Charles Barkley is one of the most controversial professional athletes in any sport. Interestingly, the book doesn’t deal so much with basketball, but it explores a wide range of interests. Every chapter presents a different theme and is organized as if you are reading twenty-five separate essays. Barkley speaks his mind on each topic such as politics, the economics of the world, controversy, life can’t be serious all of the time and even more serious topics such as September 11. One of the most intriguing issues he discusses is race and he explains that, “poor white people and poor black people just don’t know how much they have in common.” With that he describes how his own race doesn’t want to see other black people become successful in their realm and to create a new life.
He also discusses how graduation rates have been declining greatly over the past decade due to the fact that America’s colleges tend to fail in preparing student athletes for the working world. In other such chapters he complains about double standards. One of the more current issues he writes about is the punishment for priests who confess to having had sex with minors. The way he sees it, is that the Catholic Church shouldn’t spend time gathering bishops in Rome or flying cardinals in from all over the world, because if you ” re having sex with little kids they need to be taken out of the churches and off the streets. He feels that too many people have been hiding behind political correctness. From a jarring topic like this, he will transition to others such as parents and teachers should be held most accountable as remodels.
The Essay on Censoring Our Students World Topics Rights
"Students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates." -- Justice William Brennan For many years it has been debated whether students have the same amendment rights as any other person in the world. Many would say that they do not. They would say that by taking away those state given rights they are protecting the students from being exposed ...
As you read the book you realize rather, if it has a theme, it is that he wants people to discuss truly important issues. His goal is to get people out of the comfort zone and table subjects often pushed to the side by polite society. The book is classified as an autobiography. It starts out describing his rough upbringing in Alabama and how the South was at the time. He depicts the circumstances of living in a poor community and how the drunks and addicts are the ones pulling kids down. Personally, I felt that the chapters about his personal life really gave light to the life of someone so different then me and anyone I know.
It seems more accurate and / or articulates more then simply reading a history book, because its such a personal story that can be applied to others that were in his position growing up. The other chapters seem like you are reading a newspaper article, because issues that are relevant today are being discussed, which makes it very informative about what’s going on in the world. What I found interesting about the book was that when I finished it I had felt like I had been having a deep conversation with him, and whether or not I agreed with his opinions I respected him for his knowledge and what he had to say about issues. While your reading, your forced to create your own opinions.
I feel like I have learned more from this book then any novel I have read on my own or in class. I would recommend this book to anyone even if you aren’t a Charles Barkley fan or even an NBA fan for that matter, because he discusses issues that are important to everyone. He is very blunt and honest, but is also humorous at the same time. I found the book to very enjoyable and was a pretty easy read. Barkley, Charles.
I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It. New York: Random House, Inc. , 2002.
