Historical Dictionary of Basketball

By (author) John Grasso

Hardback - £96.00

Publication date:

15 November 2010

Length of book:

532 pages

Publisher

Scarecrow Press

ISBN-13: 9780810867635

In less than 120 years an activity invented by one man to alleviate winter boredom for a college gym class has evolved into a worldwide multi-billion dollar enterprise. It is impossible for Dr. James Naismith, basketball's inventor, to have envisioned the extent to which his simple game would reach. Without major changes to his original 13 rules, basketball is now played in more than 200 countries by people of all ages. Thanks to basketball, players like Michael Jordan, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal have become some of the most famous people in the world.

The Historical Dictionary of Basketball is a comprehensive account of all forms of basketball—amateur, professional, men's, women's, Olympic, domestic, and international—from its invention in 1891 through the present day. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 600 cross-referenced dictionary entries on the people, places, teams, and terminology of the game.
Overall, this is a useful source for getting the basic facts on basketball history. Recommended for academic libraries with sports collections as well as public libraries.