A Sense of Where You Are
A Sense of Where You Are
John McPhee
Paul Graham
Paul Graham's answer to "what’s the most beautiful book you’ve ever read?"
Ryan Petersen
Ryan Petersen mentioned this book on Twitter.
Daniel Pink
A remarkable book. - Daniel Pink
Jim Collins
About Bill Bradley. - Jim Collins
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A Sense of Where You Are

A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton

John McPhee
By
John McPhee
4.1
135
ratings on Goodreads

In "A Sense of Where You Are," John McPhee masterfully captures the essence of Bill Bradley during his transformative years at Princeton, painting a vivid portrait of an athlete whose brilliance on the basketball court was matched only by his exemplary character off it. Through McPhee's keen observations, readers are invited into the disciplined regimen and intellectual rigor that propelled Bradley to become a legend in collegiate basketball, setting the stage for his later successes in both the NBA and the political arena. This narrative does more than chronicle the achievements of a young athlete; it delves into the very makeup of a man who views excellence as a responsibility, not merely an aspiration. McPhee's debut work is a timeless exploration of how determination, intellect, and a profound sense of self-awareness converge in the making of a true leader. With meticulous detail and an engaging prose, the book provides a blueprint of what it takes to excel in sports and life, showcasing Bradley's journey as a template for aspiring athletes and leaders alike. "A Sense of Where You Are" is not just a sports biography but a compelling study of character, discipline, and the relentless pursuit of greatness, making it a seminal piece in the landscape of American literature on sports and the individuals who transcend them.

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Released
1965
1 Jan
Length
240
Pages

4

recommendations

recommendation

About Bill Bradley. - Jim Collins
Ryan Petersen mentioned this book on Twitter.
A remarkable book. - Daniel Pink
Paul Graham's answer to "what’s the most beautiful book you’ve ever read?"
Bradley is one of the few basketball players who have ever been appreciatively cheered by a disinterested away-from-home crowd while warming up. This curious event occurred last March, just before Princeton eliminated the Virginia Military Institute, the year's Southern Conference champion, from the NCAA championships. The game was played in Philadelphia and was the last of a tripleheader. The people there were worn out, because most of them were emotionally committed to either Villanova or Temple-two local teams that had just been involved in enervating battles with Providence and Connecticut, respectively, scrambling for a chance at the rest of the country. A group of Princeton players shooting basketballs miscellaneously in preparation for still another game hardly promised to be a high point of the evening, but Bradley, whose routine in the warmup time is a gradual crescendo of activity, is more interesting to watch before a game than most players are in play. In Philadelphia that night, what he did was, for him, anything but unusual. As he does before all games, he began by shooting set shots close to the basket, gradually moving back until he was shooting long sets from 20 feet out, and nearly all of them dropped into the net with an almost mechanical rhythm of accuracy. Then he began a series of expandingly difficult jump shots, and one jumper after another went cleanly through the basket with so few exceptions that the crowd began to murmur. Then he started to perform whirling reverse moves before another cadence of almost steadily accurate jump shots, and the murmur increased. Then he began to sweep hook shots into the air. He moved in a semicircle around the court. First with his right hand, then with his left, he tried seven of these long, graceful shots-the most difficult ones in the orthodoxy of basketball-and ambidextrously made them all. The game had not even begun, but the presumably unimpressible Philadelphians were applauding like an audience at an opera.
— John McPhee, A Sense of Where You Are

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