Boys Among Men

Praise

““Mr. Abrams is such an excellent reporter and has been such a keen observer of the NBA over more than two decades that he makes an unerring tour guide. It’s a blast just to let him lead us through the tumultuous era between Mr. Jordan and Mr. James.” – The Wall Street Journal

“Riveting….an exhaustive work of research and reporting that reads with the propulsive energy of a magazine feature that makes you late for something important.” – Slate


“Masterful.” – The Atlantic

“A must-read about the game, an incisive and exhaustively reported exploration of the price that young men pay for a chance to make it in the extraordinarily competitive world of pro hoops. Jonathan Abrams asks smart questions and has a gift for portraiture…an important contribution to the discussion about the way we consume sports in America.” – The Daily Beast

“Expertly weaves stories and anecdotes from these players to create a fascinating retrospective on the culture, success and the continuing impact of those players in the league..Abrams’ book does an excellent job telling stories of these players, unearthing details that add depth to even the most-known stars including aspects of Kobe’s legendary pre-draft workouts and the “luckiest” shot that accelerated LeBron’s star rising in high school. It is worth reading for every basketball fan as a piece of entertainment as well as for deeper insight into an era now past and the players who still shape our present and future.” – The Sporting News

“Abrams weaves a compelling tale about a transformational era in the NBA that also speaks to the sometimes-desperate pursuit of sporting stardom.” – Kirkus (Starred Review)
 
“This essential, well-researched book will appeal to readers interested in basketball’s business side as well as the factors that have helped shape the modern NBA.” –
“In this excellent effort, Abrams, the gifted hoops writer late of Grantland, examines this controversial phenomenon from every angle. –Publishers Weekly


“A riveting read that cements Jonathan Abrams’ reputation as one of the world’s best basketball writers.” – Bill Simmons, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Book of Basketball
 
“A fascinating and unsettling account of what happened to professional basketball when teenagers made their way into a man’s game.”—Malcolm Gladwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outliers and David and Goliath
 
“Will stand as the definitive dissection of an oddly brief, perpetually influential period in the history of NBA labor relations.”—Chuck Klosterman, New York Times bestselling author of I Wear the Black Hat and Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs
 
“There was much I learned from this book, which covers not only the superstar “kids” like Bryant and Garnett, but also the compelling cautionary tales.” —Jack McCallum, New York Times bestselling author of Dream Team and Seven Seconds or Less
 
“Boys Among Men is as inside as an account can be of the paths of those players, both the famous and the forgotten. It’s not merely a compelling book for any hoops fan, it’s an important one.”—David  Epstein, New York Times bestselling author of The Sports Gene
 
“An indispensable book for anyone who cares about basketball.” —George Dohrmann, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Play Their Hearts Out
 
“Jonathan Abrams has transcended one of the NBA’s great business and moral debates to deftly tell the inside story of the prep-to-pros phenomenon…A marvelous book that will stand the test of time.” –Adrian Wojnarowski, New York Times best-author of the selling The Miracle of St. Anthony
 
 “Jonathan Abrams expertly captures this crucial era in basketball history. Yet what makes Boys Among Men so compelling isn’t the high school players who turned out to be future hall of famers, but the stories of all the tragic would-be heroes that basketball has long forgotten.’ —Dave McMenamin, NBA writer for ESPN