The Last Pass: Cousy, Russell, the Celtics, and What Matters in the End Hardcover – October 23, 2018

Easy to read.Fast paced.Good insights into basketball and the individuals they profiled.You write the rest!

Great read, particularly if you are a basketball from that era. Author did an amazing job of research and then weaving his information into an absorbing story. Too bad so much got lost in dealing with racism. I went away with a high opinion of cloudy, Russel, not so much, thanks to the author for a fascinating read.

I figured when I purchased this book I was in for a ride down memory lane. For starters, I was 13 years old and growing up in Marion, IN, a hot-bed of high school basketball when the NBA started play. Few people I talk to realize that in the first two years of the NBA Indiana had three teams in the league. They were the Anderson Duffy Packers, the Indianapolis Olympians and the Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons. My home town was close enough that I was able to see several of the games that featured stars that laid the groundwork for what the NBA is today. Of course, that groundwork included Bob Cousy and Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics. I was so pleased that this great book took me behind the scenes and into the personal lives of Cousy and Russell. Readers will be fascinated with exchanges between players, locker room talk, game discussions, situations with coach Red Auerbach and dozens of other items from the early years of the NBA. It was interesting to read what Cousy and Russell are doing now in the twi-light of their lives. If you love reading about how the NBA got started and the great players, especially those on the Celtics, you will be enthralled with this book. For example, Cousy mentions the effect of the 24 second shot clock that saved pro basketball. This took place in 1954, my senior year in high school. I can recall when games first appeared on TV. All in all, The Last Pass was a trip down memory lane for me as I was lucky to see so much of the development of the NBA of which Cousy and Russell were so much a big part. I would recommend this book to any basketball fan interested in knowing more about Cousy, Russell, the Celtics and the early developmental years of the NBA.Norman Jones, Ed. D. author of Growing Up in Indiana: The Culture & Hoosier Hysteria Revisited

In order to be transparent as possible, I am a lifelong Boston Celtics fan and consider Bill Russell to be the most significant player in the history of the NBA. That being said, I have nothing but the highest praise for The Last Pass. Gary Pomerantz has made an important contribution to our understanding of the early years of professional basketball and an even more crucial contribution to our understanding of the humanity of one of the NBA’s most revolutionary athletes, Bob Cousy. The title of this moving book comes from the anguished nonagenarian’s late life crisis of conscience and his attempt to atone for what he considers to be his previously unspoken sin of silence. Cousy’s sin was his inability to truly befriend Bill Russell and to speak out against the evil of racism that stained the NBA, and our nation, in the 50s and 60s. His public confession is no ordinary act, as Cousy could easily have lived the remainder of his life basking in his reputation as the iconic personification of dazzling passing, the genuine progenitor of modern basketball. Instead, Cousy’s last pass is a public airing of his shame – that he could have used his influence and public presence as a force for change but instead did nothing. Bill Russell’s stature as a player and man needs no amplification; the two men who made the Celtics a dynasty never experienced the genuine bond of friendship, one forged not on the hardwood, but molded by facing down the national disgrace of racism. With the sure guidance of a talented author, this work examines basketball, to be sure, and what it takes to be a moral person.

For me, I can tell if I'm reading a good book when I can finish one in less than three days. Had a hard time putting it down. I saw Cousy play on TV but especially in person at the old Convention Hall in Philly whenever the Celtics came to town to play the Philadelphia Warriors from around 1959 to 1963. Cousy always led the Celtics onto the floor for warmups and he always got booed. I've seen films of him recently and he was far ahead of his time but I did not fully appreciate him at the time because he played for the hated Celtics--hated, at least, by Philadelphia Warriors fans. No fancy words in this book; did not have to run to the dictionary for clarity; just good, solid writing, as if the author were sitting next to me at a bar and we were exchanging basketball stories. I knew nothing of Cousy's French background before reading this book, nor of his strained relations with his parents. It's so easy to criticize people for the way they acted back in the day but Cousy's take on everything is refreshing. I wonder if ANY of today's critics would have acted any differently than Cousy did during the time Bill Russell had his problems with the Boston population. I'm also torn between what Bill Russell had to deal with in race relations vs. his refusal to sign autographs for young kids. All in all, just a wonderful book perhaps the finest basketball book I've ever read.

A really nice story. One that all should read and learn how to respect one another. It is sports related but the message can be applied to any situation. Great message

The product arrived in perfect condition because it was well-packaged. It was exactly as advertised. I highly recommend this company as a great company with whom to do business. FIVE STARS!!

Definitely recommend this book, maybe being a long standing Celtics fan I may be a bit biased but most basketball lovers will enjoy this. It helps being a more 'mature person' as I can easily remember the players that are in it.