In 1998, in response to Colin Powell's call for volunteerism, basketball Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became an assistant coach for the Alchesay Falcons on the Whiteriver Reservation in Arizona. Abdul-Jabbar's challenge was three-fold: to relate a lifetime of basketball experience to the skill level of the players he was coaching; to assert himself yet remain respectful of the permanent coaching staff; and to remember why being a teenager is so difficult. His challenges were compounded by Native American culture, which makes personal criticism difficult to mete out or accept, and by the social ills on the reservation. Abdul-Jabbar is a thoughtful, empathetic, and intelligent man who understands that social change comes about one individual at a time. His diary-style account of his year on the reservation chronicles a valuable learning experience for both coach and players. No mere sports autobiography, this is a fascinating and genuinely revealing look at Native American culture --Wes Lukowsky, Booklist
