Every kind of sport has its own history that explains how a specific game has come to its modern state. In his book, Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association, Terry Pluto considers basketball history by describing how the ABA was created and merged with the NBA. It is challenging to define the author’s voice because the book is mainly a collection of anecdotes and interviews by various characters, including George Gervin, Julius Erving, and others. This fact allows supposing that the author believes that history is significant to understand sports. It seems that writing this book helped Pluto learn that individuals’ contributions shape a historical event.
The literary work presents many characters, but Dennis Murphy significantly affected me. It is so because Pluto (2007) mentions that he was the founder of the World Football League, the World Hockey Association, World Team Tennis, and others. It is exciting to know that a single individual has left such a significant mark in many sports history. In addition to that, this character is suitable to personify the adage “Sport does not build character, it reveals it.” Even though Dennis Murphy was not an athlete, his achievements demonstrate that some people are born with a natural gift to overcome difficulties and achieve success.
Furthermore, it is impossible to mention that the book is only about basketball and its history. Pluto (2007) often describes that many basketball players had problems with drugs. For example, it refers to Willie Wise and John Brisker. These athletes experienced success, which made them subject to drugs. Thus, one can say that the book teaches that richness exposes people to severe issues. The combination of basketball details, its history, and many accompanying topics forced me to choose this book. That is why I would recommend this literary work to those classmates who would like to know how sports are interconnected with everyday life.
Reference
Pluto, T. (2007). Loose balls: The short, wild life of the American Basketball Association. Simon & Schuster.