In Barney Polan's Game, Charley Rosen takes on the legendary point-shaving scandals of 1950 and '51, when the best of the college basketball players took money from gamblers in return for affecting the outcomes of games, never knowing that in the process they were trading in their innocence and love of the game-until they were caught, and the scandal moved them from the sports pages to the news pages across the nation. No one will walk away from the scandals unscathed; many of the guilty will have their lives and careers ruined, others among the guilty will end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
SELECTION
| 1998 New York Times Notable Book
“This is not simply a novel about basketball in the dark ages. Mr. Rosen has much more on his mind here. This is a book about guilt and redemption, about the loss of innocence, about racism and bigotry, about class differences … [He] gets the ambiance just right: the moving from town to town, the sometimes horrid conditions under which they play, the weariness and sense of dislocation, the bigotry and ignorance they encounter.” –The New York Times Book Review
“Rosen … certainly knows his basketball … But his depth and erudition makes this a tale of much more than sport. Rosen gives us a sometimes agonizing, often hilarious journey through American history, and a poignant account of what keeps a man running.” –Chicago Tribune
“Rosen is one of the few people to even try to write basketball novels … He [writes] in a gut-wrenching, riveting style that most novelists would envy.” –The Beacon Journal
In Barney Polan's Game, Charley Rosen takes on the legendary point-shaving scandals of 1950 and '51, when the best of the college basketball players took money from gamblers in return for affecting the outcomes of games, never knowing that in the process they were trading in their innocence and love of the game-until they were caught, and the scandal moved them from the sports pages to the news pages across the nation. No one will walk away from the scandals unscathed; many of the guilty will have their lives and careers ruined, others among the guilty will end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Awards
SELECTION
| 1998 New York Times Notable Book
Praise
“This is not simply a novel about basketball in the dark ages. Mr. Rosen has much more on his mind here. This is a book about guilt and redemption, about the loss of innocence, about racism and bigotry, about class differences … [He] gets the ambiance just right: the moving from town to town, the sometimes horrid conditions under which they play, the weariness and sense of dislocation, the bigotry and ignorance they encounter.” –The New York Times Book Review
“Rosen … certainly knows his basketball … But his depth and erudition makes this a tale of much more than sport. Rosen gives us a sometimes agonizing, often hilarious journey through American history, and a poignant account of what keeps a man running.” –Chicago Tribune
“Rosen is one of the few people to even try to write basketball novels … He [writes] in a gut-wrenching, riveting style that most novelists would envy.” –The Beacon Journal
