As you probably know, I’m a huge David Shields fan. He’s one of those rare writers who can be tremendously funny and scathingly intelligent in the same sentence. I think I’ve read everything Mr. Shields has done, but my favorite has to be his seminal Black Planet. This book is a gem, and it’s a gem because it manages to be about so many different things. Basketball and individuality and race and the Seattle Supersonics creepy mascot and family and journalism. It is really a fantastic book, and I believe it could be enjoyed by sports fans and non-sports fans alike. You can’t discuss American sports without talking about race, and in this book Shields gets to the heart of both matters.