“Herring covers the Knicks the way Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein covered the Nixon White House in The Final Days—the book spills over with delicious detail.”—The New York Times
Blood in the Garden
The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks
Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A SELECTION ON BARACK OBAMA’S SUMMER READING LIST
The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit.
For nearly an entire generation, the New York Knicks have been a laughingstock franchise. Since 2001, they’ve spent more money, lost more games, and won fewer playoff series than any other NBA team.
But during the preceding era, the Big Apple had a club it was madly in love with—one that earned respect not only by winning, but through brute force. The Knicks were always looking for fights, often at the encouragement of Pat Riley. They fought opposing players. They fought each other. Hell, they even occasionally fought their own coaches.
The NBA didn’t take kindly to their fighting spirit. Within two years, league officials moved to alter several rules to stop New York from turning its basketball games into bloody mudwrestling matches. Nevertheless, as the 1990s progressed, the Knicks endeared themselves to millions of fans; not for how much they won, but for their colorful cast of characters and their hardworking mentality.
Now, through his original reporting and interviews with more than two hundred people, author Chris Herring delves into the origin, evolution, and eventual demise of the iconic club. He takes us inside the locker room, executive boardrooms, and onto the court for the key moments that lifted the club to new heights, and the ones that threatened to send everything crashing down in spectacular fashion.
Blood in the Garden is a portrait filled with eye-opening details that have never been shared before, revealing the full story of the franchise in the midst of the NBA’s golden era. And rest assured, no punches will be pulled. Which is just how those rough-and-tumble Knicks would like it.
Reviews
“Readers need not love the Knicks—or even possess deep knowledge of professional basketball—to enjoy this book. It throbs with an insider’s perspective…besides the vivid writing, what makes Blood in the Garden so successful is the depth of Mr. Herring’s research, which rests on more than 200 extensive interviews.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Armed with behind-the-scenes knowledge culled from more than 200 interviews with players, coaches, and executives, Herring delivers a thrilling narrative that skillfully evokes the intensity and tension of pro basketball. Hoops fans will relish this riveting ride.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“It takes a special writer to capture the genius of a hard-nosed, sucker-punching, underachieving franchise that broke as many hearts as it did bones. Chris Herring is as dogged, as brilliant as they come. He has delivered an instant classic with Blood in the Garden. With spectacular detail and rigorous reporting, Herring unearths new information on some of the most complex, most troubling, and most fascinating personalities in NBA history.”—Mirin Fader, New York Times bestselling author of Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP
