From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love

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 [his] 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.[em] (Apr.) [/em]