Dynasty Restored - by Thomas J Whalen (Hardcover)

About the Book

Dynasty Restored is a fascinating exploration of the dramatic 1983-84 NBA season and the Boston Celtics' pursuit of the championship, led by the iconic Larry Bird. It was a year that turbocharged the game to record levels of popularity and paved the way for the league to become a global entertainment brand.

Book Synopsis

Dynasty Restored is a fascinating exploration of the dramatic 1983-84 NBA season and the Boston Celtics' pursuit of the championship, led by the iconic Larry Bird. It was a year that turbocharged the game to record levels of popularity and paved the way for the league to become a global entertainment brand.

Review Quotes

Dynasty Restored is more than a trip down memory lane - it is finely crafted narrative history that places the Boston Celtics' 1984 championship into a wider context. Best of all, it is stuffed with insightful profiles of the Celtics and their rivals, lending a personal dimension to an exciting story about sports, the city of Boston, and American culture in the 1980s.

A little remembered fact about the great Larry Bird dynasty with the Celtics is that only one of their three championship seasons included the defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers. Historian Thomas Whalen celebrates every part of that year in this riveting new book - the outsized drama, the on-court miracles, the everlasting impact. It's a book about a series, yes, but it's also a book about a league, a sport, and a culture, through exquisitely drawn characters that loom large some four decades later. All of it is a pure pleasure from a sports fanatic who happens to be a scholar.

Thomas Whalen has written a wonderfully descriptive account of the career of Boston Celtics' star Larry Bird. In chapter 1, a chapter about 1984, he discusses Ronald Reagan, Michael Jackson, the Ghostbuster movie, Apple computers, Goose Gossage and Wayne Gretsky, and yes, Larry Bird. Whalen artfully describes important events and why they happened, and he gives us little-known facts about the likes of Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy, and Bill Russell. Did you know that Auerbach was a terrible driver? He dishes info about the rival Los Angeles Lakers as well. Did you know that Lew Alcindor could have signed with the New York Nets? Did you know that Bird couldn't stand playing for Bobby Knight at Indiana U? Did you know that Bird's trash-talking drove his opponents crazy? I couldn't get enough. I love history from the inside, and so will you.

Tom Whalen is a historian in Boston. Larry Bird and his teammates made Boston history three miles from his Boston University office. Together, in this book, they are a Dream Team of basketball (and cultural) history.

Tom Whalen knows how to tell a rollicking good tale. This is more than an account of one of the greatest rivalries in sports history, it is also a moving tale of what the Boston Celtics meant to their fans and a snapshot of a team that changed pro basketball forever. Whalen has a knack for finding meaning in the particulars of American life during the 1980s, not just on the basketball court but beyond. This book includes a colorful ensemble of larger than life characters, from Hall of Fame players to the reporters who covered them to the fans who bled Celtic green. This is a remarkably fun and insightful read.

About the Author

Thomas J. Whalen is the author of many sports books and is associate professor of social science at Boston University. Whalen's work has appeared in the New York Times, ABCNews.com, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and the AP. He has also appeared on several national broadcast outlets including CNN, NPR and Reuters TV. Whalen's books include Dynasty's End: Bill Russell and the 1968-69 World Champion Boston Celtics, Spirit of '67: The Cardiac Kids, El Birdos, and the World Series That Captivated American, and Kooks and Degenerates on Ice: Bobby Orr, the Big Bad Bruins, and the Stanley Cup Championship That Transformed Hockey.