Incredibly Wide Ranging Reading Choices for All Kinds of Interests     

Want a picture book on LeRoy Neiman's wondrous works, a primer on golf instruction, reflections by 25 writers on coaches, an in depth bio on "Bear" Bryant, a hopefully final look at the meaning of Michael Jordan, a focused retrospective on Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain and their "thing"  and more?

From Harry N. Abrams comes "LeRoy Neiman Five Decades" (75.00, 288 pages), a full color masterpiece for your coffee table. Ali, Bonds, Mantle, Palmer and so many other famed sports figures are here along with non-sports painting, sketches - the result is a fabulous feast for the eyes.

"The Last Coach" by Allen Barra (W.W. Norton, $26.95, 545 pages) is as in depth a look one can get at Paul "Bear" Bryant. Barra brilliantly recreates the life and times of the man who was born in 1913, who got his  nickname by wrestling a bear for a dollar. He never got the buck but went on to make big bucks and become a sports legend. 

Andrew Blauner's "Coach" (Warner, $25,95, 285 pages)  is a book I should have thought  of doing or at least should have been included in. The premise is simple: get 25 writers and have them talk about coaches who influences them. So we have Ira Berkow, Frank DeFord, John Irving, George Plimpton, George Vecsey, and the editor's father Bob Wolff do their thing - they do it very well, making for an enjoyable, entertaining read.

In a golfing vein there is "Great Golf" ( Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 359 pages) an instructional compendium edited by Danny Peary and Allen F. Richardson that contains 150 years of what they call "essential instruction from the best players, teachers and writers of all time." 

In a basketball vein there is now in paperback "When Nothing Else Matters" by Michael Leahy (Simon and Schuster, $14.00, 432 pages) a no-holds-barred look at the greatest basketball player Michael Jordan, declining. This is a book about a man and a book about celebrity culture. 

From Harry N. Abrams there is "Hoops" ($35.00, 150 pages) - a beautiful book featuring four decades of basketball as seen through the lens of Walter Ioos, Jr with words by Mark Jacobson.  If you love the sport, this is the book for you with page after page of full color caught in time images of magical moments in basketball over more than 40 years.

"The Rivalry" by John Taylor (Random House, (flashes back to what the author calls the golden age of basketball and showcases  the sometimes rabid and always intense competition between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. For those interested  in what set the foundation for the hoop game - this is the book for you.

No book that claims the definitive label about Ebbets Field should have left out "New York City Baseball: 1947-1957" by yours truly from the index and the bibliography. But that is what was done for whatever the reason. Nevertheless, for the old time fans of the Dodgers of Brooklyn, "The Greatest Ballpark Ever" (Rutgers University Press, $26.95, by Bob McGee has much appeal and much to recommend it.  

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