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 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. Also available on Kindle.


Thumbnails Aug 12

by Tony Medley

Savages (9/10): When Oliver Stone puts his mind to it, he can really make a movie. This one is filled with brutal graphic violence and has constant tension. I asked my friend how she liked it. Her response, "It's riveting, but I don't like it" might be a fairly common reaction. Despite the foolish, teasing way Stone ended it, this is a high-quality, gripping film.

Celeste and Jesse Forever (8/10): An acute, perceptive story of a girl, Celeste (Rashida Jones, who wrote the screenplay), who is too smart for her own good. The film is replete with laugh out loud lines, even though the story is bittersweet. The dialogue is incisive, but filled with F-bombs. This is a comedy for the 21st-Century, capturing life as it is today. While it would be unthinkable to imagine Deborah Kerr or Gene Tierney using an F-bomb, this film does reflect the way some young people talk today, whether it's due to the influence of filmmakers or not. Despite the coarse language, this is an enormously rewarding and entertaining film.

Moonrise Kingdom (8/10): Director Wes Anderson restores what's sorely missing from today's movies, innocent sweetness, in this bizarre tale of two 12 year-olds experiencing their first love. Enhancing its uniqueness are Anderson's quirky cast of characters, story line, and script. This is an Indie that should be high on the list of Oscar®-nominations.

The Amazing Spider-Man (8/10): A new cast, headlined by Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, and a new director, Marc Webb whose only previous effort, 2008's "(500) Days of Summer," was one of the best of the year, breathe fresh life into this tired series and the result is a surprisingly entertaining film, mostly because Stone is such a talented actress that she conveys her infatuation and love for Parker through her incredibly expressive eyes.

The Dark Knight Rises (8/10): A boffo start of an in-air highjacking, amazingly without CGI, paves the way for fine performances by Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, and Marion Cotillard and wonderful tension-enhancing music by Hans Zimmer which allow director Christopher Nolan to keep this dark, almost 3-hour movie moving with good pace.

Easy Money (7/10): To call this brutal crime thriller convoluted would be an understatement. There are so many swarthy characters that it's often difficult to keep them straight. With no good guys, it's long, dark, stark, and humorless. If you can put up with the violence and many confusing characters, though, it's an interesting tale. In Swedish, Serbian, and Spanish.

Killer Joe (5/10): Fine performances by Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Thomas Haden Church, and Gina Gershon are overshadowed by a stirring turn by Juno Temple as a teenaged beauty held hostage by contract killer and cop McConaughey. The film is replete with nudity and foul language, and is torpedoed by disgusting, over-the-top graphic violence and an inane but graphic simulated sex scene in the finale, which earned it an NC-17 rating.

Farewell, My Queen (3/10): Despite a sparkling performance by Léa Seydoux and fascinating cinematography of Versailles, if Marie Antoinette had been required to sit through this slow, talky, paceless telling of the 4 days succeeding the storming of the Bastille she would have pleaded for an early trip to the guillotine. In French.

Ted (1/10): Who would have guessed that a story about a teddy bear who comes to life would be to "Alf" as "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is to "The Sound of Music?" Ted is a smoking, drug taking, foul-talking jerk; too low moral tone for children and too inane for adults.

 

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