A Sense of Where You Are_ Bill Bradley at Princeton by John McPhee Review
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more details... edit details Get a copy: Kindle eBook Amazon CA online stores ▾ Libraries Other editions Enlarge cover A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton by John McPhee When John McPhee met Bill Bradley, both were at the beginning of their careers. A Sense of Where You Are, McPhee’s first book, is about Bradley when he was the best basketball player Princeton had ever seen. McPhee delineates for the reader the training and techniques that made Bradley the extraordinary athlete he was, and this part of the book is a blueprint of superlativ ...more Paperback, 240 pages Published June 30th 1999 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (first published 1965) To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about A Sense of Where You Are, please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about A Sense of Where You Are Sports And Games > Sports 34 users Non Fiction 34 users Biography 24 users Sports > Basketball 8 users History 4 users Biography Memoir 3 users See top shelves... Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates John McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and was educated at Princeton University and Cambridge University. His writing career began at Time magazine and led to his long association with the New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965. The same year he published his first book, A Sense of Where You Are, with FSG, and soon followed with The Headmaster (1966), Oranges (1967), The P ...more More about John McPhee... More… T 0 Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Start by marking “A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton” as Want to Read: Want to Read Want to Read Rate this book 4.07 · rating details · 834 ratings · 64 reviews Friend Reviews Reader Q&A Lists with This Book Readers Also Enjoyed Genres About John McPhee Books by John McPhee Share This Book register tour sign in Title / Author / ISBN Home My Books Friends Recommendations Explore
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A Sense of Where You Are_ Bill Bradley at Princeton by John McPhee Review
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ASenseofWhereYouAre:BillBradleyatPrinceton
byJohnMcPhee
WhenJohnMcPheemetBillBradley,bothwereatthebeginningoftheircareers.ASenseofWhereYouAre,McPheesfirstbook,isaboutBradleywhenhewasthebestbasketballplayerPrincetonhadeverseen.McPheedelineatesforthereaderthetrainingandtechniquesthatmadeBradleytheextraordinaryathletehewas,andthispartofthebookisablueprintofsuperlativ...more
Paperback,240pagesPublishedJune30th1999byFarrar,StrausandGiroux(firstpublished1965)
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SportsAndGames>Sports 34users
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Biography 24users
Sports>Basketball 8users
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JohnMcPheewasborninPrinceton,NewJersey,andwaseducatedatPrincetonUniversityandCambridgeUniversity.HiswritingcareerbeganatTimemagazineandledtohislongassociationwiththeNewYorker,wherehehasbeenastaffwritersince1965.Thesameyearhepublishedhisfirstbook,ASenseofWhereYouAre,withFSG,andsoonfollowedwithTheHeadmaster(1966),Oranges(1967),TheP...more
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BestBiographies93rdoutof644books1,460voters
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StevenPetersonratedit
Ijustfoundmyoldpaperbackcopyofthisbook.Whileinhighschool,IadmiredBillBradley'sbasketballplayingatPrincetonagreatdeal.Asaresult,Iboughtthisbooksoonafteritcameabout.ThisisagoodluckatthecareerofBradleyatPrincetonUniversity.Literatelywrittenandafascinatingcharacterstudy....
3likesLikeseereview
DavidQuinnrateditShelves:fawning
Disappointinglyfawning,IhalfexpectedtoseeBillBradleysmotherandfatherascowriters.
BillBradleysPrincetonyearswereundoubtedlyfilledwithsupremebasketballandacademicsuccesssoIwasntexpectinganytypeofexposbutthesuperlativeswereheapedontooheavilyformyliking.
ThisisbettersuitedforYAreaders.
2likesLikeseereview
Lynnemarieratedit
ThisjustremindedmeofhowmuchIloveMcPhee'sstyleandalsoremindedmewhatitwaslikeinthe1960'stobelivinginahomewhereCazzieRussellwassuchahouseholdnamethatitreverberatestodaywithgreatclangorstilltoday.
ThisisessentiallybiographicalsketchofayoungBillBradleyjustafterheleftPrinceton.Totallybasketball,butaglimpseintotheworkingsofthemindnevertheless.Inasense,itisacompaniontoapieceMcPheewrotewithinthelastyearfor"TheNewYor...more
1likeLikeseereview
CoreyThibodeauxratedit
Greatportraitofaplayerthroughhisowneyes.BillBradleywasauniqueplayerandmanandJohnMcPheecapturingsomeofthosemomentsinactionmadethisbookrelevant.IthinkIlearnedmoreaboutthegameofbasketballfromthisbookthananyothersource.
1likeLikeseereview
Kennyoratedit
ThisiswhereIbeganmystronginterestinandrespectforJohnMcPhee'swriting.HepaintsalyricalportraitofyoungBillBradleythatpiquedmyinterestinmoreofhiswriting.
1likeLikeseereview
AlexStrickvanLinschotenratedit reviewofanotheredition
Ihavenointerestinbasketballwhatsoever,butthisbookkeptmehooked.I'mtryingtoreadallofJohnMcPhee'sbooksthisyear,andthiswasawonderfulstart.
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Bradleyisoneofthefewbasketballplayerswhohaveeverbeenappreciativelycheeredbyadisinterestedawayfromhomecrowdwhilewarmingup.ThiscuriouseventoccurredlastMarch,justbeforePrincetoneliminatedtheVirginiaMilitaryInstitute,theyear'sSouthernConferencechampion,fromtheNCAAchampionships.ThegamewasplayedinPhiladelphiaandwasthelastofatripleheader.Thepeopletherewerewornout,becausemostofthemwereemotionallycommittedtoeitherVillanovaorTempletwolocalteamsthathadjustbeeninvolvedinenervatingbattleswithProvidenceandConnecticut,respectively,scramblingforachanceattherestofthecountry.AgroupofPrincetonplayersshootingbasketballsmiscellaneouslyinpreparationforstillanothergamehardlypromisedtobeahighpointoftheevening,butBradley,whoseroutineinthewarmuptimeisagradualcrescendoofactivity,ismoreinterestingtowatchbeforeagamethanmostplayersareinplay.InPhiladelphiathatnight,whathedidwas,forhim,anythingbutunusual.Ashedoesbeforeallgames,hebeganbyshootingsetshotsclosetothebasket,graduallymovingbackuntilhewasshootinglongsetsfrom20feetout,andnearlyallofthemdroppedintothenetwithanalmostmechanicalrhythmofaccuracy.Thenhebeganaseriesofexpandinglydifficultjumpshots,andonejumperafteranotherwentcleanlythroughthebasketwithsofewexceptionsthatthecrowdbegantomurmur.Thenhestartedtoperformwhirlingreversemovesbeforeanothercadenceofalmoststeadilyaccuratejumpshots,andthemurmurincreased.Thenhebegantosweephookshotsintotheair.Hemovedinasemicirclearoundthecourt.Firstwithhisrighthand,thenwithhisleft,hetriedsevenoftheselong,gracefulshotsthemostdifficultonesintheorthodoxyofbasketballandambidextrouslymadethemall.Thegamehadnotevenbegun,butthepresumablyunimpressiblePhiladelphianswereapplaudinglikeanaudienceatanopera.6likes
IfbasketballwasgoingtoenableBradleytomakefriends,toprovethatabanker'ssonisasgoodasthenextfellow,toprovethathecoulddowithoutbeingthegreatestendeveratMissouri,toprovethathewasnotchicken,andtoliveuptohismother'schampionshipstandards,andifhewasgoingtohavesomemomentsleftovertosavorhisdelightinthegame,heobviouslyneededconsiderablepractice,soheborrowedkeystothegymandsetascheduleforhimselfthatheadherededtoforfourfullyearsintheschoolyear,threeandahalfhourseverydayafterschool,ninetofiveonSaturday,onethirtytofiveonSunday,and,inthesummer,about
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TriviaAboutASenseofWhere...
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Carolineratedit reviewofanothereditionShelves:dadrecommended,own
ASenseofWhereYouAredetailstheearlylifeandcollegebasketballcareerofBillBradley.ThoughattimesMcPheecomesacrossabitstarryeyedwhendescribingBradley,Iadmitthathisbasketballandacademicaccomplishmentsarequiteimpressive.ReadingthisbookafterBeerandCircus(whichisaboutmoderncollegiateathleticsandhowtheyareunderminingundergraduateeducation),Ifounditparticularlystrikinghowmuchemphasisthe"student"partofstudentathletewasgiveninthe19...more
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Darrylratedit
BillBradleywasborninasmallMissouritown,thesonofthetown'sbanker,whotaughthimdiscipline,hardwork,andaloveoflearning,andhiswife,afiercelycompetitivebutlovingformerathlete.TheirsonwasoneofthemostcelebratedschoolboyathletesinMissourihistory,andwasofferedscholarshipstoover70collegestoplaybasketball.However,hechosetoattendPrincetonUniversity,whichdidnotprovideathleticscholarshipsandwasnotknownforitsbasketballteam,ashehad...more
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JamesEntwistleratedit
Everynowandthen,I'llreadabook,watchamovie,orseeayoutubeclipofTimTebowtakingahandicappedgirlashisdatetoaformaleventthatlegitimatelymakesmewanttobeabetterman.Thisbookhadthateffectonme.BillBradley'sdrive,willpower,andmoralfortitudearetrulyinspirational.Bradley'ssuccessinbasketballandinhiscareerthereafterspeaktothevalueofhardworkandperseverance.Itwasalsorefreshingandinterestingtoreadabiographyaboutsomeonethatwas...more
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LisarateditShelves:nonfictionsports
IfinishedASenseofWhereYouArelastnight.Itwasafantasticbookandanoutstandingstory.BillBradleylivedoutastorythateveryathletehopesupon,especiallytogooutonsuchapositivenote.IfinishedthebookandimmediatelywatchedYoutubevideosofBradley.
IenjoyedMcPheeswritingstyle.Hesstraightforward,light,metered.Theresaneasyrhythmtohiswords.
Irecommenditforsportsfans,butalsofansofcreativenonfictionforthebeautifulwriting.
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RyanHolidayratedit
Ican'texactlysayhowIcametohearthetwoofthemrecommendthisbook,butwhenRobertGreeneandPaulGrahambothsaysomethingisgood,Idon'tneedtobetoldathirdtime.ThetitlecomesfromaBillBradleyquoteabouthishookshot,abouthowafterenoughofthemhisfeelforthegamewassogoodthathedidn'tneedtolooktoseewherehewasonthecourt.Hejustknew.Iguessit'sprobablyabitoftheselectionbias,butit'sfascinatingtometoreadabiographyofsomeonebefore...more
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Tomratedit
Averyquickread.Finisheditinoneafternoon.McPheecanreallywrite.Inmanyways,thisreadslikeaeulogyforidealizedimageofthe"studentathlete."Simplyput,BillBradleywaseverythingthatmajorathleticuniversitieswouldlovetothinkthattheirathletesare.Heck,Bradleywaswhatanyuniversitypresidentwouldlovetopointtoastheidealstudent.GuyslikeBradleywererareinthe1960sandtheyarerarenow.McPheedoesanelegantjobofdetailingBradley'suniquededicatio...more
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threehoursaday.3likesJan04,2015
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LeerateditShelves:recentlyread
agreataccountofbillbradleyinwhatmaybeperhapshisbestforum,thoughpossiblytheoneforwhichheisleastknown.mcphee'sfirstworkfollowsbradley'ssenioryear/seasonatprinceton.duringthisyearhewouldwinthenationalplayeroftheyearaward,takeprincetontothefinalfour,andbeselectedasarhodesscholar.bradleymustbethegreateststudentathleteofalltimeandthisbookaccountstheincrediblededication,resolve,andworkthatmadeitpossible.theonlycomplai...more
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Benratedit
IpickedthisupusedbecauseI'mgoingtobereadingmoreofJohnMcPhee'sworkthissummer.Iwascurioustoseehisgeneralwritingstyle.It'sveryclear.Itflowsandishardlynoticeable(thuslettingyoufocuscompletelyonthetopic).Istilldon'tlikebasketball,though.
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TrinarateditShelves:creativenonfiction,sportswriting
SuredidlikethisbookaboutBillBradleywhoplayedatPrincetonwhileIwasgrowingupthere.Ineversawhimplay,andIdidn'tevenreadthistilmuchlater,butit'sanoutstandingprofileofayoungbasketballplayeratthestartofhiscareerbyayoungwriteralsostartingoffhiswritingcareer.Throughdetaileddescription,McPheecapturesnotjustthetrainingandtechniquesthatmadeBradleysuchanextraordinaryathlete,butalsotheselfdisciplineandstrongsenseofwherehewas...more
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MichaelGreenratedit reviewofanotheredition
Lovedthisbook.Itprovidesawonderfulportraitofatalentedman,andthetellingofthestoryiscompelling,clear,andengaging.Highlyrecommend.
Likeseereview
Nedjoyceratedit
Asolidbook.Biographyofagreatman.Amanslifethroughhisapproachtoasport.Verywellwritten.MakesyouappreciatethemanthatisBillBradley.
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RonaldWiseratedit reviewofanotheredition
AdetailedhistoryofBillBradley'sbasketballcareeratPrincetonUniversityintheearly1960s.Thoughsuspiciouslylaudatory,itprovidedsomeusefultechnicalinsightsonthegamefromaplayersperspective.Themainpartofthebookwasfirstpublishedin1965,butthiseditionhasaddendafrom1978and1999withphotographsofBradley'sNBAcareerwiththeNewYorkKnickerbockersandhispoliticalcareerasaUnitedStatesSenatorfromNewJersey.Ilearnedofthisbookthroughatribute...more
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Alexratedit
McPheedoesn'tsentimentalizeBradley'sstandingorlayitonthicklikeothersportswriters.Hesimplygivesustheopportunitytowatchahardwoodfolklegendinthemaking.NonbasketballfanswillmarvelatthemonkishdedicationandcunningselfexperimentationthatwouldimpelBradleythroughNCAAandNBAchampionshipsrightthroughtotheU.S.Senate.Andforfansofthegame,theintimatelookintoBradley'sworkethic,behindthescenespreparation,andproprioceptivewizardryonthec...more
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Algerratedit
NotexactlytopdrawerMcPhee,butasuresignofthedirectionhiswritingwouldtake.Moreofaperiodpiecethanwritingfortheages.
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davidratedit
WonderfulyarnaboutBradleyandhisamazingcollegehoopscareeratPrinceton.Can'tgowrongwithsports,educationandhumor.
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BradaddeditreviewofanothereditionShelves:nonfiction,sports
AreallygoodprofileofBillBradleyincollege,beforehe'dgoonbecomeaNBAplayerandpolitician.McPheedoesagreatjobcapturinghowthoughtful,diligent,smart,andexceptionalBradleywascomparedtohiscollegepeersatPrincetonandotherschools.Myonlyrealcriticismwiththebookisthatmuchofthewritingonbasketballfeelshorriblydated.McPheewrotethisbookbeforemuchgoodwritingonbasketballexisted,sohisexplanationofplaysandshotsfeelsclunky.Iwishhewould'...more
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Nealratedit
bestbookaboutgrowingupasagiftedathletewhohasskillsandambitionsloftierthanthoseofmosttopathletes.mcphee'sdescriptionofgamesequencesisunrivalled,andhecaptureshischaracter'smostemblematicfeaturesinmundanemoments.oneunforgettablescene.bradleyispracticingjumpshotsinthegymasmcpheeobserves.he'smissingshotaftershot.hetellsmcpheethattheheightofthebasketisahalfinchoffofregulation.bradleyadjusts,andsinksshotaftershot.later,mc...more
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Maddedit
BeenalongtimesinceIwasinmyJohnMcPheephasebutIdorememberlikingthisoneprettywell.
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Timratedit
Thisbookreallyfocusesontheathleteandthefactualaccountofstatistics,scores,etc.andcolorsitwithsomebiographicalnarratives.It'saneasyread.
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DavidBarneyratedit
Quickread.AgoodreviewofBillBradley'scollegecareer.
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RonThunmanaddedit
PrincetontotheFinal4.BillBradley
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matthiahratedit
Agreatbookforthosewhoappreciatethelittlethings,thefundamentalsinsports(specificallybasketball).Goodsportswritingistoughtofindthesedays,butMcphee'sattentiontothedetailssetshimapart.Plus,itsareallymagnificentprofileofapreNBA,preSenateBillBradleyduringhisseniorseasonatPrincetonwhenhewasboththeNationalPlayeroftheYearandaRhodesScholar...trulyepitomizingthestudentathletemodelwhileleadingPrincetontotheFinalFour.Bradleywa...more
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DaverateditShelves:owned,sportnotsportsyousot
ThebookconsistslargelyofMcPhee's1965profileofBradleyforTheNewYorker,whichissufficienttodiscoverwhereBradley'sdriveanddesirecamefrom.Well,theprofileplussomebiographicalsetupservesasaniceleadintoBradley'slifeinbasketballandpolitics.IfeltlikethecaponBradley'ssenioryearatPrincetonservedtocompletethecirclewell,Mr.McPhee,don'tleavemehanging!ExcellentprofilebyamasterofthegenreinMcPhee.
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Bruggeratedit
Itisfuntoreadabookwrittenaboutapersonbeforethatpersongoesontoachieve&evenexceedwhateveryonethinksheiscapableof.Youoftenreadstorieslikethisaboutyoungmenorwomenwhothenendupburningoutandnotreachingtheirpotential.ThisisobviouslynotthecasewithBillBradley.AnotherfunaspectofthisbookistheauthorJohnMcPheewasayoungauthoratthetimeandalsowentontofulfillhispotential.
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