Hang Time

Chicago Tribune syndicated columnist Greene ( He Was a Midwestern Boy on His Own ) is by nature a hero-worshipper, and he surely found a figure worthy of adulation in Chicago Bulls basketball superstar Michael Jordan. Over the course of two seasons (in which Chicago won two championships and Jordan was twice named the most valuable player in the NBA), Greene and Jordan conversed about many subjects, but principally about the athlete's adjustment to fame; his mostly unpublicized charitable contributions; and his reaction to adverse publicity, much of it undeserved. Jordan is candid (his teammates are not his friends), careful of his image (he always meets the media in a suit after the games) and relatively down-to-earth. Greene's unreserved admiration for his hero, meanwhile, successfully disguises this writer's tendency toward self-congratulation. An unusual sports book and a very good one. First serial to Life magazine. (Nov.)