored and tried to bury.

Compiled with more than 40 hours of interviews with Coach Wooden, learn about the man behind the coach. The players tell their stories in their own words.

Click the book to read the first chapter and for ordering information. Also available on Kindle.

Thumbnails Jun 18

by Tony Medley

Chappaquiddick (9/10): This excellent film seems painstakingly unbiased, painting Senator Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) as an egotistical, arrogant, selfish, blackguard who cared only for himself and his family name. It also shows Kennedy stalwarts like JFK speechwriter Ted Sorensen (Taylor Nichols) and JFK and LBJ Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Clancy Brown) to be equally vile perverters of the truth in doing anything to help Teddy escape the blame that was justly his for driving off Dike bridge and running away without reporting it or lifting a finger to help Mary Jo Kopechne (well-played by Kate Mara) trapped in the car underwater. Of course buddies Joe Gargan (Ed Helms) and Paul Markham (Jim Gaffigan) are shown as also complicit since they both could also have reported it in time, and didn’t. The film is well directed with fine pace by John Curran from a script by Taylor Allen and Andrew Logan, neither of whom had any knowledge of the incident until hearing about it on the Bill Maher TV show in 2008. The acting is good although Clarke’s accent doesn’t come close to the distinctive Kennedy brogue. Some of the best scenes involve the appearances of Bruce Dern in an awards-quality performance as the stroke-disabled Joe Kennedy.

Back to Burgundy (8/10): Highlighted by beautiful cinematography (Alexis Kavyrchine) shot on location in real Burgundy vineyards, this is a compelling view of winemaking as it really exists in France. But the story is good enough that it need not depend on the cinematography for validation. The acting is superb, as is the script (director Cédric Klapisch and Santiago Amigorena). Lots of people might eschew this because it’s in French and Spanish with subtitles. If so, they will be missing a terrific film, whether wine connoisseurs or not. In French, English, and Spanish.

The Seagull (8/10): This is the play that was the game-changer for Doctor/writer Anton Chekhov. When first performed in 1896, the actors were laughed and hooted off the stage. But when the legendary Konstantin Stanislavsky directed and starred in a second production two years later, it got a boffo response from audience and critics, allowing Chekhov to go on to become one of the great playwrights of all-time. Chekhov himself described it as “a comedy with three female roles, six male roles, four acts, a landscape, much conversation about literature, little action, and five tons of love.” Translated by a terrific cast, this is as heavy as you might expect, but well worth it.

Borg vs. McEnroe (6/10): This predominately Swedish film tries to construct the personalities and characters of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe in telling the story of their rivalry. It does a much better job with Borg (well-played by Sverrir Gudnason), treating him as a Jesus-like character, but does a hatchet job on McEnroe. Shia Lebeouf’s one-dimensional performance totally fails to capture McEnroe’s tremendous charisma, which overshadowed his sometimes bad boy behavior on the court. Sloppy research and ignorance of the state of tennis at the time and trying to recreate points instead of using video available from Wimbledon greatly diminishes its verisimilitude. Unlike the young whippersnappers who made this film and have no personal familiarity with the Borg-McEnroe rivalry, I lived through these times and saw most of their matches. This film is a great disappointment.

Let the Sunshine In [Un Beau Soleil Interieur] (6/10): Represented as a “deliciously witty, sensuously romantic new film,” I saw nothing witty, sensual or romantic in a depressing story about a needy, love-starved woman, Juliette Binoche, and her equally wanting male assignations, lowlighted by an opening nude lovemaking scene that is more disgusting than loving. In French.

Recommended reading: “The President’s Club” (2012) by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy.