Overview
An honest portrait of the Los Angeles Lakers for the all-weather fan
Genuine fans take the best team moments with the less than great, and know that the games that are best forgotten make the good moments truly shine. This monumental book of the Los Angeles Lakers documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Lakers highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infamous. Such moments include the 33-game winning streak of the 1960s as well as the implosion of the 2004-2005 team. Whether providing fond memories, goose bumps, or laughs, this portrait of the team is sure to appeal to the fan who has been through it all.
Author Biography
Steven Travers is a sports historian and sportswriter who is the bestselling author of numerous books—including One Night, Two Teams and Barry Bonds—and has also written for StreetZebra magazine, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Los Angeles Times. He is a former professional baseball player with Major League Baseball teams the St. Louis Cardinals and the Oakland Athletics. He lives in San Anselmo, California. Art Spander is an award-winning sportswriter, author, and a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and RealClearSports.com. He was awarded the McCann Award, earning him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame "Writer's Wing," and he has also been honored with the Masters Major Achievement Award and the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Oakland, California.
Press Releases
What fans don’t love to relive the good times of their favorite team? Likewise, in a twisted sort of way, what fans can really resist a self-pitying look back on some of those times that tested their allegiance? Those forgettable games, seasons, and plays that made the good times even better?
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Los Angeles Lakers by Steven Travers (Foreword by Art Spander) presents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers. It also unmasks, but doesn’t revel in, the bad, the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly.
In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Lakers highlights, lowlights, wonderful and wacky memories, legends and goats, the famous and the infamous. You’ll relive the thirty-three game win streak but also the failure to win it all in the 1960s. The dazzling passes of Magic Johnson but also the implosion of the 2004-2005 Lakers.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Los Angeles Lakers includes the best and worst Lakers teams and players of all time, the most clutch performances and performers, the biggest choke jobs and chokers, great comebacks and blown leads, plus overrated and underrated Lakers players and coaches. There are Lakers you loved for all the right reasons, and those you couldn’t stand, sublime and embarrassing records, and trades, both savvy and savagely bad. Brawls and fights. Rivalries. Compelling photos. And much, much more.
If you’re a through-thick-and-thin Lakers fan, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Los Angeles Lakers is especially for you. It will remind you of the good and great times and bring a knowing smile about some of those other times, when you proved to yourself just how loyal you are. For everyone else, this warts-and-all portrait of the Lakers will provide countless fond memories, goose bumps, and laughs.