Kobe Bryant: The Game of His Life

Rating:
Summary: Titilating mix of Sex and Sports
Review: When A. Warhol said that, "in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes," this is exactly what he had in mind. To read this book, you'd almost think that Kobe Bryant was famous for being a convicted sexual predator, excuse me, alleged rapist rather than a 'professional' athlete. I found this book to be run through with the typical hogwash that passes for juristic journalism these days. Page after page of account after account of who did what to whom and not a ledger to spare. Don't worry folks, if there's one thing I'm sure of, its that there's always enough guilt to go 'round.
This is typical of what Nietzsche (speaking of guilt) characterized as symptomatic of the Christian nihilism which he predicted would descend upon this land, not long after the year 2000 (see Ecce Homo, 'Why I write such good books'). Not only has modern society killed God, we have made Gods of men only for the purpose of destroying them. The fact is, we like to laugh, poke fun, and sexually humiliate, people of fame. It makes us feel better about ourselves and our own lives. We are unable to have confidence in ourselves, regardless of our individual sexual prowess. And for reminding me of that I salute you J. S. Shapiro. It is not often one captures the critical essence of the modern world view in such a slim volume. This book also reminds us about what's really important, viz. personal integrity, creativity, and of course, basketball.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: An in-depth and specific account of the Kobe case to date. Written with hard facts in the style of an entertaining novel. Offers great details about what the victim says happened inside the room that night with Kobe. Five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Read This!
Review: First off I am upset that they published a book and his trial is not even over and the author makes Kobe looks so guilty when I think he is innocent but please read this book it is a very good book but my opinon is that he is innocent.

Rating:
Summary: Feel sorry for them both-- Blockbuster is right.
Review: Great revelations, damning to both sides in many cases and a fun read, as much as that's possible from a book about rape. Shapiro and Stevens are storytellers in the tradition of Crichton and King and they have a great story to tell and they do it in a way that keep the action moving forward with some incredible scenes between Kobe and the girl and the girl and some of her friends who think they're still act like their in high school. I follow the case on television but almost every chapter had something that I didn't know either about Kobe or the girl. I would hate to be in either of their shoes!

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Summary: Rape Charges Have Been Dismissed As Of This Book Review,,,
Review: I don't know what to say about this book. The romantic-suspense style that it is written in is very misleading. At times you don't know if you're reading fact or fiction. As far as I know, only Kobe Bryant and his accuser know exactly what happened that night but this book has the nerve to give specific thoughts of each person. You couldn't write such intimate details unless you were in the room. This book implies that Kobe is such a confused loner that the only way he feels good is if he comes on to every white, female hotel employee he encounters and then rapes them. Sound harsh? That's what this book leads you to belive. As of this writing the alleged victim would not testify in court against Kobe and the judge dismissed the charges. I don't recommend buying this book, it doesn't tell you anything you haven't already heard and is just making money off of this situation. I'm not saying Kobe is innocent or guilty, what I am saying is that this book is a one-sided account of what the "authors" guess happened that night. Then the "authors" have the nerve to try and give this crap an earth shattering ending. The last chapter wants you to imagine Mr. Lonely Kobe, the boogeyman, calling up female employees for room service and then raping them once they get inside. He's just raping women around the world and no one can stop him? That's what the "authors" want you to believe. This book is horrible and doesn't deserve shelf space in a garbage bin.

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and Thought-Provoking
Review: I got this book from a friend of mine who is a Lakers fan and told her I wasn't interested. I've done some work with women's outreach organizations though and she told me I would like it. I guess what interested me in this book was the information it offered into the woman who was attacked and the way she's been treated by people. In many ways it's a sad sort of book and you can sense that the people who wrote it felt some sympathy. I skipped over most of the stuff about Kobe Bryant's history because it's not really my cup of tea, but I found one of the later chapters about Kobe's defense team really, really interesting. It explains their methods and their plan to destroy the girl's credibility in court. For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised and found some of the legal issues extremely interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking but not completely unexpected I guess.
Review: I had my own ideas about who did what to who before reading this book. Now I'm completely confused. This book shows you Kobe's point of view and shows you the girls point of view (they call her "Lilly" in the book) and while it has a lot of damaging information about Kobe it also has some pretty crazy stuff about the girl. This will not be an easy case for a jury but the book is really exciting and the ending is crazy! Now I don't know who to believe!

Rating:
Summary: A Fair Trial
Review: I think that this book satisfies the abyss of hunger that Americans have for gossip and possibly the truth that is burried somewhere in all of these reports and interviews that have been out since the Kobe Bryant incident came into light last June. However, the book cautions that the accuser in this case did not give them an interview per say, so I would questions whether or not this book is just a bound collection of gossip that's been no different than what's already out there. I just think it's important to remember that the trial hasn't happened yet, and the only two people who know the truth are Kobe Bryant and his accuser.

Rating:
Summary: A suspenseful and wild ride...
Review: I wasn't sure what to think when I found out there was a book about the Kobe case before there was a trial, but I was shocked at what the authors were able to come up with. The book talks about what really happened during the police interview in Colorado and takes the reader into the hotel where it all took place. I watched the writer on television and he wouldn't say if he interviewed the so-called victim or not, but he clearly got some interesting information from someone because he tells the story of what really happened in the hotel room. I've been a Lakers fan most of my life and I thought the authors account of Kobe's career was well accounted for. It's not nobel prize winning material, but it's well written and definitely makes for a fast, entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: A Landmark Work!
Review: Jeffrey Scott Shapiro's landmark work deals a slap in the face to the structuralist teachings of Roland Barthes and delivers a formidable blow to the kneecaps of Derridean deconstruction. To say that this book ushers in a new era of critical theory would be an understatement. In fact, to suggest that the book confines itself to groundbreaking cultural and literary criticism would be an injustice. Shapiro not only takes down Derrida and Barthes, but he also offers a very nice introduction to quantum electrodynamics, which should replace Richard Feynman's book as the essential outline of QED for all future readers.