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Recommendation: The FreeDarko Book
By Jamie Mottram | October 29, 2008
Let’s get the disclosures out of the way first. The mastermind behind this title is Nathaniel Friedman A.K.A. Bethlehem Shoals, who worked with me at FanHouse and works with Chris at The Sporting Blog. Plus, any recommendation of mine for a book authored by a sports blogger is tainted, but let’s be honest. I’m not writing anything over 500 words anytime soon.
With that out of the way and the season upon us: Run don’t walk. FreeDarko Presents … The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac is a brilliant book; flawlessly executed and beautifully illustrated (by the artist Big Baby Belafonte). It’s broken into six chapters — Master Builders, Uncanny Peacocks, Lost Souls, Phenomenal Tumors, People’s Champs and Destiny’s Kids — with each chapter containing extended essays, full-page illustrations and absurd-yet-telling stats on three players. And the end of each chapter is a subsection carrying the theme to its natural conclusion. In the case of Master Builders, there’s Jerseys for Every Occasion (i.e. Phil Jackson’s Knicks throwback for a Civil War reenactment).
I could go on all day, but check it out for yourself and, if you care at all about today’s NBA, buy this book. Especially you Wiz fans, as the foreword is by Gil. And, yes, Arenas is an Uncanny Peacock.* Of course he is.
* Read the Arenas excerpt and see what I’m on about here.
Topics: Recommended, Bookworm, NBA, Blog Stuffs |
5 Responses to “Recommendation: The FreeDarko Book”
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October 29th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Also, everyone should buy a copy of the amazing Gilbert print. The small version is limited to a run of 100 while the large one is limited to just 10.
I already copped a small one.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:39 am
And yes, the book itself is mind-blowing.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Glad you commented, Maj, because the day the style guide sketches this book is based on came out, we went to a Wiz game.
I’d printed out the sketches and had them courtside to identify what was happening. Two years later, here’s the book. Macrophenomenal!
October 29th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I’m so jealous right now, my fingers can barely clinch to execute a Hip Hip Hooray.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Hey, some people print out sketches to bring to games, and some people print out crib sheets covered with personal information on the referees.