Magic in the air : the myth, the mystery, and the soul of the slam dunk / Mike Sielski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sielski, Mike, 1975- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dunking (Basketball).

African American basketball players--History.

African American basketball players.

Basketball--Social aspects--United States.

Basketball.

Physical Description:

359 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates ; illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : St. Martin's Press, 2025.

Summary:

"The evolution of basketball, and much of the social and cultural change in America, can be traced through one powerful act on the court: the slam dunk. The dunk's history is the story of a sport and a country changed by the most dominant act in basketball, and it makes Magic in the Air a rollicking and insightful piece of narrative history and a surefire classic of sports literature. When basketball was the province of white men, the dunk acted as a revolutionary agent, a tool for players like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell to transform the sport into a Black man's game. The dunk has since been an expression of Black culture amid the righteous upheaval of the civil-rights movement, of the threat that Black people were considered to be to the establishment. It was banned from college basketball for nearly a decade-an attempt to squash the individual expression and athleticism that characterized the sport in America's cities and on its playgrounds. The dunk nevertheless bubbled up to basketball's highest levels. From Julius Erving to Michael Jordan to the high flyers of the 21st century, the dunk has been a key mechanism for growing the NBA into a global goliath. Drawing on deep reporting and dozens of interviews with players, coaches, and other hoops experts, Magic in the Air brings to life the tale of the dunk while balancing sharp socio-racial history and commentary with a romp through American sports and culture."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Preface: The journey

Rise and fall

The soul of innovation

King of the cagers

Lionheart

The farm boy and the fuhrer

The glandular goon

1955

Jumpin' Jackie

The goat

The Hawk's highest flight

The ban

The summit of slam

God on High

Julius

Dr. Dunk

Wrong place, right time

Flying blind

The highest height

Skin deep

Mort de la dunk...?

Acknowledgments

Sources and bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781250287526

1250287529

OCLC:

1429648283