On the Shoulders of Giants, Kareem AbdulJabbar
On the Shoulders of Giants, Kareem AbdulJabbar
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On the Shoulders of Giants
My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance

Author: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld

Narrator: Richard Allen

Unabridged: 10 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/15/2007


Synopsis

From 1920 to 1940, the Harlem Renaissance produced a bright beacon of light that paved the way for African Americans all over the country. The unapologetic writings of W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, the fervent fiction and poetry of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, the groundbreaking art of Aaron Douglas and William H. Johnson, and the triumphant music of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong gave voice and expression to the thoughts and emotions that Jim Crow segregation laws had long sought to stifle.

In On the Shoulders of Giants, indomitable basketball star and bestselling author and historian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar invites readers on an extraordinarily personal journey back to his birthplace, through one of the greatest political, cultural, literary, and artistic movements in our history, revealing the tremendous impact the Harlem Renaissance had on both American culture and his own life. Beginning with the rise of the Harlem Rens as pioneers of professional basketball, Kareem traces the many streams of historical influence that converged to create the man he is today—the NBA's all-time leading scorer and a veritable African American icon.

Travel deep into the soul of the Renaissance—to the night clubs, restaurants, basketball games, and fabulous parties that have made footprints in Harlem's history. Meet the athletes, jazz musicians, comedians, actors, politicians, entrepreneurs, and writers who not only inspired Kareem's rise to greatness but an entire nation's.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in the midst of a cultural reawakening, carried on the shoulders of athletes trying to prove there was a lot more at stake than a ball game, men and women who made music that could break your heart, and writers and intellectuals who gave voice to not just the ideals of a movement but the raw emotions. Kareem tells what it took to get these revolutionaries to Harlem and how they changed the world. A world that is still riding on the shoulders of giants.

About Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is recognized by Sports Illustrated and Time magazine as history's greatest basketball player (he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer). The author of several New York Times bestsellers, his books include Giant Steps, Black Profiles in Courage, and Brothers in Arms. Since his retirement as a player in the NBA, Kareem has worked as a special assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cyndi

I’ve always been a huge fan of Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and not just for his talent on the court. He is a brilliant writer. This compilation has the history of Harlem told with the voices of artists who lived there. Also other people including my number one hero, Maya Angelou. She was such a huge gift......more

Goodreads review by Alessia

Mi hanno regalato questo libro. Mossa audacissima: quando c’è di mezzo un personaggio sportivo parto un po’ prevenuta. Anche se KA-J è KA-J, ovvero un personaggio che persino una persona abbastanza digiuna di basket come me (vabbè: può essere che io non sia così digiuna e che abbia una foto da qualc......more

Goodreads review by Bill

I generally hate it when authors insert themselves as subjects of histories and other people's biographies. But this mix of memoir and history of the Harlem Renaissance was actually quite interesting. I guess, when the author is as accomplished in their own right as the subjects of the book, I can g......more