The Crossover

The history of basketball contains all the drama inherent in America’s long struggle with racial intolerance and quest for equality. In ten focused chapters that highlight characters both famous (Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird) and more obscure (John McLendon, Earl Lloyd, Holcombe Rucker), this book explores how what’s happened on the basketball court has mirrored race relations in the United States—and often preceded changes off of it.