A Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers

I read A Season on the Brink and found it entertaining. It is the account of the 1985-86 basketball season of the Indiana Hoosiers. Feinstein is a colorful and straightforward writer and he shoots from the hip. Knight may not have been very happy with the resulting book, but surely he couldn’t expect Feinstein to sugar coat him as a coach who never lost his temper, never made bad decisions, never crossed the line.

I believe much of Knight’s public has a love-hate attitude toward him. He can be a warm friend and it is evident that, when someone he cares about is in trouble, he goes to great lengths to comfort, encourage, help in any way he can. The man has heart, but he also has a dark side. Did he abuse players through the years? I would have to say yes. I’m amazed in one sense that he got so many blue chip players to play for him. I would have refused in a heartbeat, knowing that he would crush me with his screaming and his profanity. But I guess it speaks to his amazing reputation as a smart coach that so many players gravitated to his program. Players learned a great deal from him.

I must admit I resented the constant psychological games Knight played with his team. He would curse, cajole, encourage, give pep talks, scream in-your-face dress downs, and then act as if nothing unusual had ever happened.

But in regard to this book, I still say it was entertaining to read and it’s a great basketball story.

I have long been interested in Bob Knight and what he is really like. This book certainly explained that. While I learned things that made me like, or maybe understand, Knight better, there was much that made me think he is a tyrant and bully. Maybe you have to be to win national championships. I thought it was awful that Knight got away with temper tantrums in games because the refs didn’t want to deal with his temper or have to eject him and have to deal with that. The parts about Knight and his psyche were interesting, but I felt too much of the book was a blow by blow account of games. I am a fan, but that really didn’t interest me a whole lot, except for when it cast light on Knight or a player.

This is the 2nd Feinstein book that I have read and it was as good as the 1st one, Let Me Tell You A Story. His writing about Bob Knight didn’t leave much out, besides some curse words. Its crazy to think about the access that he had to this team. He was able to paint a picture so real to the reader that it makes you relive, that college season as an Indiana Fan. Bob Knight truly is one of the best who ever coached the game. His mind games and temper tantrums are sometimes crazy but have proven to be effective and Feinstein was able to capture them in print. Amazing, if you are a sports fan you should get your hands on any Feinstein book. If you are a college basketball fan get your hands on A Season On The Brink

A well written, interesting book about a complicated individual. I would recommend this book to any fan of sports writing. When the book came out in 1986, it created quite a bit of negative publicity around Coach Knight. I came away with a different impression than I think I would have if I had read it then. I came away thinking that while Knight obviously had a quick temper, he was also a great coach who was loyal to, and set and enforced strict academic standards for, his players. In this day of constant stories of academic cheating, philandering coaches and the big money that major universities make off the backs of their athletes, I found Feinstein’s portrait of Knight to be that of a coach who probably had more to admire than seemed to be the case in 1986.

I enjoyed it at first, but now it’s getting repetitive. I don’t doubt the authors accuracy, but my interest has steadily declined.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member