Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man

by Bill Russell

The perceptive, controversial, and idiosyncratic basketball star recounts the decisive events of his life and career, offers an inside look at professional basketball, and sounds off about freedom, race, marriage, religion, and American culture

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934) was an American former professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969.

Bill^^^^Russell

Reviews

[Sean Tenaglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Heart in champions is a funny thing. People mistake it for courage, though there’s no moral element to it. To me, you display courage when you take a stand for something you believe to be morally right, and do so in the face of adversity or danger. That’s not what sports is about. Heart in champions has to do with the depths of your motivation, and how well your mind and body react to pressure.”

“I’ve tried to handle my ego the way I would handle any other part of my character: to acknowledge it but not to let it control me or make me into something I don’t like [...] Some people try to guard against egotism and bigotry by surrendering their point of view to others or to an institution. It doesn’t work. I insist on having my own view and taking responsibility for what I do. I believe any other view is foolhardy, dishonest, or worse.”

“Many people today who profess to live by freedom spend most of their time trying to impose themselves over the rights and opinions of other people. Others who profess to live by freedom constantly allow themselves to be imposed on. Still others say they are religious but spend their time doing mean things to people. None of this would go on that way if people could accept responsibility for what they do. I have an extreme view of it, I guess. I alone am responsible for being a good human being.”

[Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book. So smart, as you would expect from Bill Russell and Taylor Branch. But it was also genuinely entertaining to read and made me laugh several times. Bill Russell’s life is remarkable, and this book does it justice.

[Tomás Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para além de um excelente livro para nos lembrarmos/aprendermos o que era o racismo e a vida de um homem negro nos Estados Unidos dos anos 30 aos anos 70, Second Wind mostra que o Bill Russell era, em todos os sentidos da expressão, um ganda gajo (media 2 metros).
RIP

[MOL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Russell above all was a person. At least he makes clear throughout these memoirs that this is what he always wanted to be seen as before anything else. Before being seen as a basketball player, a winner, a black man, etc. This resonated with Ellison's Invisible Man who also was striving for being recognized as a human being rather than all the preconceived notions and labels attached to him as a black man. That is also the feeling that I've got from this book. There's very little basketball in it and a lot of Bill. I loved getting to become so intimate with the basketball greats that it felt like almost meeting him (well, meeting him at a mid-point in his life, i.e. in his mid forties, as I'm sure his personality and thoughts have developed greatly during the later years).

In the end it was one of those "never meet your heroes" kind of experience for me. I've always admired Russell more for what he was beyond basketball than merely for those 11 championship rings that made him one of the GOATs of the game. So I was eager to get more intimate with someone who was a champion of human rights and voice of those who were wronged. In the end I've come to know a man. A very flawed man with some great qualities and some scars that he didn't manage to heal by the mid-point of his life. I liked the raw and real approach in the book, however it did made Russell shrink to a human and I admit that I had been grinning when he was trying to share his thoughts about the international politics, meaning of life or especially woman and relationship with them. I'm also sad that there seemed to be so much bitter within his mind (I'm not sure whether this has dissipated in the later years) which, I feel, didn't allow him to reach the deeper levels of thought. Nevertheless, despite that bitterness and stubbornness, in the end I still found a portrait of a person whom I can respect and cheer for.

Overall, it's a decent read but I would mostly recommend it for someone who already knows Russell and are interested in his persona. Otherwise, I feel like there are thinkers who wrote deeper about life, also books that went deeper about basketball. This one's is about Bill.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up a Celtics fan in the 1980s because my dad went to law school in Boston in the early 1960s. It was cheaper for he and his friends to go watch the Celtics play than most other things they could do, so frequently they did, winning a championship every year he was there in large part because Bill Russell was there too. As Russell was considered the leader of those Celtics, he has always occupied a spot in in sports imagination. Of all the athletes I've never seen play, Russell is the one I would most like to see play in his prime. (Between college and pro, he played for 17 seasons, winning a championship in 13! His last three seasons with the Celtics he was player-coach!!)

So I was thrilled to track down a copy of his memoir co-written with Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize winning biographer of MLK, Jr. It was a mixed success. The opening chapter about his family and upbringing in Louisiana was great, as were the other accounts of his youth in Oakland, his mother's passing, and figuring out how to really play basketball after graduating high school. He doesn't talk about basketball much, but I loved hearing about his relationships with the other Celtics, particularly K.C. Jones and Sam Jones. The story about his grandfather breaking down in tears when visiting the Celtics' locker room and realized the white and black players showered together, were genuinely friends, and all had to do what "William" told them to was my favorite moment. The latter chapters on women and post basketball life dropped this from a four star book to a three. The chapter on women made me uncomfortable and the post playing days portion conveyed the sense of drift most professional athletes of his caliber must experience; necessary for his life story but it did not make for the most interesting reading.

All and all, I'm glad to have read it, and I appreciate Russell's gifts on the court and as an deeply independent and opinionated man.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading "Last Pass," which describes Bob Cousy's regret about not comprehending racial issues better when he was Russell's teammate on the Celtics in the 50s and early 60s, I had to read one of Russell's books as well. I liked "Second Wind," though I found it rather uneven. Parts of it were fantastic. Russell's discourses on what makes a championship team, his thoughts about racism and the pervasiveness of racist views in America, and his explanations for aspects of his behavior that some still find off-putting (notoriously, he refuses to sign autographs) were hugely instructive about the man and his beliefs. On the other hand, sections about this childhood, though a revelation to me, lacked narrative flow and were surprisingly hard to get through. (At one point I almost gave up on the book.) A chapter on the women in his life - it's more accurate to say, the womanizing in his life - seemed to have been written for his benefit, not the reader's. Bill, we've all done stupid stuff.

All that said, I have always had huge admiration for William Felton Russell, a student of the game, the greatest defensive basketball player in NBA history by a wide margin, and a clear thinker regarding the chasm between blacks and whites in this country. There is a statue of Russell on City Hall Plaza in Boston (Russell: "I never played for 'Boston.' I played for the Celtics."). I have always felt that the City missed a great opportunity to honor this incredible man by naming the third harbor tunnel in his honor. No such luck: it's the Ted Williams Tunnel, named for a man no one realized then, and few realize now, was half Mexican.

[Kevin Stoltz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is hardly about basketball, and that fact actually strengthens it's appeal. Russell doesn't spend too much time rehashing stories of old glory on the court, in fact some of the best basketball stories are about the Celtic team culture and the way the players kept things light during stressful stretches of the season.
Where the book really flies is when Russell talks about his innovative approach to the game. He was a pioneer who changed basketball at a time when the sport was still young enough to be molded. You might consider him the Steve Jobs of basketball for the impact he had on the game's formative years. But the majority of the book is spent on details of Russell's life off the court and his musings on several topics of interest; race relations, athletes using their profile to speak out about social justice, the NCAA and the problem of "amateur" sports, women. Sometimes he meanders from subject to subject, almost in a stream of conscious sort of way.
I actually wish the book had been a little longer. Meandering as he may have been, Russell's takes were always rivetting. If I ever got the chance, I would have a beer with him and just sit and listen to his thoughts on whatever topic he chose to talk about.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book took me 3 years to finally finish. While he is definitely and interesting guy with interesting perspectives, I don't know why I had such a hard time finishing this one. Tough beginnings, and surprising how he almost didn't make it in basketball. The best part of this book was the chapter Champions, where he talks about teammates and opponents in basketball he had. I especially appreciated he talked so fondly of the pleasure of playing someone when they're at their best, such as matchups with Oscar Robertson and others of the era. A good bit of the book is kind of explaining some of his less traditional beliefs and mannerisms, definitely a unique mind. Not for everyone, but interesting.

[Jamie Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall was highly impressed with this book. Much more introspective, reflective and thought provoking than the standard fare sports figure biography. Clearly benefited from Branch's style, the sections on championship team culture and racism are worth a top rating even if some of the other sections (i.e. women and family upbringing) are less interesting. Most interesting is how the thoughts and perspectives expressed are still highly relevant and timely 40 years after it was written.

Highly recommend.

[Lanny Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable memoir. Only reason it isn't rated higher is there are some sections that really drag. The anecdotes about Russell's basketball journey and about the early NBA are incredible. The stories of his upbringing are also great. His family was part of the great migration form Louisiana so there are parts of his childhood there as well as once they moved to Oakland. Childhood and NBA parts are by far the best of the book and drive most of my love of this book. His thoughts on racial politics as well are incredibly ahead of his time and worth reading.

[Ric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I was interested in reading it after seeing the two part documentary about Bill, and I have to tell you, this guy pulls no punches. He tells it like it is without any sugar on top, and the strength of his convictions is what gives the book its real weight. He isn't some crank spouting bile, he was a black man in a racist society and he confronts that on every page of the book. Stunning and highly recommended.

[Scott Kuffel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic memoir of a complex and very human man. More than an athlete, Russell was able to overcome a challenging childhood to grow into a man who led social justice action and was a thinker, philosopher, and a bit of a “player”.

[Reka Beezy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the candor, but he’s not my cup of tea.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the read. It was full of bits of wisdom from love to competition to racism. The flow of words was easy and enjoyable. The insight was informative. I liked it.

[Bo Belanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest and interesting.

[Andrew Mellor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it hard to read, seems to jump around a bit.

I like the anecdotal stories, and more so Bill’s outlook on Basketball and life.

[Cappy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the most unselfconscious memoir you could find. A little scattered, but in a human way.

[Yofish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Russell's sort-of biography. But it's not completely organized like a biography. The first chapter is about his childhood in Mississippi, and his father and grandfather. But he spent almost half his childhood in Oakland, and there's not too much about that, and there's not much about his college years, except as spread throughout the book regarding his basketball education. He's awfully candid (but neither explicit nor braggardly) about his sleeping around on his wife, and similar acts by pro teammates (though he is discreet enough not to mention names there). In fact, he hardly mentions his wife, as she apparently wasn't a very large part of his life. He's pretty philosophical, and mostly aware that his opinions are just that, and out of the mainstream, and that he's not always consistent. Refreshing, that. Didn't want to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (the first Black to be so) because he knew a lot of the folks who had been and thought that they weren't very worthy (mostly because of racism)--including Abe Saperstien, founder of Harlem Globetrotters, whom he claimed fought against integration of MLB and NBA, as that would subtract from his bottom line. But does a good job of explaining his out-of-the-mainstream ideas, mostly. The one disappointment is that it was written in 1979, shortly after he finished his first coaching stint, and only ten years after he retired as a player. So there's less perspective. But also the kind of things he says about "athletes these days" has less resonance.

[David Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I like reading books about basketball, I think this is my third one in the past year. I don't read books about football or hockey or soccer - all sports I follow to a degree. Just basketball. I'm fascinated by the history of the game and about the greats - both players and coaches. I like to understand why teams win and how they sustain success. Ironically, basketball games are normally won by the team with the strongest players, upsets are rare, but strategy and philosophy seems to make a difference (hence Phil Jackson's abnormal success). So reading the memoir of another repeat winner, Bill Russell, appealed to me. I knew he was famous for his defence and his curmudgeonly personality, but otherwise I knew very little about the man. Well, I got more than I bargained for: rather than the life of a basketball great, this is a very critical self examination of a life of a great man, warts and all. He spends as much time talking about his grandfather, the women in his life, or freedom, as he does about the Celtics. The three characteristics of his personality that stuck out, which I believe helped to explain his greatness both on and off the court, were the depth of his analytical abilities, his self awareness, and his independent thought. Bill Russell was an original thinker, always curious, and never afraid to express his opinion. His honesty and candour deserve five stars, but his writing style (this sometimes reads like it was written in the wee hours by a solipsistic teenager) deserves barely three.

[David Lucander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir/autobiography/scattered reminiscences is definatly a worthwhile read, especially for Celtics of New England sports enthusiasts. I grew up watching the end of Bird/McHale/Parish, and the Pierce/Garnett/Allen team brought me back into basketball, but Russell remains my all-time GOAT -> I'm biased to like this book...and I do like this book - a lot.

My favorite sections were Family Heroes (ch. 1) about the rich family life he had while growing up in Jim Crow era Louisiana and the disjointed by imminently quotable Freedom (ch. 6).

Just this past week (Jan. 2017) Boston sports writers and radio hosts have had hours of work provided them in finding ways to denounce Jae Crowder's "allegation" that the city might be kind of sort of immeasurably but definatly racist. Read what Bill Russell got to say. He only gives a few sporadic concrete examples, but there's certainly reasons why old no. 15 (1) didn't bother making his uniform number retirement a ceremony before a game, it was done privately and against his wishes and (2) strongly writes about why he played for the Celtics, not Boston - and yes, that's a big difference. The team was the first in NBA to have a Black player (Chuck Cooper, 1950), first to have an all-Black five man on the court, first to have a Black head coach (Russell himself). As for Boston, the city has a more sordid racial climate than the liberty-loving, Paul Revere-riding, freedom-fighting William Lloyd Garrison abolitionist legacy than Ye Olde Towne wants to reconcile itself with.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Russell really has a gift with stories. Especially when relating the stories of his family and early childhood in Louisiana, the way the family yarns spin one into the other makes for a wonderfully fun start to the book.

For a book by a sports figure, Russell does not dwell too much on his successes. Considering he won two NCAA titles and 11 NBA titles as a player or player-coach, it is admirable restraint on his part. While he gives accounts of Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy, Sam Jones, and K.C Jones, it never becomes a panegyric for Russell or the Celtics.

Bill Russell was strong advocate for civil rights, and it is understandable why. Racism played a large role in his and his family's life, motivating them to move to Oakland. This provides the launch point for his discursions into African colonies (where he is rather critical of Liberia among others) and American imperialism in Vietnam. Russell's perspective is interesting and informed (or at least I thought so, agreeing with him on most points). It's not too surprising considering how Russell has always wished to be seen as a human being first, and one who just happens to play basketball well. He has never wanted sports to be his whole identity. While most people will remember his for his athletic feats, this book shows how that is just one facet of his life.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best sports books I've ever read, which isn't saying much because I don't really read sports books. In a few places, Russell - a five-time MVP and the first black NBA coach - breaks down a, say, ten-second span of action in a basketball game to the millisecond: "I can see he knows I'm going to fade away and try a shot, and I know my teammate will be about three feet behind me to the left, so I fake the shot and pass behind me instead, but he's guessed I'll do that and is ready on that side..." it's kindof mind-blowing, the amount of thinking pro NBA players do. I still don't love basketball, but that's not Bill Russell's fault. This is a really cool book.

Popped into my head last night while watching the Lakers totally embarrass the Celtics.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russell's memoirs stand-out from the standard thrown-together money-making fare that normally constitutes a sports autobiography. This book is insightful; at once both proud and humble, and encapsulates both the great feats and painful imperfections that are so much a part of human nature. Russell is a thinker and a philosopher, though he never comes across as condescending. This book is not a gripping, page-turning read, but it is a valuable one. It engages the reader to think about and consider life; both in the context of Russell's time and society and their own.

[Brian]

Fabulous read. Many memorable thoughts, quotes and passages. Could be my favorite sports book, probably because it only partially is about sports. Bill Russell is a shrewd social philosopher and a harsh self-critic. Loved his ideas about tean basketball, his approach to the game, of ourse, but also his ideas on race, religion, freedom, and his own strengths and shortcomings. His intelligence, talent and sense of humor shine throughout .

[Wes Hazard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came for the insights on victory, excellence, dedication, and commitment to mastery in your chosen field. Stayed for the reflections on race, relationships, and the lifetime challenge of becoming a full person.

Fantastic read.

[RK Byers · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a good read.

[Tedi31]

Bought:
Location: Booksale ()
Price: P

[Shin · Rating 4 out of 5]

People will argue forever who was better- Wilt or Bill Russell. But when it comes to sports autobiographies, it's not contest. Russell's book was much better than Wilt's two autobiographies.

[Robert Pacilio · Rating 3 out of 5]

The type makes it hard to read but long ago I read it and as a Russell fan I am amazed at what he has been through

[julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

good life lessons in here. really just shows how amazing of a person he is