A View from above

The basketball superstar discusses his views on other basketball greats, his early career with the Harlem Globetrotters, and his views on politics, drugs in sports, and fame

As a professional basketball player for 13 years before he retired in 1974, the seven-foot-tall Chamberlain towered over the sport both literally and figuratively; among his many records is the almost incredible scoring of 100 points in a single game. Because of certain factors, however--his demands for high salaries, his interracial dating--several sportswriters cast him as a villain. In 1973 he wrote Wilt , largely about his career as a cager, and here, concentrating more on Wilt the person, he presents a notable book. He comments on the public's rudeness to tall people, touches on his bookishness (which he has kept secret from reporters), puts in good words for women in sports and presents his political views as a Republican who admires Nixon, Ford and Thatcher, but not Reagan and Bush. Chamberlain also gives details of his prodigious sexual appetite, the number of his bed partners having passed 20,000 and still climbing. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

``When I play games I am so competitive that...I will take full advantage of any slip...to the point where many...kiddingly accuse me of cheating. How else are you going to accuse a seven- foot 300 pound man of cheating but kiddingly?'' Intimidating as ever, basketball great Chamberlain (Wilt, 1973, coauthored by David Shaw) reveals a lot more than probably intended in this wordy wit-and-wisdom collection. On the playing floor, Chamberlain was sensational--his arrival in pro basketball totally disrupted the established salary scale, after which he redesigned the game, popularized it, and set a pile of still- standing records. But at the writing table, he is, alas, opinionated, resentful, and unconcerned about continuity, organization, or consistency. (At one point he's a gourmet; later, his favorite food is white bread with peanut butter and mayonnaise.) Chamberlain is also concerned with his stature and sexuality (``few recognize the sensualness I have in this seven- foot frame'') to the point where his isolation, never really dealt with, is painful to consider (though he's not concerned ``to see [his] athletic prowess embodied in offspring''). And he just can't let others be great: Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon is okay, but team-player centers like Celtic Bill Russell and L.A.'s Abdul Jabbar are limited pretenders. After some obligatory respect, Chamberlain gets to his point: ``There may never have been a star athlete used as a yardstick as much as I....'' (What about Babe Ruth, Pele, Joe Louis, Bobby Jones?) As for today's talent, ``centers now are making $2 million a year...if you pro-rated my salary for what I did...I'd be making $20 million.'' Like Muhammad Ali, Wilt was the greatest, but there's no lilt or wit to make his tale palatable. Ali knows it took Joe Frazier to make him immortal, but Wilt stands forever alone with those awesome records. (Thirty-two pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Chamberlain has written his second book in over 18 years (the first was Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door , LJ 8/73). The times have changed and Chamberlain, now 50, has too. Always outspoken and sometimes controversial, Chamberlain feels he now has even more freedom to express his views on various subjects. Former and current sports figures, race relations, celebrities, sex, women, and money are topics upon which he has very candid opinions. Sprinkled liberally throughout the book are "Wiltisms," his interesting and often humorous philosophies on life. He devotes a full chapter to sex and love, and tells why he has remained a bachelor after all these years. This is a revealing look at one of the more unique, intelligent, and larger-than-life sports figures of our time. Recommended for public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/91.
- Jeffrey Nicholas, Lib . Svce., VA Medical Ctr., Castle Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.