Kareem Abdul Jabbar's Reading List
The basketball star and author of "Coach Wooden and Me" says he looks forward to anything written by Walter Mosley: "I'd be very happy if he wrote a novel every week."
Open in WellRead Daily app →By the Book: Kareem Abdul Jabbar (2017)
NYT By the Book column (2017-06-01).
Source: www.nytimes.com
Makoto Sugawara · Buy on Amazon
"The book explores the swordsmen of medieval Japan and the influence they had on the country. For me, the book is about the convergence of art and athleticism, and its effect on politics."
Melvin Kelley · Buy on Amazon
"This satire peels back some uncomfortable layers of how the races see each other and is just as relevant today as it was in 1967, when it was published."
Ta-Nehisi Coates · 2015 · Buy on Amazon
"Coates's intimate analysis of race as it relates to our physical being, identity and existence really touched me, infuriated me and inspired me."
Joe Louis · Buy on Amazon
"My two favorite boxing books are "Joe Louis: My Life," by Joe Louis with Edna and Art Rust Jr., and "Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson," by Wil Haygood."
Wil Haygood · Buy on Amazon
"These were boxers who, because of their color, were forced to do as much fighting outside the ring as in."
Larry Tye · Buy on Amazon
"Satchel Paige was an inspiration not only because of his battles breaking the color barrier in major league baseball, but because he was an ancient 42 years old when he led the Cleveland Indians to the World Series."
Arthur Conan Doyle · Buy on Amazon
"I also really like "The Hound of the Baskervilles," which was written after Conan Doyle had apparently killed Sherlock in "The Final Problem." I like the complex plot and Sherlock's intensity in solving the case."
Geoff Dyer · Buy on Amazon
"It's become one of my favorite books. The book is made up of fictionalized stories about several jazz greats, like Chet Baker and Thelonious Monk, in which he reveals insights into the men as well as their music."
James Baldwin · 1963 · Buy on Amazon
"Not just because it would give him a better understanding of race relations in America and why it is urgent we do something to address the disparity, but because in understanding that one aspect, he will better understand the needs of all Americans."
Rudyard Kipling · Buy on Amazon
"My favorite authors were Rudyard Kipling ("The Jungle Book"), Robert Louis Stevenson ("Treasure Island"), Alexandre Dumas ("The Three Musketeers") and Sir Walter Scott ("Ivanhoe")."
Robert Louis Stevenson · Buy on Amazon
"My favorite authors were … Robert Louis Stevenson ("Treasure Island")"
Alexandre Dumas · Buy on Amazon
"My favorite authors were … Alexandre Dumas ("The Three Musketeers")"
Ron Chernow · Buy on Amazon
"More practically, I would say Ron Chernow, who wrote the excellent biography "Alexander Hamilton." He's thorough in presenting details but insightful in showing what they mean."