WHEN I saw the book The Legends Club by John Feinstein on the shelf of Kinokuniya at Takashimaya along Orchard Road in Singapore, I knew I had to get it.
Ever since I read an excerpt of Feinstein’s A Season on the Brink in the pages of Sports Illustrated, I was a fan. I loved the rich detail and behind-the-scenes anecdotes that added so much to the story. It was like you were there.
I expect no less from The Legends Club that tells the backstory of the intra-state rivalry in the 1980s between North Carolina’s Dean Smith, North Carolina State’s Jim Valvano and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
Of course, I discovered similar writers like Jack McCallum, David Halberstam, Frank Deford and others who wrote books like Unfinished Business, The Summer of ’49 and The Old Ball Game, respectively. All those enthralled and inspired me, but A Season on the Brink was the first to fire my imagination, and it figured massively in my eventually becoming a sportswriter.
I later picked up other titles from Feinstein… The Punch (that was about Kermit Washington’s near fatal punch on Rudy Tomjanovich), The Majors (that depicts what it is like in the mind of Professional Golfers Association Tour players), Let Me Tell You a Story (about the famed Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach) and One on One (recollections of the author’s talking to various sports greats in the past two decades).
“That’s a good book,” said the American next to me who was also browsing the sports book section of Kinokuniya.
“Damn good author,” I replied.
He nodded.
“It’s good to see people buying books,” said the American. “You know what they say, ‘a room without books is like a body without a soul.’”
The Legends Club wasn’t the only book I picked up. I also got Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart, a heart wrenching memoir and journey imbued with memories and food. I got my youngest son a pair of manga volumes.
Bookstores have always been a must-go in any foreign country I visit. That and football and record stores
Kinokuniya at Takashimaya has been a must-go for me ever since my first trip to the Lion City in 2007. Even with the old Borders and Harris bookstores, Kinokuniya was my go-to store.
I purchase a wide variety of books—sports, music, war, politics, art and design, comic books and advertising and marketing. Essentially, all the aspects of my work and career.
Being well read is as advantageous as being well traveled. And my bookshelf is as variety as my record shelves. And quite honestly, that sums up who and what I am.
The work of Feinstein, Halberstam, Deford, McCallum, Jackie MacMullan and Rick Reilly have had a significant effect on my writing. My fascination for history has found its way into many of my writing—as such, I have found my own style.
And I have written eight books with two others on the way.
Even if I have written these, including a lot of documentaries, I feel there is so much more to learn and do.
And reading The Legends Club is like going back to basics for me.
May the printed medium stay forever and thrive (It should-editor).