The Big East: A Book Review

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The Big East - Dana O'Neil

    For this week's blog, I will be reviewing one of the more interesting books I have read in the past year. The Big East: Inside the Most Entertaining and Influential Conference in College Basketball by Dana O'Neil reviews arguably the most historic conference in NCAA college basketball the Big East. Personally, I would believe that any fan of basketball would enjoy this book, but I also think the author did such a good writing this book that many historians would also have fun reading this book. This book follows a relatively simple chronological timeline, and the chapters are organized by certain events, meaning this book could also be read by younger readers. 

    This book's chronological timeline starts before the conference is even formed, discussing the reasons why the conference was formed and what went into the creation. This was one of my favorite things about this book. Dana O'Neil, the author, did an excellent job not just discussing what happened, but why something happened and the effects it had. This was very useful at helping the reader to understand what was happening, allowing you to feel like you understood much more about what happened.

    Another one of my favorite things about this book were how many interviews were conducted to make this book. The Big East features many famous players and many celebrity coaches, and many of them were interviewed for the making of this book. All of the quotes were very useful at adding to the history of the Big East, and many of the famous coaches known for their personality had great quotes. My least favorite thing about this book was that much of the later history of the basketball conference was skipped over. This book really just covered the early parts of the history, along with a few of the larger moments of the back half of the history.

    I thought this was a great book, I would highly suggest it to any fans of basketball. There was a lot of cool history covered in this book, and it was very interesting to read about. The first 10 years of the Big East were some of the most entertaining years in college basketball history, and this book did a fantastic job detailing this history. Dana O'Neil did a great job writing this book, and I think that many people would have a lot of fun reading this book, I highly suggest it. 

-Collins

Comments

  1. LeorFebruary 28, 2022 at 11:58 AM

    Nice review. I think this book sounds very interesting. I think that knowing about some of the more historical events that take place in basketball are good to know. I might check this book out later.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joseph T.March 7, 2022 at 11:44 AM

    Nice review. I've never really been into basketball but this book still sounds like a good read. It seems to include a nice amount of detail, and while still a non-fiction, sounds very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RichiMarch 30, 2022 at 1:13 PM

    Thank you for the summary. I never was in basketball, or any sports in general besides water polo. However, it gives me an invitation to read the book, to understand the thematic of a basketball conference is about. Perhaps, by understanding the environment around the sport, would make me feel instigated to play the sport, or at least to be a fan.

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