cover image Rebound:: The Dennis Rodman Story

Rebound:: The Dennis Rodman Story

Dennis Rodman. Crown Publishers, $22 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-517-59294-6

This re-creation of the bond that developed between a white and an African American youngster begins in 1982, when 13-year-old Bryne Rich, who is white, fatally shot a friend in a hunting accident; for the better part of a year he was psychologically devastated, until he attended a basketball camp and drew as a coach Dennis Rodman, then a star player for Southeastern Oklahoma State. The 22-year-old Rodman was also a troubled young man, having grown up in a fatherless family of three women and having been in constant trouble in his home city of Dallas. A friendship developed between the two, and during the next three years Rodman often visited the Riches in Bokchito, Oklahoma, in the heart of redneck country. Byrne Rich's parents were enormously grateful to Rodman for helping their son overcome his grief and he in turn led them to greater racial understanding. Rodman, Pat Rich (Byrne's mother) and Steinberg (coauthor of Behind the Mask ) have written an affecting story of scarred youth, racial tension and healing. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.)