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When the sportswriter John Feinstein began
hanging out once a week with
legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach and his chums at a restaurant called
The China Doll, he realized right off the bat that he’d found a great character
for a book. His purpose in Let Me Tell You a Story, therefore, is to
create a memorable portrait of Red.
The coach holds up his end of the enterprise by providing a host of compelling
stories which he delivers with an irreverent point-of-view and his victory cigar
lit at all times. Red even smokes in banned areas. The first time Feinstein
meets him, Auerbach lights up in a TV studio.
Every time old Red opens his mouth, the reader is spellbound. You learn, for
example, that if the coach gets a hot dog at a ballgame, the dog had better be
of sufficient quality—for instance, it needs to be hot—or the Athletic
Director’s going to hear about it. You learn not to interrupt his card game. And
you learn that Red is somewhat superstitious.
Of course, you also hear a bunch of offbeat tales about Red’s long career in the
N.B.A. Most of the greats get talked about here, including Chamberlain, Russell,
and Kareem.
The humorous stories, however, focus on Heinsohn, who kept up with Red in the
smoking department (he usually had a cigarette at halftime), and who experienced
paranoia when in Poland.
The reader won’t come away enlightened if the goal was to find the meaning of
life; for that, you should try The Brothers Karamazov. In Let Me Tell
You a Story, you get to know Red.
Review by Todd Robins, December 9, 2005 |
