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But as Kareem himself says, “I can do more than shoot a ball through a hoop.” And indeed he can. A lifelong passion for history led to his authoring six best-selling books on various historical subjects. His knowledge and love of jazz birthed not only an audio book (based on one of his NY Times best-selling hardcover, On the Shoulders of Giants) but an upcoming documentary that features a myriad celebrities, from Samuel L. Jackson and Billy Crystal to Quincy Jones and Maya Angelou. Kareem is also executive producing an exciting feature film in development based on the greatest basketball team you've never heard of: The Harlem Rens, the first professional champions of professional basketball. Beyond that, Kareem is very involved in “giving back” and participates in numerous charities, especially ones that promote cancer. Kareem has in-depth knowledge of many subjects ranging from sports to history to jazz to film. He grew up under the two biggest media spotlights in the world (NY & LA) during the Civil Rights era — as quite literally the most visible black man in the country. This has given Kareem a unique perspective on America's political and social landscape, which makes him a dynamic and always thought-provoking speaker.
Hardcover: 209 pages Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has always been fascinated by
history-nineteenth-century American history in particular. Tired
of L.A., restless and looking for new adventure, challenge, and
discovery, he decides to go live among the Apaches he's read
about. He encounters a complex reality. The kids on the Alchesay
Falcons team don't easily embrace what he's trying to teach them
on the court. Gradually they begin to learn from him as he
begins to learn from them. He teaches them to push out of their
comfort zone and try new things, both in sports and in life.
They give him something he didn't quite expect: a way to
reconnect with his passion for basketball.
Hardcover: 288 pages From 1920 to 1940, the Harlem Renaissance produced a bright beacon of light that paved the way for African-Americans all over the country. The unapologetic writings of W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, the fervent fiction and poetry of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, the groundbreaking art of Aaron Douglas and William H. Johnson, and the triumphant music of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong gave voice and expression to the thoughts and emotions that Jim Crow segregation laws had long sought to stifle. In On the Shoulders of Giants, indomitable basketball star and bestselling author and historian Kareem Abdul-Jabbar invites the reader on an extraordinarily personal journey back to his birthplace, through one of the greatest political, cultural, literary, and artistic movements in our history, revealing the tremendous impact the Harlem Renaissance had on both American culture and his own life. Beginning with the rise of the Harlem Rens as pioneers of professional basketball, Kareem traces the many streams of historical influence that converged to create the man he is today -- the NBA's all-time leading scorer and a veritable African-American icon. Travel deep into the soul of the Renaissance -- to the night clubs, restaurants, basketball games, and fabulous parties that have made footprints in Harlem's history. Meet the athletes, jazz musicians, comedians, actors, politicians, entrepreneurs, and writers who not only inspired Kareem's rise to greatness but an entire nation's. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in the midst of a cultural reawakening, carried on the shoulders of athletes trying to prove there was a lot more at stake than a ball game, men and women who made music that could break your heart, and writers and intellectuals who gave voice to not just the ideals of a movement but the raw emotions. Kareem tells what it took to get these revolutionaries to Harlem and how they changed the world. A world that is still riding on the shoulders of giants.
Paperback: 304 pages In this ideal introduction to black history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar examines the lives of heroic African Americans and offers their stories as inspiring examples for young people, who too rarely encounter positive black role models in history books or in the media. Profiled here are Peter Salem, the volunteer soldier who turned the tide at Bunker Hill; Joseph Cinque, leader of a daring revolt on the slave ship Amistad; Frederick Douglass, self-taught writer-orator and escaped slave who forced President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation years ahead of schedule; Harriet Tubman, who led at least three hundred slaves to freedom; Lewis Latimer, whose scientific work was integral to the achievements of Bell and Edison; and many more. Shining a bright light on the touchstones of character, these exemplary stories reemphasize the integral role of African Americans in weaving the fabric of our nation and form an empowering legacy from which Americans of all ages can draw inspiration, wisdom, and pride.
Related Links The Official Website of Kareem Abdul Jabbar
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Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar (born
Ferdinand Lewis 'Lew' Alcindor on April 16, 1947) is
considered by many fans and sportswriters to be the greatest
basketball player of all time. The 7-foot-2 Hall of Fame center,
famous for his indefensible skyhook, also dominated the NBA for
20 years. He not only captured the NBA's MVP six times, was a
19-time All-Star, and set the NBA all-time records in nine
categories — he also remains the NBA's All-Time Leading Scorer,
a record that may never be broken.
A
Season on the Reservation: My Sojourn With the White Mountain
Apaches
On
the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem
Renaissance
Black
Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement