MAY 2018 - AudioFile
The veteran NBA sharpshooter Ray Allen tells his story of growing up, choosing a college, and making it to the NBA with several teams. Narrator JD Jackson’s deep voice stays steady and calm. He doesn’t imitate anyone, but, occasionally, when describing a frustrating moment or conversation, his voice rises or drops appropriately. Allen’s vantage as an 18-year veteran in the league is an interesting one for basketball fans since he played for many different coaches with varied personalities. He briefly discusses his role in the 1998 Spike Lee film HE GOT GAME. Through his consistent narration and sensitive intonation, Jackson helps fans soak up Allen’s life on and off the court. M.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
02/19/2018
Former NBA star Allen recalls his bumpy path to glory in this steady, thoughtful effort. The son of an Air Force metal technician, Allen hopscotched the globe before becoming a high school basketball star in Dalzell, S.C., where his teammates viewed him as someone who would “do something good with life, and they most likely would not.” He was recruited by the University of Connecticut, where he learned what’s required to go from being a good athlete to a great one: “It is not enough just to arrive early,” he writes. “You also must stick around until your work is done.” In the NBA, Allen got a different education, that basketball is a business. He was traded twice—from the Milwaukee Bucks, whose coach George Karl didn’t bother to tell Allen, and from the Seattle SuperSonics, even after general manager Sam Presti told him he was part of the team’s future. He eventually played for the Boston Celtics, where he thrived, but was overlooked in favor of LeBron James for the MVP award in the 2008 season. While Allen highlights his professional accomplishments, details of his personal life are scant: he shares little of his childhood; his parents’ stormy relationship and their divorce; or how he handled being a young father as an NBA newcomer. Still, Allen’s astute telling provides a bracing reminder that athletes’ success comes from the right attitude, the right skills, and the right set of circumstances. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
I wanted to hate this book. After all, it was Ray Allen who stole the 2013 championship from my beloved Spurs. But From the Outside is fun and compelling (even when he details his famed Game 6 shot). Add this to your collection of basketball books.” — Shea Serrano, author of Basketball (And Other Things) and The Rap Year Book
“We see dimensions of Ray Allen, on and off the court, we never knew or appreciated.” — William C. Rhoden, writer-at-large for ESPN’s The Undefeated, and author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
“Ray Allen is the product of hard work, grit, efficiency, and the sweetest stroke in the history of the game. He swishes this book like everything else he has done in his life.” — Seth Davis, basketball analyst for CBS Sports and author of Getting to Us: How Great Coaches Make Great Teams
“The three-point assassin Ray Allen reveals himself as a complex, deeply feeling man in this fresh, new portrait.” — Ron Shelton, director of White Men Can’t Jump
“Allen goes behind the box scores to offer an insightful and notably introspective look at his life in basketball...he looks at the game and his part in it with a refreshing, always thoughtful candor.” — Booklist
“Allen’s astute telling provides a bracing reminder that athletes’ success comes from the right attitude, the right skills, and the right set of circumstances.” — Publishers Weekly
William C. Rhoden
We see dimensions of Ray Allen, on and off the court, we never knew or appreciated.
Ron Shelton
The three-point assassin Ray Allen reveals himself as a complex, deeply feeling man in this fresh, new portrait.
Booklist
Allen goes behind the box scores to offer an insightful and notably introspective look at his life in basketball...he looks at the game and his part in it with a refreshing, always thoughtful candor.
Shea Serrano
I wanted to hate this book. After all, it was Ray Allen who stole the 2013 championship from my beloved Spurs. But From the Outside is fun and compelling (even when he details his famed Game 6 shot). Add this to your collection of basketball books.
Booklist
Allen goes behind the box scores to offer an insightful and notably introspective look at his life in basketball...he looks at the game and his part in it with a refreshing, always thoughtful candor.
MAY 2018 - AudioFile
The veteran NBA sharpshooter Ray Allen tells his story of growing up, choosing a college, and making it to the NBA with several teams. Narrator JD Jackson’s deep voice stays steady and calm. He doesn’t imitate anyone, but, occasionally, when describing a frustrating moment or conversation, his voice rises or drops appropriately. Allen’s vantage as an 18-year veteran in the league is an interesting one for basketball fans since he played for many different coaches with varied personalities. He briefly discusses his role in the 1998 Spike Lee film HE GOT GAME. Through his consistent narration and sensitive intonation, Jackson helps fans soak up Allen’s life on and off the court. M.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
