With all that's been written about controversial college basketball coach Knight, do we need another book about him? Sportswriters Delsohn and Heisler make it hard to say no. The authors make good use of the material already written about Knight, including information culled from Knight's 2002 autobiography and John Feinstein's seminal A Season on the Brink
. But they also interview Knight's friends and enemies, as well as curious onlookers. They nicely dissect Knight's early years as a player at Ohio State and his first coaching job at West Point in 1965, letting his early successes and failures serve as a mirror for his future triumphs and embarrassments (Knight's courtside outrage is well known: in his worst moments he kicked his son during a game and choked an Indiana player). They shine when covering Knight's 29 years at Indiana University, where he led the Hoosiers to three national titles. Their evenhanded and in-depth reporting brings clarity and truth to a situation that's long been debated by Knight supporters and detractors. Knight is a character of Shakespearean proportions: noble, talented and charismatic, but cursed with a violent temper and surly attitude. It must be a hard life to live, but it's mesmerizing to read about. (Feb.)
