A View From Above

New York, N.Y.: Villard Books, 1991. First Edition [stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xiii, 290 pages. Includes Introduction, Illustrations. Conclusion, and Index. Chapters cover On Height: A View from Above; On Myself: Where There's a Wilt, There's a Way; On Athletes: Jockularity; On Basketball: Hoops du Jour; On Other Sports: Games People Play; On Others: Ordinary People; On Life: Things That Piss Me Off; On Celebrity: Tin Gods; On Hollywood: A View from Tinsel Town; On Common Sense: Maybe You Can Help Me Here; On Sex and Love: What Rules the World; and On the Issues of the Day: Wilt's World. Wilt Chamberlain, the most dominant player the game has ever seen, retired from basketball in 1973. Since then, his life has moved in fascinating directions. As Wilt says in his introduction, "I have changed and the world has changed around me. I'm freer to say certain thanks (and, I hope, people are more receptive and more open to the things I have to say). For another thing, I really feel I am one of the most misunderstood celebrities of the century. The misunderstandings come about because of my size, my demeanor, my race, the media. For some inexplicable reason, people assume they know me and know what I think and feel. My guess is, if you're reading this book, you have certain preconceptions about me. My guess is, too, that you're wrong. ' Wilton Norman Chamberlain (August 21, 1936 - October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. He played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the University of Kansas and for the Harlem Globetrotters before playing in the NBA. Chamberlain stood 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall, and weighed 250 pounds (110 kg) as a rookie before gaining up to 275 and later to over 300 pounds (140 kg) with the Lakers. Chamberlain holds numerous NBA records in scoring, rebounding, and durability categories. He is the only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game or average more than 40 and 50 points in a season. Chamberlain successfully went into business and entertainment, made money in stocks and real estate, bought a popular Harlem nightclub, which he renamed Big Wilt's Smalls Paradise, and invested in broodmares. Chamberlain also sponsored his personal professional volleyball and track and field teams, and also provided high-level teams for girls and women in basketball, track, volleyball and softball, and made money by appearing in ads for TWA, American Express, Volkswagen, Drexel Burnham, Le Tigre Clothing and Foot Locker. Wilt Chamberlain--a man who was as uncompromising on the basketball court as he was in his life. Here, in his own words, are the outspoken opinions that made Wilt Chamberlain one of the most controversial sports icons in the world, such as his admission to bedding 20,000 women while supporting monogamy in marriage...why blacks dominate pro basketball...his initial doubts about Magic Johnson and how they were overcome...and why he made his #1 enemy on the court his #1 pick on his all-time all-star team. He was a legend in his own lifetime, a subject of controversy both on and off the court, and will go down in history as one of the greatest ever to play the game of basketball. This is his story.