{"product_id":"wish-it-lasted-forever-life-with-the-larry-bird-celtics-9781982169978","title":"Wish It Lasted Forever: Life with the Larry Bird Celtics","description":"\u003cb\u003eFor fans of the hit basketball documentary \u003ci\u003eThe Last Dance\u003c\/i\u003e, and from award-winning \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e columnist Dan Shaughnessy, a nostalgia-filled retelling of the Boston Celtics' 1980s dominance, which featured the sublime play of NBA legend Larry Bird.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToday the NBA is a vast global franchise--a billion-dollar industry viewed by millions of fans in the United States and abroad. But it wasn't always this successful. Before primetime ESPN coverage, lucrative branding deals like Air Jordans, and $40 million annual player salaries, there was the NBA of the 1970s and 1980s--when basketball was still an up-and-coming sport featuring old school beat reporters and players wore Converse All-Stars. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEnter Dan Shaughnessy, then the beat reporter for \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe \u003c\/i\u003ewho covered the Boston Celtics every day from 1982 to1986. It was a time when reporters travelled with professional teams--flying the same commercial airlines, riding the same buses, and staying in the same hotels. Shaughnessy knew the athletes as real people, losing free throw bets to Larry Bird, being gifted cheap cigars by the iconic coach Red Auerbach, and having his one-year-old daughter Sarah passed from player to player on a flight from Logan to Detroit Metro. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on unprecedented access and personal experiences that would not be possible for any reporter today, Shaughnessy takes us inside the legendary Larry Bird-led Celtics teams, capturing the camaraderie as they rose to dominate the NBA. Fans can witness the cockiness of Larry Bird (who once walked into an All Star Weekend locker room, announced that he was going to win the three-point contest, and \u003ci\u003edid\u003c\/i\u003e); the ageless athleticism of Robert Parish; the shooting skills of Kevin McHale; the fierce, self-sacrificing play of Bill Walton; and the playful humor of players like Danny Ainge, Cedric \"Cornbread\" Maxwell, and M.L. Carr. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor any fan who longs to return--for just a few hours--to those magical years when the Boston Garden rocked, the LA Lakers were the perennial mountain to be climbed, and the winner's circle was mostly colored Boston Green, \u003ci\u003eWish It Lasted Forever \u003c\/i\u003eis a VIP courtside seat and masterful tribute to the Larry Bird era and the Celtics' age of dominance.​\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Dan Shaughnessy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Scribner Book Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/16\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.20w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781982169978\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDan Shaughnessy is a sports columnist and associate editor for \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe, \u003c\/i\u003e as well as the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling coauthor of \u003ci\u003eFrancona \u003c\/i\u003eand author of \u003ci\u003eThe Curse of the Bambino.\u003c\/i\u003e When not writing, Mr. Shaughnessy can often be found at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. He lives with his family in Boston.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":39829331968115,"sku":"9781982169978","price":26.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_63adb2d9-7ed9-4e1f-a9fa-9c42ca257c04.jpg?v=1644612382","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/wish-it-lasted-forever-life-with-the-larry-bird-celtics-9781982169978","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}