{"title":"Books by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780593835753","title":"Champion","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this stunningly illustrated graphic novel, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life as a social justice advocate comes to life through the story of a high school student whose promising basketball career is in jeopardy.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE WALTER DEAN MYERS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S LITERATURE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMonk Travers is the star basketball player on his high school team. Confident about his future as an NBA player, he doesn’t see the point in caring much about school, let alone his community. But his world is about to change—big time!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter getting caught graffitiing his team's rival school, Monk comes to the awful realization that his actions have put his place on the team—and his future—in jeopardy. He’s taken by surprise when his coach offers him an unorthodox way to atone: completing a report on the life of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMonk is ecstatic. He knows all Kareem’s records and stats. He smugly announces that the project will be a snap, but his excitement is short-lived when Coach tells him that the project is \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e about Kareem’s basketball career—it’s about his life as an advocate for change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Monk grudgingly begins his research, he discovers a history of struggles, conflicts, frustrations, and violence that he’d never been aware of, awakening a passion for social justice that rivals Kareem’s own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAuthored by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar himself, alongside longtime collaborator Raymond Obstfeld, and vividly illustrated by artist Ed Laroche, \u003ci\u003eChampion\u003c\/i\u003e highlights and celebrates Kareem’s work for good like never before, inspiring fans of all ages.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56292617388405,"sku":"9780593835753","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780593835753_79c8876b-e774-43a4-94b7-d38da73e38a7.jpg?v=1786015060"},{"product_id":"9781455542260","title":"Coach Wooden and Me","description":"\u003cb\u003eFormer NBA star and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores his 50-year friendship with Coach John Wooden, one of the most enduring and meaningful relationships in sports history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When future NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still an eighteen-year-old high school basketball prospect from New York City named Lew Alcindor, he accepted a scholarship from UCLA largely on the strength of Coach John Wooden's reputation as a winner. It turned out to be the right choice, as Alcindor and his teammates won an unprecedented three NCAA championship titles. But it also marked the beginning of one of the most extraordinary and enduring friendships in the history of sports. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eCoach Wooden and Me\u003c\/i\u003e, Abdul-Jabbar reveals the inspirational story of how his bond with John Wooden evolved from a history-making coach-player mentorship into a deep and genuine friendship that transcended sports, shaped the course of both men's lives, and lasted for half a century. \u003ci\u003eCoach Wooden and Me \u003c\/i\u003eis a stirring tribute to the subtle but profound influence that Wooden had on Kareem as a player, and then as a person, as they began to share their cultural, religious, and family values while facing some of life's biggest obstacles. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From his first day of practice, when the players were taught the importance of putting on their athletic socks properly; to gradually absorbing the sublime wisdom of Coach Wooden's now famous \"Pyramid of Success\"; to learning to cope with the ugly racism that confronted Black athletes during the turbulent Civil Rights era as well as losing loved ones, Abdul-Jabbar fondly recalls how Coach Wooden's fatherly guidance not only paved the way for his unmatched professional success but also made possible a lifetime of personal fulfillment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Full of intimate, never-before-published details and delivered with the warmth and erudition of a grateful student who has learned his lessons well, \u003ci\u003eCoach Wooden and Me\u003c\/i\u003e is at once a celebration of the unique philosophical outlook of college basketball's most storied coach and a moving testament to the all-conquering power of friendship.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Instant \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller \u003cbr\u003e  Former President Barack Obama's Favorite Book of 2017 \u003cbr\u003e  A\u003ci\u003e Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of 2017 Pick\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300419776885,"sku":"9781455542260","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781455542260_c0f3995e-9b4a-493f-be2d-270b97e5919c.jpg?v=1786021021"},{"product_id":"9781783291540","title":"Mycroft Holmes","description":"\u003cb\u003eA new novel written by NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eFresh out of Cambridge University, the young Mycroft Holmes is already making a name for himself in government, working for the Secretary of State for War. Yet this most British of civil servants has strong ties to the faraway island of Trinidad, the birthplace of his best friend, Cyrus Douglas, a man of African descent, and where his fiancée Georgiana Sutton was raised.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMycroft’s comfortable existence is overturned when Douglas receives troubling reports from home. There are rumors of mysterious disappearances, strange footprints in the sand, and spirits enticing children to their deaths, their bodies found drained of blood. Upon hearing the news, Georgiana abruptly departs for Trinidad. Near panic, Mycroft convinces Douglas that they should follow her, drawing the two men into a web of dark secrets that grows more treacherous with each step they take...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten by NBA superstar Kareem Abdul- Jabbar and screenwriter Anna Waterhouse, Mycroft Holmes reveals the untold story of Sherlock’s older brother. This harrowing adventure changed his life, and set the stage for the man Mycroft would become: founder of the famous Diogenes Club and the hidden power behind the British government.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305014079861,"sku":"9781783291540","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781783291540_0cd0b59e-6d68-44ed-8e7f-b16f08b49230.jpg?v=1786026245"},{"product_id":"9781785659287","title":"Mycroft and Sherlock","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe new novel by NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, starring brothers Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is 1872, and a series of gruesome murders is the talk of London. Mycroft Holmes--now twenty-six and a force to be reckoned with at the War Office--has no interest in the killings; however, his brother Sherlock has developed a distasteful fascination for the macabre.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen a ship carrying cargo belonging to Mycroft's best friend Cyrus Douglas runs aground, Mycroft persuades Sherlock to serve as a tutor at the orphanage that Douglas runs as a charity, so that Douglas might travel to see what can be salvaged. When a boy dies of a suspected drug overdose Sherlock decides to investigate, following a trail of strange subterranean symbols to London's squalid opium dens. Meanwhile a meeting with a beautiful Chinese woman leads Mycroft to the very same mystery, one that forces him to examine the underbelly of the opium trade that is enriching his beloved Britain's coffers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the stakes rise, the brothers need one another's assistance and counsel. But a lifetime of keeping secrets from each other may have catastrophic consequences...","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305221042549,"sku":"9781785659287","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785659287_1d19d3e5-c34e-4440-8fd2-b2c931df7d5a.jpg?v=1786025476"},{"product_id":"9781785659324","title":"Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe new novel by NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, starring brothers Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is 1873, and as the economies of Europe threaten to crumble, Mycroft Holmes finds himself in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Eleven killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims, only a mysterious calling card. Meanwhile, Sherlock has already taken it upon himself to solve the case, as his interest in the criminal mind grows into an obsession.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMycroft begrudgingly allows Sherlock to investigate, as Ai Lin--the woman he is still in love with--needs his aid. Her fiancé has been kidnapped, and the only man who might know his fate is a ruthless arms dealer with a reputation for killing those who cross him. Mycroft persuades his friend Cyrus Douglas to help find the young man, but Douglas himself is put in harm's way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Sherlock travels the country on the hunt for the Fire Four Eleven murderer, both he and Mycroft will discover that the greed of others is at the root of the evil they are trying to unearth...","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305540530549,"sku":"9781785659324","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785659324_25d0fdd9-5ef6-4a3a-8e93-fa6a0db8a786.jpg?v=1786025477"},{"product_id":"9781984858399","title":"Coltrane","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe definitive photographic celebration of John Coltrane's life and music, featuring exclusive contributions written by Ravi Coltrane, Wayne Coyne, Dev Hynes, Phil Lesh, Julie Mehretu, Carlos Santana, and Patti Smith.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Coltrane's impact on music and culture endures far beyond his prolific career and untimely death in 1967 at age forty. His masterful saxophone style and groundbreaking jazz compositions had a profound effect on the evolution of music through the decades, and it continues to resonate across styles and genres to this day.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis beautiful photography book offers an intimate and in-depth look at his life with over one hundred expertly curated images taken by renowned photographers such as Chuck Stewart and Francis Wolff. The selection includes outtakes from the album cover photoshoot for \u003ci\u003eAscension\u003c\/i\u003e, in-studio candid shots taken during the recording of \u003ci\u003eBlue Train, \u003c\/i\u003ea glimpse backstage with Alice Coltrane before their first performance together, and more. \u003ci\u003eColtrane \u003c\/i\u003eis a visual celebration of John Coltrane's musical legacy, complete with an introduction by his son and fellow musician Ravi Coltrane, along with personal stories from other musicians, artists, and writers who have been moved by his work.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369475682677,"sku":"9781984858399","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781984858399_9513deca-9858-4e68-a050-868e8b073e2d.jpg?v=1786035145"},{"product_id":"becoming-kareem","title":"Becoming Kareem","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe first memoir for young readers by sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At one time, Lew Alcindor was just another kid from New York City with all the usual problems: He struggled with fitting in, pleasing a strict father, and overcoming shyness that made him feel socially awkward. But with a talent for basketball, and an unmatched team of supporters, Lew Alcindor was able to transform and to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e From a childhood made difficult by racism and prejudice to a record-smashing career on the basketball court as an adult, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life was packed with \"\"coaches\"\" who taught him right from wrong and led him on the path to greatness. His parents, coaches Jack Donahue and John Wooden, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and many others played important roles in Abdul-Jabbar's life and sparked him to become an activist for social change and advancement. The inspiration from those around him, and his drive to find his own path in life, are highlighted in this personal and awe-inspiring journey.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Written especially for young readers, Becoming Kareem chronicles how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar become the icon and legend he is today, both on and off the court.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466581582197,"sku":"9780316555418","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780316555418.jpg?v=1785654640"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-kareem-abdul-jabbar.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}