Customer Reviews

The Jordan Rules

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This is a GREAT book. It goes into detail about all of the players' lives and what they had to go through while playing with Jordan. You learn how much of a competitor Jordan is and what he thought of all the other players. Although this is Sam Smith's first book, it is still better than the other books about Jordan and the Bulls. I highly recommend it if you're a MJ or a diehard Basketball fan.

About as image conscious as the typical Hollywood megastar, Jordan always seemed to be managed by a closet full of PR handlers. Easily being the worlds most recognizable athlete since Ali and Pele, he was clearly as much a jumpshooter as a marketing phenomenon. There's a reason sneakers bearing his name still line store shelves. "The Jordan Rules" gets beyond the carefully honed image and presents Jordan as another superstar player (arguably the best ever, although the Big O with all his triple doubles could make a convincing case) who can be both generous and backstabbing towards his teammates and coaches.

His relationship with his brilliant head coach, Phil Jackson, makes for some of the most interesting reading and Smith brings a lot of the fascinating details to the table. Catching Jordan's ultra-competitive nature throughout, Smith wrote the type of book sports fans can truly appreciate for its candid look into the locker room. From the comraderie to the petty squables, "The Jordan Rules" is a terrific read, as are most controversial sports books that tell the truth.

With "The Jordan Rules," Sam Smith proves why he is one of the very best sportswriters in America. The book follows Jordan and the Bulls during their first championship season (1990-1991), before Jordan established himself as the most successful NBA player (in terms of championships) since Bill Russell. What is largely forgotten today is that in his first six years in the NBA was thought of as a selfish ballplayer who would never win a championship because he was not a "team player." Enter coach Phil Jackson, who in his first year would manage to convince his star player that in order for his team to win the championship, he would need to rely more on his teammates.

Great sports books are usually the case of the right writer (Smith in this case) being in a position to cover the right story at just the right time (Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" is another example). That is certainly the case here. As a sports reporter for The Chicago Tribune, Smith had plenty of access to the team during that first championship run, and he interviewed all of the principals extensively. Fortunately, Smith pulls no punches. The book's title refers to the preferential treatment afforded to Jordan that was a constant source of irritation to his teammmates. Then-Bulls Center Bill Cartwright, for example, is memorably qoted as saying that Jordan is, "Maybe the greatest athelete ever to play any sport...He's just not a basketball player."

Overall, "The Jordan Rules" is that rare sports book that transcends the particular sport it covers and can be enjoyed by any sports fan.

Michael Jordan. You hear this name and you automatically know who he is. He is a star, a wonderful basketball player. This is a book about Michael Jordan, the rest of the Chicago Bulls, the coaching staff, and the owners of the Chicago Bulls in the turbulent 1990-1991 basketball season. In this book, the Chicago Bulls have to face their arch rivals, The Detroit Pistons many times through out the time of this book. The Detroit Pistons are also how the book got its name. The defense that the Pistons played was called the Jordan Rules. This book goes deep into detail of basketball. There is also a lot of language in it so if you don't like the cussing I wouldn't suggest that you read it because it does it a lot.
I like this book a lot because I am a very big fan of Michael Jordan. He is one of most favorite basketball players in the whole history of the National Basketball Association. This book also goes into detail of the trading of players on the Chicago Bulls. Jerry Krause, who was in charge of all of this, was one of the rudest characters in the whole book. I guess you could say that he was the villain. This book talks about all of the Chicago Bulls. I takes you into the Game with all of the stars. To name a few.... Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, And John Paxton. It's a good book.

A decade after this book was written still proves that this is still the BEST book about Jordan out there. Reading through the book nowadays brings back memories of the Bulls and Jordan before they won a title. I recommend that all Jordan and Bulls fans read this book to learn what the infamous "Jordan Rules" are all about. This book tells a lot more of what happened in the 1990-91 to all members of the Bulls, not just Jordan. You get a look into a young Scottie Pippen's life, and learn where Phil Jackson and the rest came from. You'll feel sympathy for Cartwright and Paxson, and you'd wish Krause never had anything to do with the Bulls. I know that some parts of this book are exaggerated, but it still brings us the closest to the greatest athlete to ever walk this earth. Since it doesn't look like Michael is coming back this year, this may be as close as you'll ever get to him.

If you are a Jordan's fan - this is the book for you! All the inside stories that made Jordan what he is. I read some books about him, but no book was even close to the drama Sam Smith writes. Buy it now!!!

Fantastic book! I really enjoy these "insider" accounts of day-to-day life (especially in the NBA) and had an inkling that MJ may have been more than the nice-guy he's made out to be by the media...this book definetly confirms that! But this is much more than just a Jordan ego-trip portrayal...it expertly tells the story of the Bulls championship run and all the real time, day to day problems that they all had (Pippen, P. Jackson...). Highly recommended!

Michael Jordan has transcended from the ranks of a mere athlete to a cultural icon. Between the shoes and clothing line, all the commercials, the image, the accolades, the title of ultimate champion, one can sometimes forget that before he won his first title in 1991, people viewed Mr. Jordan in a different light. He was looked at a tremendous scorer, but not a winner. People questioned whether he would tone down his scoring and become more of a team player in order to breakthrough and win a title. The name of the book comes from the Detroit Piston's rules against playing Jordan. Sam Smith was a beat reporter for the Bulls and his insights into the innerworkings of the team during their first title run in 1990-91 are revealing and entertaining. Though his views of Mr. Jordan sometimes cast him in a less than favorable light (in reading the book you get the feeling that Mr. Smith is not a big Jordan fan), what he does show is that Mr. Jordan had an intense desire to be the best at everything he does. It is this intensity that made him the greatest ever. Every fan of Michael Jordan or fan of the game of basketball should read this book as it is an interesting chapter in the career of the best ever to lace up the sneakers.

To me, the Bulls will always be the champs. I'm sorry, I grew up watching the Bulls and they were always dominant. Sam Smith's book takes the reader behind the scenes and shows what the Champion Bulls went through in 1990-91. There were things in the book that were a surprise and I saw how Michael Jordan really controls not only the ball, but to some extent, the coach as well. To get a behind-the-scenes look at the '90-'91 Bulls, read Sam Smith's book and see how Jordan Ruled.

Michael Jordan has always been portrayed as picture perfect. This book slowly tears at that image until what you have is a very human man. Many people see this as an attack on Jordan and others think it depicts his airness as an arrogant S.O.B. but the truth of the matter is it brings him down to earth. He may not be the high flying super hero everyone makes him out to be, but it doesn't make him the anti hero. He is a man with faults like everyone. This book is special in that respect ... it dared to bring an icon down from its pedestal