I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It: Some Things I've Learned So Far FROM OUR EDITORS
He scored more than 23,000 NBA points, won two Olympic medals, and was an 11-time NBA All-Star; but for most of us, Charles Barkley's most notable attribute is his mouth. As a player and as a TNT sports commentator, "Sir Charles" has won our attention with his brash and witty remarks about everything from NBA referees to race relations and role models. This aptly titled memoir spotlights the strong opinions of the man Time called "the most entertaining talking head in sports broadcastﾽa mix of Yogi Berra neologisms and Winston Churchill."
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Charles Barkley has never been shy about ex-pressing his opinions. Michael Jordan once said that we all want to say the things that Barkley says, but we donﾽt dare. But even die-hard followers of the all-time NBA great, the star of TNTﾽs Inside the NBA and CNNﾽs TalkBack Live, will be astonished by just how candid and provocative he is in this bookﾽand just how big his ambitions are. Though he addresses weighty issues with a light touch and prefers to stir people to think by making them laugh, thereﾽs nothing Charles Barkley shies away from hereﾽnot race, not class, not big money, not scandal, not politics, not personalities, nothing. ﾽEarly on,ﾽ says Washington Post columnist and ESPN talk show host Michael Wilbon in his Introduction, ﾽBarkley made his peace with mixing it up, and decided the consequences were very much worth it to him. And that makes him as radically different in these modern celebrity times as a 6-foot-4-inch power forward.ﾽ
If thereﾽs one thing Charles Barkley knows, itﾽs the crying need for honest, open discussion in this countryﾽthe more uncomfortable the subject, the more necessary the dialogue. And if the discussion leader can be as wise, irreverent, (occasionally) profane and (consistently) funny as Charles Barkley, so much the better. Many people are going to be shocked and scandalized by I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It, but many more will stand up and cheer. Like Molly Ivins or Bill OﾽReilly, Charles Barkley is utterly his own thinker, and everything he says comes from deep reflection. One way or another, if more blood hasnﾽt reached your brain by the time youﾽve finished this book, maybe youﾽve been embalmed.
SYNOPSIS
Charles Barkley has never been shy about ex-pressing his opinions. Michael Jordan once said that we all want to say the things that Barkley says, but we don’t dare.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
NBA star Barkley-still only the second basketball player in history, along with Wilt Chamberlain, to total more than 23,000 points, 12,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists-has refused to go quietly into the mists of sports legends. One of the most controversial professional athletes in any sport, Barkley has repositioned himself as an outspoken and provocative sports commentator for the TNT network, reaping a new and large viewing audience in the process. This sports memoir-Barkley's first-is a highly entertaining and remarkably thoughtful work that successfully continues his ongoing repositioning from on-court wild man to provocative analyst. "I'm trying to transition from sports into something broader, with wider social implications," he writes. In a book that often reads like an overlong Sports Illustrated interview, Barkley explores a wide range of interests. Each chapter has a theme, and Barkley has no problem speaking his mind on any topic, whether it is politics ("Poor white people and poor black people just don't know how much they have in common. Rich people don't give a damn about either group") or lack of minority control in sports ("Black people ought to want other black people to be successful and work hard and accumulate some wealth and build a new damn reality"). In between these chapters are other sections that retell some of the great and not-so-great moments in his career, such as his involvement with Michael Jordan in the U.S. Olympic medal-winning "Dream Team." But transitions within and between chapters can often be jarring (in one chapter he suddenly launches into a criticism of abusive priests). Despite that, this is a very entertaining look at one of the most intelligent minds in pro sports, and like Barkley's career, it's bound to produce fierce arguments. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
KLIATT - Tom Adamich
Charles Barkley is an outspoken basketball player whose commentary here focuses on social issues off the basketball court. He writes about racism, prejudice, equal opportunity, white supremacy in the New South, and his view of "keeping it real" as a wealthy, successful professional basketball legend. He describes how his ability to "get to the point" is often viewed negatively by the public and the press but is essential to the process of promoting social change. Barkley chooses his battles, and when he does, the topics often center on the African American's role in a formerly white-dominated society that is becoming more diverse and international. Barkley does an artful job of discussing his interpretation and influence on apartheid, while at the same time talking about the details of the NBA that make him a quasi-expert on the current and future state of professional basketball. Some obscenities are scattered throughout the book but do not detract from its readability or a positive recommendation for purchase. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2003, Random House, 259p., Ages 15 to adult.
Library Journal
The former NBA star, now a studio analyst for TNT's Inside the NBA, speaks candidly on some of the burning issues of the day: race, politics, 9/11, and pedophilia among Catholic priests. He also focuses on his family, basketball, and being rich. (LJ 10/15/02) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Uncontroversial, positive opinions from former NBA standout Barkley. Barkley hardly deserves his reputation for being a loose cannon. His more notorious utterances were routinely taken out of context; if he did make a serious personal mistake, as when he spit at a heckler and the gob hit a young girl, he made good his apology and learned from the error. More to the point, his reputation for being a rebarbative figure hinges on his urge to address serious issues-the prevalence of racism, the need for education, the emptiness of taking celebrities as role models-in a forthright fashion. Yet he also appreciates the reality of "star power" and the responsibility it entails: not just to play the best he can for team and fans, but to put big social issues on the table and keep people talking about them. This may mean calling Augusta National on its discriminatory policies-though he is curiously silent on its treatment of women, something that obviously deserves at least a mention-while at the same time noting that "Tiger winning at Augusta allows a whole lot of people an easy way to feel better about ugly shit like exclusion." Much is made of Barkley's Republicanism, and he does evince a strong fondness for money, but he comes across here as more of a Vermonter: thrifty, plain-speaking, hardworking, with a sense of responsibility and a love of his craft. Is a true baddie really about to say, "There's no way God allowed me to make all this money, meet all the people I've met, and rise to this status just to sit around, count my money, and not to try to help people improve their lives"? Barkley may reject being a role model-that's what family and friends are for, he says. But as someone whodemands that kids think and assume responsibility, he's headed in the right direction.
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